A Privilege Playing with you Tonight

I’ll never forget the first time I cried during a live action movie. I’d cried at animated movies before, of course. The classic tearjerkers - Bambi, The Lion King, and of course The Land Before Time. But live action movies hadn’t hit me the same way. Probably a large part of that was the kind …

Coffee and Books – Write to Market Deconstructed 2, Electric Boogaloo

Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote a post about why the “Write to market” advice so many people get is...not as simple as it seems. I suggest you check it out, because - as the title indicates - this is a sequel to that. And, like that post, this one is going to reference …

What to do when your Characters won’t Cooperate

One piece of writing advice I see fairly often is “let the characters do what they want.” On the whole, this is not bad advice - it tends to lead to a more organic story, and your characters will feel more believable. However, like most advice delivered in short, easy to remember phrases, the truth …

Strange Cosmology Release Date, Preview, and Cover Art!

Strange Cosmology, the sequel for Weird Theology, releases on 09/10! The pre-order will go live on 08/16 - just in time for a MASSIVE 99 cents sale with 190 other books! Check HERE for the other books in the sale, click HERE for Weird Theology, click HERE for the free Small Worlds Prequel...or just keep …

(Bad) Ideas from my Dreams

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve woken up or half woken up with what I was certain was an absolutely amazing idea, only to have it evaporate into nothingness by the time I got to my computer to write it down. It’s the most frustrating sensation in the world, and I felt like …

Things to Ask Your Beta Readers Part 3 – Immersion

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I’ve always thought that is grossly unfair to words. A picture might get details you’d need a thousand words to capture fully, but with well-chosen words you can do so much more. In a thousand words I could tell you the history of a world, …

Things to Ask Your Beta Readers Part 2 – Analysis

Welcome back to our ongoing series about things to ask your Beta readers. Check out last week’s post, questions about characterization. This week, we delve into the nuts and bolts of your book - the plot, the conflicts, and the structure. I’m focusing on this in order of what is most essential for a story. …

Things to Ask Your Beta Readers Part 1 – Characterization

Today is the one-year anniversary of Weird Theology, my first ever published novel! It’s been an incredible journey, watching how my first book has grown and hearing back from people that enjoyed it. The sequel, Strange Cosmology, will be published at the end of the summer so I’ve been spending a ton of time with …

What Authors Can Learn from Box Office Bombs

It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a small city to make a movie. Directors, actors, producers, cameramen, extras, set designers, costume designers...when you go see Avengers Endgame in a couple of weeks and you’re sitting through the credits waiting for that post-credit scene, try to keep track of how many people …

How to Go Broke While Writing (A Satirical Approach to Financial Advice)

Doing a rerun post this week, the first part of my favorite series of posts so far. You can find part two here and part three here. --- When I first decided I wanted to become a serious author, I’ll freely admit I lost myself for a time in dreams of money and financial independence …