In the eternal quest to improve my writer’s craft, I do three things. These are, for me, the three pillars that make the best, most stable structure for growth. They are: Writing often (novels and short stories – there’s always something going on in my head) Reading voraciously (in and out of my particular genre mix […]
Writing
Kurt Vonnegut’s Eight Rules for Writing
I recently came across Kurt Vonnegut’s eight rules for writing a short story. I thought they are pretty brilliant, regardless of the scope of you story (they could apply to a full-length novel just as much), so I have reproduced them below together with my thoughts about them. 1. Use the time of a total […]
How to Optimise your Amazon Page for Conversions
I’ve mentioned before the importance of setting readers’ expectations as part of my article on how I review books. This is a companion article for indie publishers and authors, about what you can do to make sure that your book hits the right target audience, for best reception. First for foremost, it should be absolutely […]
Breaking the International Author barrier
In another step towards international fame and fortune, I am proud to announce that Murder In Absentia is now available in Russian! Due to the tireless efforts of a Russian business partner, the novel has been translated, edited, and formatted to fit the Russian ebook market, with a language that should feel native to and […]
The View from the Other Side
This piece of flash fiction was written specifically for the Dreamtime Dragons anthology. I’ve announced it previously here, but thought I’d make this flash fiction available on the site to increase the anthology’s visibility and as encouragement to go and get a copy (plenty of good authors in there, and all proceeds go to charity). It’s also […]
Fantasy Fiends – Dragons, Flying Phalluses, and Exploding Eyeballs!
I was honoured to be invited to the Fantasy Fiends Podcast for their 31st episode on the subject of ‘No Shortcuts!’. (The dancing gladiators have no bearing on the podcast – except that they accurately describe the spirit of the event). The podcast is hosted by Andy Peloquin And Stevie Collier, two talented fantasy authors. Every week […]
Happy Saturnalia! A year in review
Happy mid-winter (mid-summer) to all! While northern-hemispherers are stuffing themselves with last harvest’s preserves, and southern-hemispherers are chucking another shrimp on the barbie in the languid heat, I thought I’d offer a review of the year that passed and the year to come, at least as it pertains to Felix and his adventures. I started […]
A New breed of Dragons!
I don’t often write dragons, but when I do – I publish them in an anthology. Well, yeah, OK, I also publish them here on the Short Stories section. In fact, Modern Dragon from the Short Stories section is also included in this new anthology. So to the point: I am honoured to announce the inclusion […]
Interviews and Excerpts
Round-up of latest media appearances. Over at Working Title Blogspot, EM Swift-Hook and Jane Jago (whose novella I loved) granted me an interview. They asked only three questions, but ones that were completely outside the normal selection I see with author interviews: Q3: Who, outside of family and friends, would you most want to read […]
Book Review: Philip Matyszak’s 24 Hours in Ancient Rome
I came across Matyszak’s 24 Hours in Ancient Rome: A Day in the Life of the People Who Lived There via a recommendation by Alison Morton (of Nova Roma fame). It looked right up my alley, so I jumped straight into it. Very glad I did! What to Expect A witty, fictional non-fiction description of […]