Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category

On Becoming An Editor

Posted: 5th July 2016 by jazzdog in Uncategorized, Writing
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What happens when an author finds himself an editor? Like every writer out in the world, I have received loads of rejections from the non-response to the one line boiler plate to the occasional thoughtful note. I’ve had my blunders. Sending a query without the submission attached. Reviewing a submission post-query to find one too […]

WORD: Favorite Books of 2015

Posted: 21st December 2015 by jazzdog in Novel, Story, Word, Writing
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Ah, another year comes and goes. This week I’m sharing a few of the authors  I especially enjoyed in 2015. What were your favorite books in the past year? Leave a comment and share wealth!   THE MECHANICAL, Ian Tregillis It’s 1927. The Dutch Brasswork Throne, with their clockwork tech and alchemy, rule the world […]

Paranoia Runs Deep

Posted: 27th May 2014 by jazzdog in Writing
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Like most authors, I spend a good deal of time researching characters, history, culture, language, locations…the list is endless. On any given day, I may ponder how the human body reacts to garroting, which Russian sniper rifles would have been used in the early 1960’s, the flora and fauna of Peru, churches in Amsterdam destroyed […]

Don’t You Love Writing?

Posted: 28th April 2014 by jazzdog in Uncategorized, Writing
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In my mind, I have an image of the perfect place to write. I’m in a cabin in the woods at a desk facing an open window with a view of snow covered mountains. Pots of hot tea magically appear with the occasional cookie. The strong wifi signal attaches me to a massive cable providing […]

What’s Up With Texas?

Posted: 31st March 2014 by jazzdog in Writing
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I get asked every so often, after a reader has finished one of my Nick Sibelius novels, where the ideas and characters come from. I understand the question. I populate the novels with quirky characters—a bicycle fanatic eco-terrorist, a good old boy who seems to accidentally kill people around him, a serial killer who uses […]

Landing Your Next Writing Goal

Posted: 10th March 2014 by jazzdog in Aviation, CHAIN REACTION, Creativity, DIRTY WATER, Story, TOXIC RELATIONSHIP, Uncategorized, Writing
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A great joy in my life, other than writing, has been flying. Not the big commercial jets, but small, single engine airplanes. One of the basic things every pilot learns sooner or later is that the more you try to control the airplane, the less control you have. When I first started flying, I recall […]

Writers League of Texas

Posted: 28th February 2014 by jazzdog in Award Winning, Conferences, Creativity, Novel, Texas, TOXIC RELATIONSHIP, Uncategorized, Writing
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I’ve been featured on the Writers League of Texas blog to promote their literary contest. A sci-fi manuscript of mine, SHAPER, won in the sci-fi/fantasy category and the first Nick Sibelius novel, TOXIC RELATIONSHIP, was a finalist in the 2011 contest. Check it out.  

A Writer’s Companion: Fear

Posted: 2nd February 2014 by jazzdog in Creativity, Life, Publishing, Writing
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If you spend enough time around authors and aspiring authors, you begin to sense a force wending its way through hearts and minds. Fear. As aspiring authors we may fear we’re just not good enough for publication. Or worse, what if the thing we want so much, to be published, exposes our flaws and shortcomings […]

Where Art Thou, Continuity?

Posted: 14th October 2013 by jazzdog in Award Winning, Creativity, DIRTY WATER, Novel, Story, Texas, TOXIC RELATIONSHIP, Uncategorized, Writing
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Continuity, especially in a longer novel with a complex plot, can be a real challenge. As the story evolves from the first draft, every aspect of the novel deepens with detail. The setting, from the time of day, time of year, climate, architecture, flora and fauna–the list is almost endless–becomes more defined on the second, […]

Do What You Love

Posted: 8th October 2013 by jazzdog in Creativity, Digital Media, Marketing, Novel, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing
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James Stewart’s column in the New York Times, “Long Odds for Authors Newly Published”  about J.K. Rowling aka Robert Galbraith’s book, Cuckoo’s Calling  has left me pondering what writing is all about these days.  In the article, Stewart discusses how Cuckoo’s Calling under the Galbraith name had to be shopped around at publishers and then, depending on […]

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