The Many Unseen Pages of World Building

The Many Unseen Pages of World Building

I will readily admit to being very inconsistent in the way I build worlds for my stories. Often, I simply follow the characters along and hope some kind of logical, compelling sense of place starts to magically coalesce around them. This usually means far more work...
Working Cover for The Beasts We Become

Working Cover for The Beasts We Become

I find that some kind of cover art helps me when I’m getting ready to dive into revisions. I think it tricks my brain into taking the book more seriously. So, with The Beasts We Become out there being read by a few trusted folks and the inbound comments and...
Milestones in Ink

Milestones in Ink

There was a time when I would talk about one day writing fantasy novels under a pseudonym. This pretentious idea didn’t occur to me because my actual name wasn’t cool enough (it clearly is), or because I needed to protect my family from the consequences of...
I Took a Break

I Took a Break

I have written hundreds of thousands of words in the last year, and while I can’t possibly say I have enjoyed all of that work, it is a return to something I have missed for a long, long time. I’m grateful life has given me the opportunity to spend time on...
The Beasts We Become is… Becoming

The Beasts We Become is… Becoming

The writing prompt from my daughter has officially developed into my next project. The book, tentatively titled The Beasts We Become is proving fun to write and relatively painless to squeeze out of my reluctant brain. I read the first chapter to the work’s...
A Prompt from My Daughter

A Prompt from My Daughter

My daughter loves animals. Nearly every job idea she has expressed an interest in through the course of her young life has had something to do with studying, caring for or treating animals. She also loves reading and unsurprisingly, those two passions often overlap....
The First No

The First No

I finally received my first rejection yesterday, and it was honestly something of a relief. Obviously, as a writer, you would love for every reaction to your work to be positive, but here at the beginning it is nice to simply know that someone is out there on the...
And So Begin the Queries

And So Begin the Queries

It occurs to me that the date on this post could become embarrassing if no one bites on this book, but for now I’ll stick to my committment to transparency (and set a reminder to delete this if/when it gets sad). This weekend I got five queries out the door to...
All the World’s a Page

All the World’s a Page

I try to avoid using stock images here, and as I’ve relegated most pictures from my acting days to the dusty photo albums of history, I offer an old picture of my son making his directorial debut instead.  I  did a lot of acting when I was younger. There were...
Revised Art for the Stone Gate

Revised Art for the Stone Gate

I asked my talented wife Marie Darling for a slight change to the design for the cover of Through the Stone Gate. As always, she delivered far beyond my expectations. I love this piece. I have no idea if this book will ever get published and even if it does, this...