Words are magic.
Memorable writing is provocative writing. It challenges our thinking; it creates emotional swells. Memorable writing puts us in a place and allows us to see, smell, touch, taste the surroundings. We’re there. We’re feeling the feels. We’re inside the […]
Dear Mr. Martin, With the next season of Game of Thrones (GOT) around the corner, I’ve been thinking a lot about dragons and wildfire and tiny not-quite-adults who kick a lot of ass. And I’ve been thinking about you. You’re […]
Térata book cover, by Michael O’Leary When I read a monster book, I look for just the right amount of gore, mystery, and (in many cases) empathy with the beast. Térata, by Michael O’Leary, delivers all of that…except there are […]
Today, I left my house to go for a very ordinary midday run. Out the door, to the right, down the street. Perfect weather to be outside. It lasted .38 miles. That’s when my foot hit the edge of the […]
I recently finished reading a book in which a large number of the character names began with the letter K. There was Kevin, Katrina, Karl, Kenneth. My head reeled as I worked my way through the pages. “Who is doing […]
Author Stephen Swartz has just released a new book, EPIC FANTASY *With Dragons, which promises to be even more compelling and inventive than his Dream Land series. Swartz is the author of several novels of literary fiction and science fiction. […]
The beginning of something–a kind of character sketch. Inspired by my MinnSpec writing group. The grandmothers of Colina Linda tell stories inherited from their grandmothers. Tales of misdeeds and heroics, of shape-shifting animals, of lovers and the witches who tear […]
Puffy and heavy-lidded. I am a time traveler. It’s not as glamorous as it sounds. Chugging across time zones. Bobbing on the cusp of sleep, only to be reeled back by baby crying, man kicking seat, angry flight attendant leaning […]
I’m continuing with my character exposes for my yet-to-be-written YA novel. This one plays off of the last post. I am an ancient being. Big as the stars and the gaps between them. Bigger than the data flowing through supercomputers—machines […]
I’m planning on writing a series of exposés that delve into the backstories of certain characters in my yet-to-be-written young adult novel. This one’s about Kermit… Kermit McDermit had the double bad luck of being born to parents with a […]