Category Archives: Thoughts about Writing

I recently finished the first draft of the sequel to Aluminum Leaves. The beginning was pretty good. I thought the end was pretty good too; the plot threads came together in something that looked like woven cloth rather than a … Continue reading →

Self-published writer John van Stry recently prevailed in a lawsuit against a man named Travis McCrea, who was the founder and leader of the Canadian Pirate Party. He was, and maybe still is, part of the USA branch of the … Continue reading →

One of the little joys of attending a convention is that I always learn something brand new to me. This year at FOGCon, on the Archive panel, I learned about Portolan maps. First drawn in the 13th century, portolan maps … Continue reading →

Richard Powers, Pulitzer Prize wining author of The Overstory, spoke at Petaluma Copperfield’s, in conversation with Cheryl, the store’s book buyer. I can throw around the usual words about Powers, like, genius. I think I’ll let his own words do … Continue reading →

First of all, a quotation: “He rode into our valley in the summer of ’89. I was a kid then, barely topping the backboard of father’s old chuck-wagon. I was on the upper rail of our small corral, soaking in … Continue reading →

Readers’ Favorite gave Aluminum Leaves a 5-star rating. The reviewer said it was a fantasy “of majestic scale.” Overall, I’m pleased by the generous review, given by a reader who clearly “got” the story. Readers Favorite exists to connect readers … Continue reading →

When I set up my author page on Amazon, I discovered that one tool I can now use is NPD Bookscan. Bookscan is an arm of the Neilsen corporation, the same people who used to do television rating (I guess … Continue reading →