Category Archives: Novel

Novel Consultants Needed

5 Replies

shadowThere are questions Google cannot answer, and it’s out of the question to randomly email people with the questions I need answers to. I need to connect with the right people and chat. It’s my intention to keep my in-progress projects and subject matter in the dark, as story, plot and characters can change in the course of a novel’s writing. I believe, though, that I have the general idea solidified, and I’d like to see how this story pans out. To go about it without feeling like a sham, I need experts for both their professional and background information. I have specific and general questions about atmosphere, feelings, and intangibles. Like with my first novel, I will credit my consultants in the acknowledgment section. Continue reading →

“How are book sales going?”

7 Replies

I’m asked this question a lot: “How are book sales going?” I know when people ask, they mean well. They know I’ve written and published a book, and they’re making friendly conversation, being supportive, and so forth. I know that, I know that, I know that. But that’s not how I hear the question.

***EDITED NOTE added Jan 11: I got a comment (you can read it in the comment section) suggesting that this post has me come off as defensive and negative. That was never my intention, as I strive to make all of my posts swing more positive, attempting to execute my mission through humor and dry wit. Therefore I’ve since gone through and colored the existing jokes green (because green is a nice color) and even added more jokes to it alongside the existing joke by using parentheses (I love parenthesis, can’t you tell?), so you know I’m not a meanie or constantly feeling sorry for myself. I say “constantly” because sometimes I do feel sorry for myself. Especially when it’s cold and I’m hungry. Who doesn’t? But I didn’t write this hungry or cold. I’ve also highlighted some important text blue (blue is another fantastic color) so it jumps out. If there is bold blue text beside it, that was added. Anything bold has been added to the original post. END NOTE.***

Continue reading →

jaden baker

What Jaden Baker is About

2 Replies

jaden bakerI’m often asked about the plot of my novel, which isn’t a big surprise, yet I’ve never really taken time to explain it in my own words. Jaden Baker is a psychological thriller, and if you’re wondering what makes a book a psych-thriller rather than a mystery or action thriller, I pulled a definition from Wikipedia (at the risk of being trite, for citing a definition in the opening of a post):

Continue reading →

The Great Re-Read

1 Reply

Publishing a book is extremely exciting. I was so thrilled to finally have completed Jaden Baker that I couldn’t wait to have it published. I had several people read through the book searching for errors, and I read through it at least seven times before publishing it. But catching all the errors is just impossible. A few guys emailed me when the book first came out and said they’d spotted a couple of errors. Let me address that first.

Continue reading →

Knowing the End

1 Reply

I don’t want to know how the world will end. I’d rather the when, how, and why be totally mysterious. Maybe I won’t even be alive to see it, having died peacefully in my sleep before the end comes. Though should I be around for the event, I hope it rains cupcakes, not frogs, fire, or anything too hellish. I can always hope, right?

Continue reading →

The Power of Limitations: Rules of Psychokinesis

2 Replies

Imagination has no limits; physics does.

In my novel, Jaden Baker, the title character can move things with his mind. Before I wrote the story from start to finish, I studied this ability, its strengths, its weaknesses, and most of all, its limitations. If a character could move something with his mind, what laws did it obey? If Jaden could do anything, and he was without constraints, where was the drama and the tension of the story?

Continue reading →