How to Customize iBook Author Templates

I have searched the web far and wide to find awesome pre-made templates for iBook Author, because it seemed to me that I could not modify the pre-made templates at all.  However, I found a quick and easy 7 step process to creating completely custom templates for iBook Author and am offering this tutorial free

Friday Flash Fiction: Siri 4

It had been a bad day for Talia. She sat in the driver’s seat of her Tesla 2, shooting down the interstate, her thumbs texting away on her polyclear phone, updating her status as “single” yet again.  The cars ahead of her began to slow, and even though the roads were now completely safe and

Friday Flash Fiction: Cell Phone

David’s vacation to Branson, Missouri with his family was turning out to be the most uneventful experience of his life.  Mostly it was because he was a thirty something in a resort town whose target audience was mostly retirees.  In the time-share condominium where he was staying with his wife, his three kids, his mother

Writing Exercises

It’s Friday, but that doesn’t mean you get to lie down on the job!  If you are a writer, you need to use every ounce of writing muscle you have throughout the week at least (and if you just can’t stand it, then write on weekends). But what if your WIP is fizzling out and

Brick and Mortar Book Stores: Dreams Gone By

Today I read an article about the future of the brick and mortar book store and even though the self-publishing boon may be calming down to some degree, the dreams that I had of seeing a row of my books on the shelves of Barnes & Noble or another store like that may be long

Using Scrivener and iBooks Author to Create an iTunes iBook

As many of you know, I absolutely love Scrivener, which is in many ways so much more than a word processor.  If you are a do-it-yourself publisher and just want to publish a book through iTunes, you will need a couple of things first: An iTunes sales account.  Sign up here. Scrivener for Mac or

NaNoWriMo Tip #9: Auto-Correct Is Not Your Friend

Many writers use autocorrect in order to help with spelling or even grammar, but most times the grammar check will only denote passive voice and sometimes it can completely ruin a piece of writing.  As a sci-fi writer, sometimes the names of my characters give the spell-checker fits. All of us who use iPhones know how auto-correct

Book Review: Pines by Blake Crouch

As a writer, I read a great number of books in all genres.  However, science fiction is near and dear to my nerdy little heart.  I don’t just love any type of science fiction, but love the type that not only has sound science but also a message that comments on humanity. This is why

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