September 2014

Have you ever heard of the Amazon Top Reviewers? I have, because I’m an author who would desperately love to get their attention, especially if they decide the like my books. A lot of marketing gurus will make a fuss about finding the right reviewer and then sending a polite email asking if they would…

Photo credit http://www.jaykristoff.com Kinslayer: Book Two of the Lotus War series took Japanese Steampunk farther than the first book (Stormdancer). There were more characters and plot lines. I liked the first book better, but only a little bit. As second books go, this one is worth a read. The visual, auditory, and even olfactory detail…

Illyrio reminds me so much of Varys that I had to check and see if they were ever in the same place in the story. Both men are morbidly obese, cunning, and far more agile than they appear. Do you remember Butter Bumps, the court fool who danced, sang, and did handstands despite sporting a…

Welcome to the latest stop on the It Takes All Kinds of Characters blog tour.In the previous episode, as it were, military science fiction author Britt Ringel reveals the creation of his primary protagonist, Garrett Heskan. As an avid reader of the series, starting with This Corner of the Universe, I can attest that Heskan…

Last week I purchased several UFC fights from the local video store, because they were on clearance and I can’t bring myself to invest in pay-per-view. I wish I could, because I really want to see UFC 178 on September 27. There’s going to be some interesting contests.Meanwhile, I DVDs of the events months and…

As an independent writer, I understand the importance of hiring a professional editor. Thus far, I have used two that greatly improved my work–caught mistakes, made me think, saved me a lot of embarrassment.Finding an editor can be a daunting task. I’ve ran into a few that seemed almost hostile to authors, waging a fear…