Guess what? I get a month off! Well, not really. I’m house-sitting my son’s house while he’s galivanting on some other continent, giving talks on nuclear physics or some such topic I barely understand. But I’m not complaining. It’s an air conditioned house, I have access to his record collection, and my dog has a …
With the current invasion of Ukraine by the despot of Russia, I find it difficult to focus my attention on writing my stories. I have relatives who are from Ukraine itself and from other parts of Eastern Europe that Putin has hinted he believes belong back in the Russian empire. I hope that history takes …
I just completed the first draft of Book 26 of my Hot Dog Detective series, The Zamboni Zealot. I’ll not describe the content of the story in this post, but instead focus my thoughts on completing a draft. When I was a kid, I would watch various programs that featured writers or whatnot, completing their …
As I move into 2022, I find that I have a lot of competing objectives to pursue. As with most New Year Resolutions, I fear that I may not be able to accomplish all of them. But one way to ensure that you do pursue an objective is to let others know that is your …
A mystery depends on plot. Yes, characters are important, even critical. The technical details behind the crime are important. The locale is often essential to understanding the story. But plot is king. I am not a great plotter. Sure, I am very creative when it comes to coming up with strange, off-the-wall ideas. But when …
I’m ashamed to say that over the past year or so, my writing performance has severely declined. I can blame it on Covid; I can blame it on the uncertainty in our country’s political situation. But I can mostly blame it on my own laziness. But I can also blame it on my editor, who …