Book Reviewing: Fight Writers Block and Make Friends At the Same Time

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I don’t have the writers block of popular imagination, the blank white screen and blinking cursor that keeps me paralyzed for hours. But I do have a “writers reluctance,” which in some ways might be even more insidious. This is a familiar syndrome for most of you, where the distractions of meta-writing—research, outlining, emailing, formatting an e-book, reading industry news, and, uh, writing blogs—get in the way of actually writing, even though all of this activity feels like you’re making progress.

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Writers on Writing: I Guest Blog on Kathleen Valentine’s Site

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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. 🙂

The Stories In Between

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I’ve never been asked that hackneyed question of writers “where do you get your ideas?” or, at least, it’s been asked in a more subtle way. I don’t really think about it any more, because I’ve learned that ideas come from anywhere, at anytime. Ideas are the opportunistic catch of the fishing mind and they are malleable, furtive, and everywhere. You just have to be ready with the net.

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Fantasy short, Seven Into the Bleak, is out

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I’m happy to announce that my third fantasy short story, Seven Into the Bleak, is now available on Amazon.com. If you enjoy your fantasy thoughtful, tense, and meaningful, you’ll enjoy this tale. Just $.99!

Seven is 8,000 words long, or about 30 paperback pages. It includes an Author’s Notes section on the how and why of the story as well as an excerpt from Sword of Kings, one of the other three fantasy shorts I have available.

Synopsis
A band of companions—each with his or her own reasons—delves deep into the heart of the Bleak, the infamous and horrifying cavern world miles beneath their own. But their dreams of a quick journey fade into black when their way home is cut off.

Tavern songs dwell on heroes returning laden with loot, fame, and glory, but rarely do they talk of the fear, and loneliness, and misery of life in the World Under the World. The group of seven is hard-pressed to simply survive—both from struggles within and without–and there will be no song to sing of the companions if they succumb to the horrors of The Bleak.

Many thanks to blog-follower Woelf, who beta-read Seven and provided several great comments and suggestions for improving the piece. If you do happen to pick up a copy, please drop by and let me know what you thought of it!