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
Upping My Game
It’s publicity time for the new book, Fire. My former publisher had me connected with a publicist who was good at getting me on podcasts that had seven views. Seriously. He booked me onto an 8 minute podcast with a 15-year-old girl who ate potato chips and griped about her little brother. (Thankfully, it never…Read More
Ready, Aim, Fire!
When it became apparent that Fire wasn’t going to make it out in time for Thanksgiving, I set my sights on December 17th as a nod to the Wright Brothers and their first flight. Yesterday, I got my first copy and decided not to wait. After all, I would just be depriving you of six additional…Read More
Final Meet the Pod: DreadBot and Myranda
DreadBot – Dread to her Pod companions – was born and grew to a teenager in SCAZ. I can’t say “raised” because there was very little thought given to her beyond keeping her clean and fed. She was loved, but after watching enough TV, realized that there might be a better world available to her….Read More
Meet the Pod: Hunter and Mellow
I like Hunter and named him after a guy I know. Hunter 319 is a nerd’s nerd. Even in the Pod, his nerdiness stands out. Before he was orphaned by Omicron Death, he lived with his parents and had schematics of the Millennium Falcon on the walls of his bedroom. He not only knows the…Read More
Book 2: Fire – first draft complete!
During the 12 Days of Page Turners online event, the host, Aimee Ravichandran (@aimeeravichandran) of Abundantly Social, asked me how long it took to write SPARK. I told her that I thought it took about a year to finish the first draft. There were eight drafts before it was done. So, having just finished my…Read More
Meet the Pod Part 2: Yennifer, Zen, DeadElf
Among the games that I have truly enjoyed – and by that, I mean that they’re good enough to play at least twice – is the Witcher series. Particularly Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. If you’ve played the game, read the books, or watched the series, you know Yennifer. (I deliberately changed the spelling –…Read More
Meet the Pod: Fantom
In SPARK, the Pod is a group of runaways who have figured out the secret to staying overnight in the park. Every kid’s dream. An augmented reality version of Neverland. Janne, HVH, and Hodgins all know what’s going on. They are tidy squatters, so HVH decides to let it play out as an impromptu social…Read More
Smurf Slayer
After reading my manuscript Steph (my developmental editor) had a few things to say. The one that hit me hardest was this: “I actually like your bad guy (Ragnar Sarnak in the published version) more than I do Will (the protagonist).” Ouch. When I started the novel, I wanted Billy/Will to be a lead with…Read More
Thank you, Matthew!
We dwell in a universe of quick, easy, “likes.” So, when I checked the mail last week and saw a hand-addressed envelope, I was surprised. Inside was my first ever piece of fan mail. An honest-to-God, hand-written note to me: As Newcomer put it: “There will never be a digital form of communication which will…Read More