Writer Tech: the chapter from hell

by | Sep 19, 2016 | Uncategorized

It took me three tries to pass statistics in graduate school, but one thing I learned is that sample size is crucial to discerning patterns. After 6.5 novels, I have finally realized that there is always a chapter that stops me cold. The chapter from hell usually...

Proxima B: a real Rakhat?

by | Aug 26, 2016 | THE SPARROW

By now you’ve probably heard that astronomers have announced the existence of  “Earth-mass world in orbit around Proxima Centauri.” As in any scientific discovery, there are a lot of caveats and careful hedging of the announcement, but this appears...

TWO Ohioana Awards!

by | Jul 19, 2016 | Uncategorized

Many thanks to all of you who took time to vote for Epitaph as the Ohioana Readers Choice. Not only did you nail that one down for me, your enthusiasm for the novel was matched by the professional judges who also gave the novel the 2015 Best Fiction prize. The award...

Shameless request for support!

by | Jun 23, 2016 | Uncategorized

I’d appreciate it if you take the time to vote for Epitaph, which is one of thirty books up for the first annual Readers Choice Award from the Ohioana Library Association. There are no categories — fiction, nonfiction, childrens’ lit, etc. are all in...

Tuberculosis and 19th Century Fashions

by | May 24, 2016 | DOC, EPITAPH

A while back, I posted about what might well be a photograph of Doc Holliday taken shortly before his death from tuberculosis. Whoever that poor soul really was, his neck is neatly wrapped in white cloth. It was not a fashion statement; it was a bandage. It covered...

Trigger warning…

by | Mar 30, 2016 | Uncategorized

This review is difficult for me to write. It might also be difficult for you to read. Try to imagine, then, how difficult it must have been for Joanna Connors to write I Will Find You. That title is a perfect encapsulation of the book’s theme, structure,...