I feel reasonably well-informed about the recent Hachette-Amazon fracas, as I should be—my sales through Amazon represent a substantial portion of my income as a writer and any event that might adversely affect the ‘Zon affects me. I peruse the Gaughrans, Howeys, and Konraths of the indie world with enthusiasm and often break into a rendition of “Do You Hear the People Sing” while sitting at my desk after reading one of their blog posts.
If it’s one thing I despise–in me when I catch myself doing it and in others when I hear/see it–it’s an empty-headed, knee-jerk argument.
Whether it’s from a lack of knowledge, a confirmation bias, or intellectual laziness, when one side of a debate has bothered to gather supportive facts and present a considered argument and the other just parrots old information or rehashes only what they want to hear, it makes me want to pull my eyes out (or my ears, if I have to listen to it).
I feel particularly frustrated when I’m the one that’s factless in an argument…and twice that if it’s something I care about.
Over the last two days, I’ve come into contact with a couple of what I consider dodgy publishing and self-publishing “offers” and news bits that I thought I’d share.
I’m excited to let you know I’m today’s guest blogger on novelist Kathleen Valentine’s site Parlez-Moi.
Kathleen has a wonderful thematic blog going where she asks writers to comment on writing, especially the authors that have influenced and guided them. I chose to ruminate on Tobias Wolff’s amazing short story “Bullet in the Brain,” a stunning short work from his collection Our Story Begins that will have you thinking LONG after you’ve read it. Please check out Kathleen’s blog and tell your friends! (And for Pete’s sake, read more of Wolff’s stuff!)
In Other News
I apologize for not updating the blog nearly enough lately, but I’ve been hard at work on my debut crime fiction novel, A Reason to Live, featuring retired Washington DC homicide detective Marty Singer. It will be available in Kindle and print within the week.
The sequel, Blueblood, is finished and going to the editor later this month. And the third, Signs, is 1/3 finished and I’m looking forward to a scribbling marathon over the next five days where I hope to reach a goal of 20,000 – 25,000 words (hey, if David Gaughran can do 40,000 words in a month, I’m game).
I also have a non-fiction guidebook on how to write a novel (Telling the Tale: The Complete Guide to Writing Your Novel) coming out soon and I hope to offer it through Amazon as well as this site via Oronjo.com, a free site that facilitates file download-for-payment and empowers writers everywhere. Lastly, I’ve been committed to cultivating a presence on Goodreads.com, where I think the future of e-authoring is going to occur. If you hang out there, please friend me!
Shine on, you crazy diamonds. 🙂
Almost four years ago, an idea for a crime fiction series wriggled its way into my subconscious. Although I’ve always enjoyed reading Parker, Child, and Crais, I was hankering to write about someone who wasn’t always right, wasn’t indestructible, and had flaws and problems that weren’t of his own making…but had to be solved anyway.
The protagonist I started noodling with became retired Washington DC homicide detective Marty Singer and his first novel, A Reason to Live, is so close to done I can taste it. Final edits are done and only the formatting and launch remain.
I thought this might be a good time to recount where it all started.