A quick reminder that I will be reading from the new book, AMERICAN LOVE SONG, at Orr Street Studios on November 10, at 7.00. I’ve chosen two never-before-heard extracts to read. Should be a lot of fun – for me, anyway. I’d love to see you there.
Not Funny
OK, I know this is a “cartoon”, and that it is therefore supposed to be “funny”. But this isn’t funny. This is just the way it is. Ask my wife. Thanks to the New Yorker for again not suing me. (The day I get a cease-and-desist letter from them, I’ll know I’m getting somewhere.)
Title News
You may have noticed that there’s not been much book news on this blog of late. There’s been a lot going on, but I am under strict instructions not to jinx any of it by announcing stuff to the world prematurely. Anyway, one thing I can tell you is that, following my discovery of a town in Missouri called Paradise, …
Authors Misbehaving in Public
I found this slightly disturbing anecdote about an innocent reader getting accosted by Ayn Rand’s best friend the other day. I’ve never interrupted someone I’ve seen reading one of my books and asked them how they were getting on with it (and I don’t suppose any of my friends have either), but the story did remind me of when I …
Writing Seminar Appearance
For my sins, on October 24 I’ve been invited to give a talk as part of “The Write Direction”, a seminar put on at Stephen’s College in Columbia by the Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers’ Guild. I’m quite used to standing up in front of a crowd of strangers to talk about estate planning, but this is something else …
Pet Peeve #1
My friend Tim sent me this excellent link: http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com I don’t think much more needs to be said, other than perhaps bravo. Or rather, “bravo”.
Death Becomes Me
All of my previous books have taken place over a relatively short time period, and one of the things I wanted to do with my new novel was to try something altogether bigger in scope and subject matter. But I hadn’t realized until I was well into the book is that there is a severe drawback to writing a story that …
Researching fiction: Facts, Schmacts
I loath doing research. It doesn’t interest me in the slightest. Getting abstruse details right seems an irrelevance in a novel. People don’t read books to learn facts; it is the emotional truths that count. But certain fiction writers – almost all men; make of that what you will – have a fetishistic obsession with useless detail. A character can’t …
A Sense of Place: Where to Write?
I have already written about the need for routine when it comes to writing. Equally important, for me anyway, is where I write. I know people who can dash off stuff in trains, waiting rooms, and especially in coffee shops. This always baffles me. Perhaps I’m just too nosy, or feckless, but I am unable to concentrate on what I’m …