Red Room Where the Writers Are

Still Walking Those Streets »

“Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, and then for a few close friends, and then for money.” — Moliere

Solidarity Sells: Enlist Your Friends to Help Promote Your Book »

SOLIDARITY SELLS:   Enlist Friends to Help Promote Your Book

Writing Comedy »

Here is a link to an interview I did with Wordybirds, a weekly radio discussion about books and ideas, hosted by Liz Humes on 97.3 FM in Richmond, VA.

Just Add Water (And Extra Innings) »

Just got word from my editor last night that he's finishing off the manuscript for Fenway Fiction Three, and my latest story about the Red Sox (or their fans, at any rate) has made it in.

The Key to Success (or Failure) .. »

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." - Bill Cosby

The Key to Success (or Failure) .. »

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." - Bill Cosby

Thinking About Titles »

Today when writing a bio for an anthology that picked up one of my poems, I changed the title of my new memoir, again.

Fiction Blogs vs. Opinion Blogs »

Bloggers are surprisingly conservative, for a group that consider themselves to be on the cutting edge of internet technology.

In good company »

"There were no tracks" Really?  »

. . . there are always tracks. Just not everyone can see them. I hereby offer to help.

Reading On Saturday Night »

Hello! Please come to a reading: Writers With Drinks: http://www.writerswithdrinks.com/When: Saturday, July 12, 2008, 7:30 to 9:30 PM, doors open at 7:00 PM

Summer Reading  »

So I thought it would be nice to list a few of my favorite books to read for the summer.

Wising Up Press Releases "Families: The Frontline of Pluralism" »

Join me in congratulating the devotion of Wising Up Press as they release a n

What to do with the leftovers? »

You thought I was talking about the rained-out picnic food? No-- I meant the fragments of poems and stories that wind up on the cutting room floor. What do you do with yours?

It Really Is Nice To Be Nominated »

My short story Novocain has been nominated for a Sundress Best of the Net award.Sweet!

Mystery or Suspense? »

I've decided that I really don't want to write classic suspense, but in the romance genre, everything is lumped under the "romantic suspense" sub-genre.

The Story Behind the Story - The Baby Slot »

I love it when I write something fictional, and then find out it's true. Was it something I overheard, or read, or the Universe whispered in my ear?

Another Great SBWC »

Well, another Santa Barbara Writers Conference has come and gone, and a lot of happy, exhausted writers have traveled back home, inspired, motivated and ready to tackle another year of writing and,

Fast, cheap and dirty »

   In summer, I like my reading fast and cheap and dirty. Do my own books fit the bill?

PODCASTING, PROMOS, POTIONS & PET PROJECTS »

I'm jealous of my time.  Most authors feel the same way. Anything that takes away from creating that work-in-progress feeds my nervous tic.

Well, Hello »

I'll talk about the fiction - I maintain a blog called 'Grapes of Wrath' - it is the journal of an Edwardian gentleman (P.P.

Burning Down the House: A Review of Brock Clarke's AN ARSONIST'S GUIDE TO WRITER'S HOMES IN NEW ENGLAND »

Shortly after my book, A Journey into the Transcendentalists' New England, came o

Sundays with Will and Gerry »

My long-time collaborator Will Jacobs and I are trying something new in our ongoing efforts to call attention to our revived humor writing.

Rhythm and Writing »

Just for a bit of inspiration, I dipped into Joyce Carol Oates,

The Enchantress of Newtown »

For what else but enchantment is present when a previously designated "runner-up" becomes the winner?

Jolted! »

I woke in the night with a jolt -- literally -- a 3.5 minor earthquake near Alamo, California.

What’s the Diff... »

--between writing fiction and poetry? folks ask me when they find out I've written a lot of poems for a novelist

MWA and the 2008 Backspace Writers Conference »

Mystery Writers of America is offering their members who wish to attend the 2008 Backspace Writers Conference a $50 discount.

Got Kindle? »

Well, I've gone and done it. I've spent hours and hours but it's done. My book -- my first novel, published fourteen years ago and soon to come out in a new trade edition -- has been kindled.

Ed and Johnny Meet William Faulkner »

Chapter 3 of my new humor novel, Million Dollar Ideas, is now posted on my Author Page.

The Fiction Author's Platform »

"We keep hearing this phrase, 'What's the platform?' . . . Well, what it is is this: What does the author bring to the table? Talent is not enough. The number of slots open to fiction on a publisher's list is being reduced all the time." -- Literary agent Nat Sobel, quoted in Poets and Writers Magazine

INDIE BOOK AWARDS FINALIST »

A Genie in the House of Saud has been selected as a finalist by the Next Generation Indie Book Awards in both the E-book Fiction and Religious Fiction categories. 

3 New Radio Shows and a moveable seat »

The Compulsive Reader Talks has 2 new shows -- one with Julie Mars, author of Anybody Any M

Being Cruel to Characters »

The other card stuck to my monitor is a reminder to be mean.

Where do characters come from? »

All cats are not created equal. While Cyrus was a quiet cat, the dignified, strong and silent type, Musetta is a little loudmouth.

What's stuck to your monitor? »

Do you keep index cards or sticky notes stuck to your monitor?

Chapter 2 of my new novel now on Red Room »

After the warm and supportive response to the first chapter of my new novel, Million Dollar Ideas (Red Room's "Best Preview" last month), I am now downright thrilled to be posting

Oxtails and Beached Whales and Podcasts OH MY »

I'm indulging in some "creative procrastination" today -- as I slowly reenter the regular world after nine days of the altered state brought on by a death in the family.

Every Angel Is Terrifying »

Most people podcast their own work, but I've never done things the conventional (read "right") way, and so I've begun by reading a work by author John Kessel, "Every Angel is Terrify

Glad to be this week's Red Room Rising Star! »

Hey, with so much going on, it's very cool to be caught here as a Red Room Rising Star for the week.