Long, long ago, Raiji looked out upon the universe and it was good. The stars and planets moved in their orbits. Galaxies whirled and spun. All was ordered and precise. But She was alone. So Raiji took the desert sand and the winter rain and the red light of the sun and created velyr in…
DetailsWe’re on our last day here so we’re packing up to head out in the morning. The two from Albuquerque are headed out at Oh-God-Hundred but the rest of us are going to wait until around 9:00 to leave (checkout time is 10:00). After we drop off the keys, Bar and I are going to…
DetailsIt’s October 15–nearly Halloween. But what do you know about this popular holiday? Many of our Halloween traditions began over 2,000 years ago, with the ancient Celtic tradition of Samhain (SOW-un), which was celebrated on the last day of their year, October 31. This was an agricultural celebration, marking the end of the harvest and…
DetailsWe’re at Edisto Beach for the week (minus the roomie, whose bout of Covid wiped out his sick days/vacation time). Taken through the screen porch because it’s bloody bright and sunny out there now–this morning, it was pouring rain and thunder so loud the house was shaking. This is the Beach Gang (minus Roomie) at…
DetailsIt’s First Wednesday, so it’s time for our regular Insecure Writers Support Group post! October 7 question – Many people are calling for writers who use AI to disclose it. Most who employ ghostwriters do not admit it – do you think authors who use ghostwriters should have to disclose that, too? I have always…
DetailsWe didn’t stay for the full day on Monday, but left around 1:00. We did see “AI and the Future of Writing,” with Les Johnson, Gini Koch, Sean Hylton Taylor, James Pl Nettles, JD Blackrose, and Tony Sarrecchia. When people say AI is going to change writing, what are they talking about? Where can the…
DetailsSunday was my day for 15-Minute Mentorships. I spoke with Ben Wold, Christopher D. Schmitz, and Terry Maggert. I also donated some blood, which actually took a lot longer than usual because they missed the vein in my left arm and had to start over on the right one. We started out with “Mystery and…
DetailsNext up was a panel called “Gutsy Plotting: From Plodding to Dynamic Storytelling,” with JD Blackrose, Sarah Madsen, Michael A. Stackpole, Jeffrey L Kohanek, Alicia Rades, and Paul Barrett. Think back to your very first book: did you plot it or pants it? Jeffrey and Michael, what did you do literally to plot? What do…
DetailsOn Saturday morning, we had a panel on “Breaking into Traditional Publishing,” with Rosie J. Potter, Anne Sowards, Steve Saffel, Toni Weisskopf, Melissa Olthoff, and Ian Randal Strock (it’s pronounced EYE-an though). From your experience, what are the pros and cons of traditional publishing? Talking about the query package, can you give us some insight…
DetailsWe then had “Judging a Book by its Cover,” with Marc Alan Edelheit, Nicole Conway, Megan Linski, Keith Robinson, and DL Wainwright, moderating. What do genre expectations mean? Can you give some examples? Nicole, in particular: how much detail should authors supply for a cover? Do you design your own covers? Besides DeviantArt, where do…
DetailsMy next Friday panel was “Media Training for Authors,” with John G. Hartness, Neil Heilegers, Gina Denny, JD Blackrose, and Bob McGough. As the moderator, John asked the questions. Let’s start with basic housekeeping: What’s one tip on how to improve your panel presentation? Let’s talk about interviews–not book clubs for pay. Podcasts, YouTube, etc.…
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