Advice from Mercedes Lackey when I was stuck on a plot point: The answer is always “Two guys bust through the door, guns blazing.” It worked! It was just what I needed to get my heroes to the next set piece. Now, mind you, the heroes live in an ancient setting bereft of guns, but the basic premise [...]

Two of my friends from the writing group have travelled with me to Pacific City, Oregon, for a weekend of writing. Alas, I have only gotten about 3000 words written in two days. Doubtless the lack of a plot outline for the second book of the Aqua Pura trilogy isn’t helping with my word count. Back [...]

Man, this is getting depressing, as our favorite ’60s music icons grapple with old age. Syd Barrett has died at age 60. My friends have heard me bluster about how the first Pink Floyd album — written by Syd — is the only one worth hearing. There was something magical and free about Syd’s approach to [...]

I’m leaving Wednesday morning in order to attend a lunch meeting in Seattle with a client — and thus write off my gas as a business expense — before the PNWA conference begins in earnest on Thursday. I’ll have outlines and business cards in hand. I had hoped to shop a final manuscript, but alas, [...]