Good Friday Sacrifice

It’s Good Friday When the hordes Demanded blood Not theirs but another’s For the sin of uttering words They didn’t want to hear For not uttering the words They wanted to hear Words that rang, that sang, that clanged In their heads Of a Reality that doesn’t exist. It’s Good Friday When the people Demanded…

From Paper to Pixels

This is from a talk I gave to my fraternity on their Career Day. We are in an age of transition. Like those who went from calligraphy to the Gutenberg press, so we are going from pen and print books to tablet computers and ebooks. Up until early last century, manuscripts were written by hand.…

Rejection Get Away From Me

The envelope is thin. There’s no return address, but I know. It’s from a literary agent, one of many I wrote asking them to consider representing my latest book. I slit it open. Dear Author, “Dear Author”? Whadya mean “Dear Author”?! I spent hours reading guidelines, and y’all said: read the books we agent, find…

Trucking Along with my Writing

Stories are everywhere when you take the time to sit down and talk. But first an update on part of mine. For several months now, I’ve been receiving weekly help to organize my life. I’m at last seeing seeing the dividends, beyond feeling calmer and less like a mouse running, running on a wheel going…

The DRM and Price of eBooks

There has been much discussion between publishers and between pundits about DRM: digital rights management. DRM allows “copyright holders to prevent unauthorized duplication of their work, either to maintain artistic integrity or to ensure continued revenue streams.” (Wikipedia) A book with DRM on it controls where an eBook can be read, how many copies —…

My Early Days of NaNoWriMo

I’ve completed four days of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and I do believe it was a good decision, joining NaNoWriMo. The days and the writing have been scary, like pulling hens teeth, slow, and exhausting. But no matter how much I think I’m not going to do it or how much I want to…