Smart son. Good father.
A couple weeks ago, I was in Baltimore. I had to do my final reviews of the audio version of Spark. Whenever I had a few minutes, I’d pull out my laptop, slap on my headphones and listen to a chapter. I had the book in my lap so that I could compare the narration…Read More
Luna’s Last Lap
Luna came into our life as a rescue back in 2010. She’d been at the SPCA for 13 months and was close to a year-and-a-half old. Most people, it seems, were scared off by her size and her somewhat fierce looks. Her size was no joke. She generally weighed around 95 pounds. The ferocity was…Read More
They’re at it Again
My fans @NYTgames have slipped my work into theirs once again, just a couple of days after Feral made her appearance. This time they’re tipping their editorial cap to the first novel in the series, Spark. The title appeared as the leadoff answer in their Mini Puzzle. In other news, I just got the final…Read More
Fans at the New York Times
In 2021, Feral Daughter, aka ShaChri Patel, made her first appearance as the heroine of the Spark Chronicles novels. Today, as I’m working to finish up the series, I’m getting shown a little love by the New York Times – at least the fans creating and editing their games. Yesterday, if you play Wordle, you…Read More
Book Review: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Murder your darlings. It’s a phrase in publishing that’s often associated with a similar phrase: Torment your darlings. The first, allegedly, means that you can’t afford to fall too much in love with your own prose. It can be the best thing you’ve ever written, but if it’s not relevant to the scene or doesn’t…Read More
When Ducks Attack
It was a muggy morning; the buzz of cicadas filled the air. I’d taken care of the dogs and was heading out for some exercise of my own. As I turned the first corner, I saw motion ahead. One of our local waterfowl had achieved target lock and was waddling toward me on an intercept…Read More
Ash is Live!
I mentioned a while back that I was going to give Kindle Vella a shot with the final novel in the Spark Chronicles. Episode 1 of Ash is now live and can be found here. I asked the cover artist for a few changes and she came through. I wanted the Morrigan figure to be…Read More
Back to the Future of ComicPalooza
Aside from hurricanes and tornadoes, one of the things that can generate 1.21 gigawatts of enthusiasm in Texas is ComicPalooza. This year there are more celebrities than ever, a bigger cosplay crowd, and a pretty cool NASA/STEM tie-in. With the tornado in the past and most of the lights being back on, I can finally…Read More
Rethinking Survival
We live in Houston and last Thursday got hit with a Spielberg-class storm. 100 mph winds, heavy rain, memorable lightning. We’re well away from the nearest pond/lake and a turtle ended up in our yard. Power was out for 3 days and is back on now. Three cheers for AC! Since we live in a…Read More
ComicPalooza is coming
ComicPalooza is almost here! As most of you know, CP is the one BIG event I do every year. It’s been that way since Pfitz invited me to go with him for undisclosed reasons. (Ask Christy). Sir Pat was there and the whole event was pretty cool. This year, we’re going bigger than ever. Last…Read More