The Inside Story

I've written a bunch of articles about writing and marketing the Trickster's Game trilogy. A few snippets are included below. To read the full article, just click on the link provided. 

RESEARCH & WRITING 

What's in a Title?

Coming up with the titles of the first two books of the trilogy was relatively easy. Coming up with a title for the third…not so much! Read more.

What's in a Name?

When I began writing Heartwood, I came up with a system for naming characters that I thought was...well...cool. (Hey, it was my first novel. And I thought it would be a stand-alone.) Once I'd started my rather esoteric system, I felt the need to stick with it. Read more.

Cannibalizing History-Part One: Cookbooks and Floor Plans and Herbs (Oh, My!)

I was a history major in college and I’ve never lost my love of research. At Lunacon 2008, I moderated a panel with such participants as Jacqueline Carey and Chris Cevasco, and we got to share our love of history and the resources we’ve discovered to help bring a story to life. Read more.

Cannibalizing History-Part Two: The Traveling Writer

My love of research has taken me to a tithe barn in England and a sheep-shearing festival on the Hudson; to the palaces of James IV in Scotland and a “black house” on the Isle of Sky (where my friend Robin and I nearly suffocated in the peat smoke). Read more.

MARKETING

Selling the Tale: Writing a Plot Synopsis

When fellow DAW author Josh Palmatier asked me to join a group of writers posting a synopsis of one of their published novels as a way of helping aspiring authors “see how it’s done,” I immediately said, “Yes.” Then my anal side kicked in and I asked if he wanted a marketing synopsis (that you would use to pitch your novel to an editor/agent) or a working synopsis (that you might develop to help you write your book).

They’re usually two different beasts. Read more.

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