When I began this blog I promised to make it personal and talk about what was going on in my writing life. I figure that will involve sharing the actual metrics – how many words written, events attended, submissions made – but that data will require some context. What kind of writer am I? Well actually, I’m all kinds.

I am a Print on Demand author. Two of my novels were first published by a POD publisher and…

At book signings, negative people and the idly curious sometimes ask me, “With so many writers out there, what makes you think you’ll be a success?” Positive people and aspiring authors often ask me who my inspirations are in the business. Today I might be able to answer both those questions.…

Now here's some cool news. The folks at a web site called Simegen have gotten on the Toys for Tots bandwagon, supporting sales of the "Carols and Crimes, Gifts and Grifters" anthology put out by Wolfmont Publishing. None of the writers got paid for their contributions to this holiday collections and, despite the date, all profits from the sales still go to the Toys for Tots foundation. You can go to their web site - …

Well, here it is the first weekend of the New Year and already I'm having trouble keeping pace with my ambitious goals. But I'm not getting discouraged. I figure the sooner you fall behind, the more time you have to catch up.

How is everybody else doing with their writing/marketing goals?

My writer’s year kicked off Friday with an early morning book signing at the Borders store in Baltimore Washington International Airport. I must admit I was surprised that anyone was conscious at 6 am, but in fact for those three hours several people came up to talk, and to buy my…

So many books… so little time. If only you had time to find the right ones. Of course that would require you to pick them up and read a couple of pages to know if they appeal to you, but who has time to do such a thing? Well, YOU do, if you do it the smart way. That would be by joining an OnLine Book Club at Dear Reader.com.…

So many books… so little time. If only you had time to find the right ones. Of course that would require you to pick them up and read a couple of pages to know if they appeal to you, but who has time to do such a thing? Well, YOU do,…

The home team has spent the last week or so building a plan for 2008 intended to break my writing into the mainstream outside my home area. We ended up considering what seemed like hundreds of options, each with a long decision tree. Mailings? Sure, but to who? Where? When? How many? What will the postcard say? And that's just one tiny bit of the puzzle. But we have arrived at a conclusion.…

In the last couple of weeks I enjoyed two very different book signing experiences. First, I visited the Borders bookstore in Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. This one was easy, since the store is on the concourse before the security gates, unlike the other airport stores I’ve signed in. It’s also right at the bottom of the escalator people come down on their way to one set of gates. I saw a lot of people that day, but many of them were rushing to catch…

There are lots of ways for readers to find a new writer they want to try, but perhaps the easiest is to look them up in the Yellow Pages. Specifically, I recommend the Author Yellow Pages web site. AuthorYellowPages.com is a searchable directory of author websites. After years of hearing from readers who wanted easy access to authors and their websites, The Book Report Network created this website where authors list their official and publisher websites, as well as fan and…

One of the unintended consequences of the rise of the internet is that some great writing travels the world uncredited. Once in a while I see a line so beautiful that I search for the source, usually in vain. Yesterday I spotted a line that I wish I had written, and soon learned that tons of others agree with me, because it's on a lot of web sites and slides. The simple sentence:



"There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to…

Those of you who missed me at last Saturday's signing in Manassas, VA, will have

another chance get your autographed books tomorrow when Waldenbooks in

Manassas welcomes me for a book signing. This store is in the Manassas Mall

at 8300 Sudley Rd, and I'll be meeting and greeting new fans there from 1:00

pm to 4:00 pm. I hope to see you tomorrow!