Category: Uncategorized

Guest post: Developing Characters in a Fantasy Setting

Nathan Major is a friend and fellow writing who, like me, has taken the epublishing route for his first novel, Paradise Seekers. I met him through our mutual friend Charlie at Brandon Sanderson’s English 318 class.  His book is pretty good; I’m only partway through it right now, but he’s playing with some interesting fantasy… Continue reading Guest post: Developing Characters in a Fantasy Setting

Staying in Provo

So, I have some news.  After carefully weighing my options, I decided to stay here in Provo for at least another six months, rather than teach English in Korea for a year. My main reason was the current pace of change in the publishing world.  Originally, I wanted to take a year or two off… Continue reading Staying in Provo

Tag and such

So my cousin Angela tagged me in this cross-linking truth-or-dare blog game, and it looks fun so I figured I’d participate.  Here goes: Do you think you’re hot? I suffer from no illusions as to my ability (or rather, lack thereof) to carnally attract the opposite sex.  That’s not to say I’m ugly, but when… Continue reading Tag and such

Buy me lunch and I’ll teach you how to make an ebook

Okay, this is insane.  For a long time, I’ve kept up with Writer Beware as a source for quality news about publishing scams, but now…huh? Recently, Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Katherine Rusch have been giving a TON of warnings about “agent-publishers” –agents who are electronically publishing their clients when they’re supposed to represent their… Continue reading Buy me lunch and I’ll teach you how to make an ebook

I Don’t Want to Kill You by Dan Wells

John Cleaver, teenage sociopath and demon hunter, has put his inner monster to work protecting his small town community from supernatural beings.  But now, the head demon, known only as Nobody, has come to take him down. As if that weren’t difficult enough, the most popular girl in John’s class, Marci, has taken a liking… Continue reading I Don’t Want to Kill You by Dan Wells

Why I am not afraid of the Noise

One of the biggest concerns for writers considering indie publishing is the fear of being drowned out by “the Noise”–all the obnoxious crap that will inevitably pile up because everyone thinks they can write a book.  After all, if anyone can self publish, anyone WILL self publish, including all the hordes of terrible, terrible writers. … Continue reading Why I am not afraid of the Noise

How to say “I love you” in math

I was having dinner at the McQueens today, and after chatting with my brother in law’s cousins about numerous interesting subjects (zombie contingency plans, preferred food substances to swim in, and the amount of sugar it would take to launch  you into space), we got onto the subject of math as a language. Side note:… Continue reading How to say “I love you” in math

Decision LZ1527 is now live

My second indie published short story, “Decision LZ1527,” is now available for $.99 from Amazon.  This is the same story that was published in the December 2009 issue of Leading Edge.  I’ve also included a short author’s note at the end, explaining the writing process from idea to publication. As with “Memoirs of a Snowflake,”… Continue reading Decision LZ1527 is now live