Soundtrack . . . in a book? The music of GALLOWAY'S GAMBLE
When I started writing my historical novel GALLOWAY’S GAMBLE, I wanted to weave music into the story. Music has been a natural part of...
Bring on the blurbs!
Blurbs: those short, enthusiastic quotes that appear on book covers. As defined by NPR journalist Colin Dwyer in a 2015 story, a blurb is...
History: real, "reel" & living
Fun thing about writing historical fiction: it’s the perfect excuse to visit historical places. My quest – time travel! (Or, at least, a...
Carefree Highways & Big Bug Creeks: Real names for fictional places
Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot long told the story of how he got the idea for his 1974 hit song "Carefree Highway" from the...
Thank goodness for Ken Burns!
65,000! That’s approximately how many books have been written about the Civil War. Not surprising, considering that it was, is and may...
"You can't tell a book by its cover." Wanna bet?
I believe you should absolutely be able to tell something important about a book by its cover. If you can’t, it’s a lousy cover. Back in...
Horsepower! When everyone owned a horse . . . or did they?
Before cars, horses were ubiquitous . . . or were they? Not long ago, my Minnesota friend Sally Skjaret and her husband Tom had this...
Help! I'm drowning! Or: How much detail is too much?
In fiction, details convey credibility -- but can there be TOO much detail? Personally -- as both a reader and writer -- I say yes. Not...
If You Like Science Fiction, You Might Just Like Historical Fiction
Sez who? Sez me. OK, so you’re a science fiction fan, and maybe you’re giving me the stinkeye. Maybe you never gave much thought to...
Schenectady!
When asked where his story ideas came from, the late great Harlan Ellison (the vivid, visceral master of speculative fiction with the...
