This past decade was when my childhood dream of becoming an author became reality. I began the 2010’s with a manuscript of a fantasy novel, and ended it with 5 published books. Here’s a glance back at some key events: 2010: Went to Paris in April, and Disney World in Continue reading looking back, looking ahead (and a peek at “stray cats”)
This Wasted Land, my third published novel, was released a year ago. As I mentioned in this post, it was in 1988, when I was a senior in college, that I first began working on what would become TWL. I developed the premise, created some characters, and did extensive research, Continue reading a great “wasted” year
It’s Halloween, so let’s talk monsters, a staple of horror films and fiction. As a kid, I spent many a Saturday morning in front of the TV, slurping down cereal and watching such cerebral fare as Rodan, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, and Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster (the Continue reading know your monsters! 15 terrors, and what they mean
In the summer of 1979, my mother moved us from Phoenix, AZ to Greenbelt, MD. I was 12 at the time, and to say that the move changed my life forever would be like saying that the Grand Canyon is a big hole in the ground. Mind you, I hadn’t Continue reading finally home after 40 years
Lately, I’ve done a few talks for high school students who are writers, or are interested in becoming one. In addition to disabusing them of the idea that becoming an author is a fast and easy ticket to fame and fortune, I’ve shared with them a lot of tips and Continue reading doing “5 to 10” for writing (part 2)
Lately, I’ve done a few talks for high school students who are writers, or are interested in becoming one. In addition to disabusing them of the idea that becoming an author is a fast and easy ticket to fame and fortune, I’ve shared with them a lot of tips and Continue reading doing “5 to 10” for writing (part 1)
That’s the question I answered this past Saturday, February 16, when I spoke during “A Place We Call Home,” the first session of the Queen Anne’s Council’s Eastern Shore Heritage & History series. Historian and novelist Brent Lewis; poet and founder/director of Salisbury Poetry Week Tara Elliott; and I had Continue reading “what does the eastern shore mean to you?”
On November 26, 2018, I launched my third published novel, and my fourth published book. This Wasted Land is not your typical teenage-love story. No, it’s more like: Boy meets Girl Evil Witch takes Boy Girl goes to get Boy back Though TWL just came out this year, its genesis Continue reading how it took me 30 years to get “wasted”
One of the challenges in creating characters for stories is developing a “voice” (or way of speaking) for each of them. In real life, people don’t all sound the same, and neither should well-crafted characters: they ought to be distinctive, so that a reader can usually be able to tell Continue reading “have you heard how she talks? she’s a real character”
The latest in a series about influences from my earlier days Many–probably most–writers listen to music as they work, but for me, it’s more than background noise. Some musicians, some songs inspire me when I’m writing, and that’s especially true for my latest project, This Wasted Land, a young adult Continue reading getting “wasted” to led zeppelin
