Writing April 6, 2023 3 Comments

Blogger Bob is Back

Greetings blog readers, Bob blog readers, or Bob Blog Binge Readers, all of whom at times, I’m sure, feel overwhelmed in trying to keep up with their favorite blogs, news feeds, Op-ed pieces, and an online mountain of way too much information and visual garbage. My promise to you, if you have a look at […]

Writing December 6, 2022 No Comments

Sorting Myself Out

  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 […]

Writing December 6, 2022 No Comments

Death Brew Launches

  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 […]

Writing December 6, 2022 No Comments

Death Brew Launches—Finally

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 […]

Writing December 6, 2022 No Comments

The Day the Darlings Died

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 […]

Writing December 6, 2022 No Comments

Kissing My Mac Good Bye

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 […]

Writing December 6, 2022 No Comments

Persistence

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 […]