The Dog Days of an Author’s Summer
August may look quiet from the outside, but behind the scenes authors are tending stories the way gardeners tend their plants—patiently preparing for the season ahead.
The Dog Days of an Author’s Summer Read More »
The Recliner Is Not My Friend
Some writing obstacles aren’t plot problems or lack of inspiration—they’re upholstered. After unexpectedly finishing an entire chapter of Fall From Grace in a single day, I discovered the biggest difference wasn’t my writing. It was where I sat. The recliner I’d always considered a harmless pre-writing stop had quietly become the world’s most comfortable procrastination machine.
The Recliner Is Not My Friend Read More »
My Google Search History Should Probably Come with a Lawyer
A thriller writer’s Google search history can look alarmingly criminal—especially when questions about silencers, DNA and extradition sit beside tomato varieties, bitter cucumbers and homemade hummus.
My Google Search History Should Probably Come with a Lawyer Read More »
A Writer’s Mind Does Not Walk in Straight Lines
A writer’s mind doesn’t stop at a strange thought — it follows it past the point most people turn back. Somewhere along that drift, reality starts to feel negotiable… and a story begins to breathe.
A Writer’s Mind Does Not Walk in Straight Lines Read More »
Where Ideas Actually Come From
Ideas don’t arrive fully formed. They start as small, sideways questions — the kind that won’t leave you alone once they land. That’s where stories actually come from.
Where Ideas Actually Come From Read More »
When the Work You’re Paid For Pushes Aside the Work of the Heart
Some weeks, the stories don’t stall — they simply make room for other word-work. Editing, shaping, refining someone else’s manuscript is still time spent inside the craft. And when you finally return to your own blank page, you bring sharper instincts with you.
When the Work You’re Paid For Pushes Aside the Work of the Heart Read More »
Writing While the House Is On Fire
Right now the to-do list is loud. Fulfill a 660%-funded Kickstarter. Edit other writers’ books. Run a publishing company. Market existing titles. Keep upcoming releases on track. And somewhere in there is a quiet little line that says: Write the next book.
That line is always the easiest to slide.
Because it doesn’t yell. It doesn’t send invoices. It doesn’t have shipping deadlines. It just waits — patiently — while everything else feels urgent.
Writing While the House Is On Fire Read More »
The Top Five Misconceptions About Authors
People have a general sense of what authors do, but that sense is… impressionistic. Which leads to some wonderfully confident assumptions about money, inspiration, and what happens after a book is published. In the spirit of public service, here are five of the most persistent misconceptions about authors—and what the job actually looks like from the inside.
The Top Five Misconceptions About Authors Read More »