Hello all! It’s only a few hours before we watch the NYC ball drop and march on to 2023! There were plenty of ups and downs for us all. But let’s face it, you wouldn’t know you were living if it wasn’t for all the pain and strife that somehow fades to happiness, love and peace. So, my wish for the New Year is that we all work to find common ground with those around…
Category: My Self Publishing Journey
Allegiance
What do you think of this rough illustration showing damage to the USS Princeton after a space battle with a Telrachnid gunship?
MILK RUN Update
Hi All! It’s taking me a bit longer to complete the next scene chapter for my new military SciFi novel MILK RUN. That’s because, unlike the other scenes posted, this is literally a brand new scene. The earlier scenes were created about six years ago. But I got writer’s block and things got real busy at the office. So, I stopped the project. Picking up where I left off, those scenes required less rework and…
Invite to Review GOD GAMES & An Alaskan Inspiration for a MILK RUN SciFi Adventure
OK, I’ll keep this short and sweet. Three things to tell you: I just got back from a wonderful vacation in Alaska that included a scenic train ride between Fairbanks and Anchorage, a lake cruise right up to a calving glacier in Portage and some flying over the marshland ending with stellar air pic of Anchorage and backdrop mountains. That got the writing juices flowing again as I put fingers to keyboard and continued the…
My New Office
So, here’s my recommendation for the perfect office. It’s not just a physical space. What’s more important is the state of mind that influences character development.
Back to Writing After Six Long Years
After a a six-year hiatus, I’ve picked up from where I left off on writing MILK RUN! Before then, everything was going fine till I ran into the dreaded writer’s block. The story felt flat and typical, and I didn’t like that. So, in 2016, I stopped everything, including publishing the already completed HEAVEN’S ANT FARM SciFi novel to the bookstores. I guess I just needed to clear my head a bit. Besides, I was…
The 77 Challenge
Hey authors, suppose someone goes to the bathroom and while there opens your book. But not at the beginning. They just start reading from any old random place in your book. Will they get some idea of what your book is about by perusing just a few random lines? Will they want to read more? Or will they use the pages for something else having just realized there’s no toilet paper in the stall? Hey…
Don’t Touch That!
As I said in earlier posts, believability is one of the three most important things for successful SciFi writing. The most important of which is believability. Put yourself in the reader’s position. It doesn’t matter what genre. You got to think that what the person is doing in the story is something you might do in the same situation. Or better still, is it something that makes common sense? If it doesn’t, then there had…
The Three Most Important Things for A Good SciFi Story- Part 3
So, in my last two posts, I showed you two of the most important things required for a good Science Fiction story: A Bad Romance and A Good Travel Agent. Together these two elements tell us what’s troubling our hero or heroine; shows us the struggle they must endure to achieve their goal; and allows us to empathize with their pain and disappointments. So, what’s the third critical thing for a good SciFi story? What…
The Three Most Important Things for A Good Science Fiction Story- Part 2
In my last newsletter post, I showed why the most important thing for a good Science Fiction story is a Bad Romance. It’s that troubled road of love to acquire someone or something. A bad romance makes for a good SciFi story because we humans want to see a struggle, or a conflict that brings about a change. For those of you who want to catch up or read more about why a bad romance…