WHAT DOES AN AUTHOR DO BETWEEN BOOKS?
So what does an author do between books? Well, to be blunt, there is no such thing as “between” books. “Among” books maybe, or “all done” with books perhaps, but no “between.” At the moment, I’m still dealing with Eyewall; plotting strategy for the release of ______ (yes, sad to report, there’s still no official title for novel number two); and working on Supercell, novel number three. I’m currently QCing the audio version of Eyewall. Marshall Seese, the narrator, shoots me several chapters each week and I listen to and critique each one. He’s about halfway through the book and thinks he’ll be done by early April. I can’t wait. ...
Read MoreDON’T FORGET TO TAKE THE DOG FOR A WALK
Is the fact that Eyewall has moved into the second round of judging for the Best First Novel competition in the International Thrillers Writers organization a big deal? I don’t know. Remember, I’ve been a published novelist for less than a year. I’m a rookie in the business. This is all new to me. So I really have to rely on the insights of others. But first, what is the International Thriller Writers? It’s an honorary society of authors who write books broadly classified as “thrillers”–murder mystery, espionage, suspense, etc. ITW has almost 1400 members from 22 countries. Some members, if you’re an avid thriller reader, have instantly...
Read MoreIS BOOK PUBLISHING BROKEN?
Book Publishing is Broken. That was the title of a weekly “marketing tip” I received recently via email. The essence of the tip, it turned out, wasn’t so much that publishing is broken as that its current business model is broken and a new one is in the throes of being born. For example, with rare exception, the days of big advances (up front money) are over. And–this is rather intimidating for many of us–publishers are beginning to look for authors skilled with social media. That is, there’s a premium being placed “on authors who are adept with social media and offer a ‘media-genic” personality.” In simpler terms, at least some...
Read MoreSTAND BACK, MY HEAD MAY EXPLODE
Before I became a published novelist, authors who had broken trail ahead of me warned that I, as a writer of fiction, would probably always have three books in my head: the one most recently published, the one currently being written, and the one after that. I didn’t quite believe that, or at least thought it bizarre, since my head tends to explode, or at least wobble violently and belch smoke, if I have to think about more than one thing at a time. Now, however, I’m a true believer. Here I sit at the dawn of 2012 with not three but four, count ‘em–well, you can’t, but trust me–novels tumbling through my head like Cirque du Soleil...
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Senior Meteorologist
The Weather Channel (Ret)
Colonel, USAF Weather Officer (Ret)
Awarded the Legion of Merit
