This poster, Courtesy of Sommer Leigh's blog, does a good job of explaining the interest in dystopian fiction, which got me thinking: what would a character from a dystopian novel think about our world today?
Dystopian novels tend to focus on a single segment of society gone awry. The story of 1984, takes
And so it is written...
The partnership between the reader and the writer
Novel details and painting brushstrokes
ToBook contests and the author’s fluctuating mood
If you asked my wife, she'd tell you my mood fluctuates up and down with my writing . If the words flow easily, I'm up. On a day when the right words escape me, I'm down. The same can be said about acceptances or rejections, and good reviews or the inevitable (but thankfully rare) bad review.
Then there's contests. Let's be honest--there's a certain arbitrariness about book contests. Tastes in book are
From concept to cover
I recently completed the cover for my upcoming novel, The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky. The daughter of the title is Kailani, a mysterious little girl, raised in deeply religious society, who sails into a purely secular world. Through the trials of its characters, the book explores the clash between reason and faith, and the redeeming power of hope and love.
But how do I show all this within the
Why do I write?
I recently did an interview where a book blogger asked the following question:
“What’s the reason for your life? Have you figured out your reason for being here yet?”
I’ve done a number of interviews before, both in my prior life as a technologist and in my current role as an author. Some questions are professional. What do you think of a certain technology trend? What's your
The man in the arena
Okay. I’ve been meaning to post this but have been cowed for fear it would be taken poorly by critics. I think it’s time.
We, as authors, work hard in isolation. Very few will have significant success. For some, their fondest dream is that a handful of people will read their work and be moved by it, be changed in some way. Whatever our aspirations, no one but close friends and family
How is writing a novel like (or should be like) the Pinewood Derby?
When my sons were in Cub Scouts, they participated in an annual event called the Pinewood Derby. Work started months before the actual event, a long, painstaking process to create a small car to race down an inclined track.
How small? By rule, the starting piece of soft pinewood could be no bigger than 2 ¾” x 7” x

First Draft Frustrations
Hooray. I’ve finished slogging through the first ten thousand words of my newest novel (the sequel to the soon to be released The Children of Darkness). For the past two years, I’ve been working on Along the Watchtower and The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky , so it’s been a while since I’ve had to deal with the dreaded blank page. I’d almost forgotten how frustrating it can
Third novel to be published
