New Podcast Up: The Props Under the Platform

In this episode, Ryan and I discuss ways that a writer can increase their platform in order to become more recognized as a writer and to hopefully garner the attention of agents and publishers. We discuss many ideas that we have tried and successes we have had in building the ever important writer’s platform. We

Writing the Ending First

My latest offering, Come Apart, due to hit digital and print queue’s everywhere in March, was an experiment of sorts.  According to my proofer’s comments the experiement was a complete success. I wanted Come Apart to be a puzzle.  I wanted to write a novel much like Pines by Blake Crouch, which is a story that unfolds a bit

3 Kick In the Pants Tips for Tired Workaday Writers

This has been a rough week. Of course, as a high school English teacher who teaches two Advanced Placement courses and also manages the after school alternative education program…and also the supplemental online schooling program…most weeks are tough. They are ten times that when I want to write something and get home and there are

5 Ways To Focus On Writing When You Get Off Track

The holidays were rough for writing, at least as far as my personal goals were concerned.  However, even though I had great family time with relatives and watched my children dig into their Christmas gifts un-distracted, I did manage to edit through my new WIP a couple of times. But that’s 53,000+ words, Roger.  How

Plot Devices: Constructing a Novel

This week I have been plotting out my new novel tentatively titled The Painful Best.  In the process of creating characters, tying the plot threads together and creating some terrible red herrings for my readers to follow, I have been going through some new and interesting things to do to my new novel to make it

Inspiration Comes from Everywhere

As you all know, I just finished the rough draft of This Broken Earth: Book 1, The U.S. of After and after revising a few times sent it off to my readers for review.  This does not mean I stop working.  I am simply in a holding pattern while I work up the nerve to start

Guest Post: “Cycling Grandma” Nothing Like a Bunch of Kids to Teach You Some Stuff

Thanks goes to Lisa over at Cycling Grandmafor this post:My sister Madeline teaches at a small elementary school in Silver Spring, Maryland. I had gone to watch her third graders perform a play. An ESOL teacher, she had adapted Sam Swope’s The Araboolies of Liberty Street  into a musical, retelling the story using well known melodies. Before

I Am Interviewed by Collective Compositions

I was blessed to be interviewed for a second time by another blog.  This time I was interviewed by Collective Compositions, a blog about writing, art and culture.  Her questions were very thought provoking and I hope my answers were of the same caliber.

5 Questions Every Novelist Should Answer

Writing consumes me.  It consumes most of my time when I’m not playing with my kids, helping my wife out with all the chores necessary to run a household and working full time.  As a teacher, summers are great.  I get to spend more time writing, working on the novel, and generally futzing about with

Serializing My Novel: The Monster Is Too Big to Tame

I have had the release date for my next novel posted in the right hand column of this blog now for several months, but something happened to me yesterday that may push the thing back even further. More story popped into my head. After wincing and shaking my fist at the powers that be who