Did you know that the word “trivia” originates in Latin? Trivia is based on trivial, which in turn comes from trivialis. That pertains to trivium — three roads, or a crossroad, as something very commonplace that can be found anywhere. Of course, Trivia was also an epithet of Diana, goddess of the hunt, wild animals, […]
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Milestones (or, the art of blogging as a key to a successful author platform)
In a twist that should surprise no one, last week’s post was the 200th post on my blog — and that milestone went past to the sound of crickets. I thought I’d take a moment to speak about milestones (besides putting in a big, actual, stone at the side of the road — for that […]
Cost of Living (in Ancient Rome)
I recently received the map on the left from my fellow author Eric Klein (click to enlarge it — it’s beautiful). This is a classic configuration for a Roman-era house, at least for those who could afford it. It’s quite similar to what I have in mind when I describe Felix’s own house (the only […]
State of the publishing industry
Rather than an article, I include below links to two others, with my thoughts on them. I think they show pretty well the current turmoil that the publishing industry is in. The first is titled “Cover Story: The Quiet Catastrophe, Then Reinvention Of Book Publishing”, by John Birmingham on which-50. Here’s a notable excerpt: The last […]
What it takes to become an author
Unless you somehow missed it, I recently published my debut novel. For those who asked about how I did it, and as a sort of learning exercise, I recently wrote an article for Lifehacker about what it takes to become an author. You can read it in full here: www.lifehacker.com.au/2015/12/the-complete-guide-to-writing-your-first-novel/ While the article contains a lot of information, […]