The first time I met Sarah Hoyt was in Tuscon, Arizona, at the World Fantasy Convention.  I had the good fortune of sitting beside her during a little gathering set up by our agent—and oh, that was a good time.  Sarah is wonderful.  Not only is she a … [Read more...]

...and today I bought enough food to last me another couple weeks.  I ain’t going nowhere until this book is finished.  Sunrise, a week or two ago (when there was still snow on the ground).  This is the view from my chair and desk. … [Read more...]

1.  Don’t back up.  Only go forward.  Gut it out.  Stick to your guns and stay determined.  2.  Okay, sometimes back up.  Gut it out, but with a plan.  Listen to the story.  It’ll tell you when you’ve taken the … [Read more...]

Times like this, I wish I had a different career, that I was a doctor or soldier, in a position to do some hands-on good where it matters most.  But I’m not.  So I find other ways to help.  As always, be careful of scams.  The American Red … [Read more...]

So, here’s the story—and part of it, you’ve heard.  In the summer of 2004, my manuscript landed on an editor’s desk at Dorchester.  Good luck, perfect timing—call it what you will—but TIGER EYE was plucked from the slush pile, and … [Read more...]

I meant to go out and get a couple things.  The car slipped and slid down the driveway, but I made it to the bottom of the hill without any accidents.  That’s about as far I went, though.  I took one look at the ice skating rink passing as a road—and … [Read more...]

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language And next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning. ~T.S. Eliot, “Little Gidding” Spent a lovely evening in West Baden (where THE WILD ROAD was partially … [Read more...]

This appears to be turning into a journal dedicated to how early a riser I’ve become, but again, it’s 4 AM out here, and I’m listening to the rain on New Year’s Eve.  It’s really a lovely rain.  Everyone around the web seems to be making … [Read more...]

“It’s surprising how much of memory is built around things unnoticed at the time” ~ Barbara Kingsolver Tired.  So tired.  Not just jet lag, but book tired.  Been up at all kinds of strange hours because of jet lag and words in my head, but I’m … [Read more...]

Slept like a baby until four am, at which point I rolled over and began dissecting SHERLOCK HOLMES and how a person could learn some things about crafting a good story, just from watching that movie.  It’s still too early in the day to articulate anything worthwhile, … [Read more...]