I'm in the final pages of this editing pass of Unnatural Causes, and then I'll be looking for beta readers ... my first serious use of beta reading, well, ever.  I used to have my childhood best friend read my novels, and she was wonderful at pick......

In reverse order, from pet peeves to pulling my hair out. Saving the world. Who cares about the world? It’s every man or woman for themselves. Magic wands, or anything that resembles one. Includes lanterns, staffs, amulets, cooking pots, car batteries … Farm boys. Unless referring to the human...

So despite the chaos of this year, I've managed to finish an average of a short story a month, in addition to work on my novel and editing.  I have my next short story plotted, and I had planned to start groundwork on another novel, but I'm not re......

And now, to spice up this blog ... controversy!Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to talk politics or, even worse, the use of a double space after a period.  (You can have my double space when you take it out of my cold, dead, and Oxford-comma-laden h......

Every once in a while I get a cool idea. And this idea comes from the space of generating more traffic to my blog. But we don’t live in a vacuum. Okay, space is a vacuum and our planet resides in it, but you know what I mean. There...

Today is July 2nd, which as far as I'm concerned, is real Independence Day:  it's when the delegates of the Continental Congress voted for freedom from Britain.  The 4th was when the final version of the Declaration was signed and released to......

Time for a(nother) quick writer’s block rant. There is a fair amount of wisdom in Finding Nemo, believe it or not. As a new father confronting the world of hyper-protective parenting and we-don’t-keep-score-at-games-so-nobody-ever-has-to-lose mentality, etc, I’ve given a little thought to Dory: Marlin: I promised I’d never let anything...

There is nothing funnier on the internet than bad independent book covers. Here's an example:Really? NYT Best-selling author? The prevailing advice for anyone going the self-publishing route is to get a professional to do it for you. I don't neces......

I'm currently thinking ahead for Unnatural Causes and coming to the realization that I need beta readers.  I've been asking my writer friends for some tips and advice in that department, but there's one barrier:Critiques dial my nerves up to ......

Wildfire by Jo ClaytonMy rating: 3 of 5 starsThis is the second episode of Faan's story, as she searches for her mother, control of her powers, and her own agency separate from the gods that toy with her. It suffers from a problem common to many a Book......