It is happening: A way to assure Susan that I am not just eating chocolate bon bons and reading movie magazines (like I did on the job). Of course she is thrilled with my daily electronic scribbling but the sporadic royalty payments only seem to stretch as far as a six pack and a few […]
After just a few of these events, it becomes extremely clear that if the writing of books is always followed by one of these parteeeeeees, I’m going to have to hurry up. Imagine, being surrounded by family and friends, former colleagues and book groupies, in a fine place of drink, in the school district where it all began […]
On June 16, 2016 I was ecstatic to announce completion of the first draft of Death Brew, sequel to Imposter. It always takes me so much longer to get the revisions done and this book was no exception. Nine months later, with the help four editors, a couple of extraordinary middle school classes, and my own […]
Once again, I sit looking out over Colvos Passage, tears dripping onto my keyboard, blood dripping off the knife. Once again, I killed them, the darlings in my new book. Just like in all previous books, they had to go. I think William Falkner is given credit for the term, “kill your darlings,” advising writers to “get […]
Shouldn’t this guy look happier? Please, having a moment. Saying good-bye to my trusty ten year old Macbook. Another moment, please. Okay, better. When I ordered it over the phone from my local Mac store in Seattle, the woman dutifully asked many qualifying questions. “No, just the MacBook Pro, the 1099.00 one, please.” “Sir, you […]
Like all authors I have received more than my fair share of rejection letters. I’m not sure if others who have been rejected multiple times–being illustrators, musicians, or anyone who creates and starts out tender but develops a tough skin–have kept their rejection notices as faithfully as I have. Only now has my librarian/pack rat […]
