Some writers are fans of outlines. Others aren’t. Hence the age-old dichotomy of pantsers and plotters. When I write journalistic work, I tend to use an outline because nonfiction lends itself to “easier” organization. When I write fiction, my brain just doesn’t want an outline crowding it in. That’s when I prefer to make it up as I go along. Turns out, there’s a way to have your cake and eat it too. Here’s how…

Back in 2013, when the book that was to become my wife’s first bestseller was months away from publication, I found myself with time on my hands. It had taken her seven years to write and research that book, and we were constantly driving up and down the east coast so she could interview people and investigate archives.

But now her book was done, and something I had wanted to write finally had the breathing room to come to life. I envisioned a multi-book series about the life of Kris Kringle. I was inspired by the Mary Stewart books I’d read as a kid, on the life of King Arthur. The first book in that series focused not on Arthur but on Merlin as a boy. Because it had seemed logical to Stewart that we should understand the mentor before the mentee.

I wanted to do something similar…

Our friend, the thriller writer Robert Swartwood, recently swung through town to participate in the author interview event my wife Denise runs once a month at a local cocktail bar. I’ve known Rob for a number of years, and he’s always a breath of fresh air. I have fun with him every time I see him, and learn so much about the world of publishing. This time was no different. He was in town promoting his new thriller, The Killing Room, which is freaking awesome. (Affiliate link alert.) One of those breakneck novels that keep you guessing, and then blow your mind at big reveals you didn’t see coming…

If you are a writer who works with an agent, you probably ought to embrace bifurcation. That means that any royalty payments due you by your publisher comes directly to your bank account instead of taking bizarre zigzag to your agent’s account first. My wife and I have bifurcated our payments with numerous publishers, and the process isn’t too onerous. I spell out the process, step by step today at SleuthSayers, the mystery blog, in a post entitled…

I hate reading those articles that insist “Every writer needs to do THIS!” or “If you’re not doing X, you’re doomed to fail as a writer!” But I may have just written that article. About two years ago, when I was on a research trip with my wife, I read a book that I have had my eye on for years. It’s one of those books about writing that kept popping up on my radar, called [affiliate link throughout this article] The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield.

I’m talking about about this today at SleuthSayers, the mystery blog, in a post entitled,

The Pressfield Synchronicities!

As I explain in the post, once I read the book, which I found fascinating, I kept running into people who either had read it or have been meaning to read it, or needed to read it. You probably need to read it, too. Here’s why..

Are you a writer? Why not turn your book cover or covers into irresistible matchbook art?

A few years ago, I started seeing a cute item in gift shops around town: matchbooks designed to look like vintage book covers. Somehow two of these ended up in our house, lingering near our stash of candles in the living room. At $7 or $8 a pop, I hate to think we bought them. Maybe they were gifts.

But upon close inspection, I saw that they were handmade and thus theoretically makeable by, well, me. Specifically, I wanted to be able to make matchbooks featuring my books, and not John Steinbeck’s or Margaret Mitchell’s or F. Scott Fitzgerald’s.

I tinkered around at the craft bench, and produced a few using my covers and a few covers of books written by my crime fiction writer friends. Here’s how you can do the same…

I told you about my new short story on Tuesday, and promised I’d have an update for you by the end of the week. Today I’m sharing an in-depth article about the research that went into the story. You can find that article at SleuthSayers, the mystery blog, at the following link…

I have a short story in a new anthology that is published today! I’m excited to tell you about it because, believe it or not, it’s my first appearance in a fiction anthology. The book is a collection of 24 short stories by 24 different writers who contribute to the SleuthSayers mystery blog that I am always crowing about here…

Every couple of months I get a letter from someone asking if I’ll ghost-write their book. Typically, my correspondents are white, wealthy, business dudes. They’ve made something of themselves, and they want to share their hard-earned wisdom with the world. They think a book is the ticket, but they have no idea where to start. Someone told them they need a ghostwriter, and they start writing people like me. I got one of those emails recently, but this time it had a more interesting wrinkle. Besides asking about my services, the guy also wondered aloud if he should just self-publish the damn thing, and not bother trying to get a “real” publisher. This was a switch. Here’s why…