I had the craziest idea today while taking a late-night walk around Provo. It’s for the new series that I’m working on, Sons of the Starfarers, and it’s going to take six or seven books to get there, but it’s going to be AWESOME. Unfortunately, I can’t say much about it because the first book… Continue reading Crazy ideas and other updates
Category: Desert Stars
Lindsey Stirling, Nichieri, Susan Boyle, and thoughts on discoverability and greatness
I saw a couple of things on Youtube that made me think recently about the importance of quality work, especially in the arts. I’m a casual fan of Lindsey Stirling–I’ve watched most of her videos, put them on in the background from time to time, and get a kick out of following her career. For… Continue reading Lindsey Stirling, Nichieri, Susan Boyle, and thoughts on discoverability and greatness
Trope Tuesday: Foolish sibling, responsible sibling
Whenever you’ve got two characters who interact with each other a lot, chances are that one is a foil of the other. There are a lot of reasons for this, but the big reason is that it helps to highlight certain character traits by providing contrast. Because the contrast is the important thing, the relationship… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Foolish sibling, responsible sibling
Trope Tuesday: The Beach Episode
I’m at Cape Cod this week, at a condo that doesn’t have internet, so it’s going to be a quick and dirty Trope Tuesday post this week (no, not like that) because I’d rather be on the beach than at the Dennisport Public Library. Speaking of beaches … One of the commonest beach tropes, at… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: The Beach Episode
Trope Tuesday: Curiosity is a Crapshoot
Is curiosity a bad thing? Well, it depends how genre savvy you are. It seemed to work out pretty well for Alice, but not quite so well for Pandora (or the rest of the ancient Greek world, for that matter). Curious monkeys seem to come out all right, and their constantly curious counterparts also seem… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Curiosity is a Crapshoot
Do you like your chapters named or numbered?
There’s an interesting article linked on The Passive Voice blog about the importance of a table of contents, especially in ebooks. The article is geared mostly for non-fiction, which is a whole different beast from novels and novellas, but the discussion on TPV got me thinking: for ebooks, is it better to name chapters or… Continue reading Do you like your chapters named or numbered?
Last chance to get my books 50% off on Smashwords!
Hey guys, just a heads up that tomorrow and Wednesday are the last days to get all my books 50% off on Smashwords for the annual summer sale. Everything is under $2.50 USD, and the $.99 stuff is free! That might seem like a pretty steep discount, but I actually earn as much from each… Continue reading Last chance to get my books 50% off on Smashwords!
July Smashwords sale–all books 50% off!
Every summer, Smashwords does a sale in which authors can enroll their books. This year, I’ve enrolled all of mine at 50% off, so all of them are under $2.50. Check it out! Genesis Earth A boy and a girl on a voyage to an alien star. Price: $4.95 $2.48 Bringing Stella Home He’ll go… Continue reading July Smashwords sale–all books 50% off!
Trope Tuesday: The Last DJ
In any vast bureaucracy, you’re bound to find obstructive bureaucrats and professional butt-kissers. But if you look long and hard enough, usually somewhere towards the bottom, you may be lucky enough to find one of the Last DJs. The Last DJ is a man with integrity, who often puts honor before reason and cannot be… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: The Last DJ
P is for Planets
Gliese 581 by ~arisechicken117 on deviantART One of the best things about a good science fiction story is that it can take you to another world–literally! Well, not in the sense of actually physically taking you there, but if you want to experience the thrills of an alien world from the safety of your favorite… Continue reading P is for Planets