About five years ago, I was at a birthday party for one of my wife’s colleagues, and was busy circulating around the room, chatting with people, drink in hand. I struck up a conversation with a woman who raised horses for a living. “So, what do you do for work?” she asked me. “I’m a writer.” “Oh. So, you don’t then.” Rather than purposefully spill my beer on her, I quickly found other people to chat with. For a society that so voraciously consumes art, we don’t seem to place much value on those that create it. Musicians, painters, screenwriters,Continue readingJunk Magic and Guitar Dreams – The Audiobook!

Let’s have birthday cake. 🙂 It’s not my birthday (although you’re welcome to send me presents in October). It’s a book birthday! Specifically Blackbelt Chloe and the Birthday Cake Catastrophe. This book was so much fun to write. Just ask the people who kept yelling at me from the living room, “What are you giggling about in there?” I was just sitting in my office chortling away as I typed. You may be sensing a theme in my stories: I love mysteries, martial arts, and monsters. If you do, too, you’ll love this one. The birthday party will be ruined! Chloe had noContinue readingIt’s a Book Birthday!

This week, I want to talk about Watchmen, the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, and carried on in the stunningly good HBO series of the same name, helmed by Game of Thrones showrunner Damon Lindelof. When the TV series debuted last fall, many of my friends talked about how good it was, but as usual, I’m a little slow to get around to things. I started watching the HBO series a couple of nights ago…and binged the first three episodes. They knocked my socks off. The wild thing is how incredibly relevant it is now, in the midst ofContinue readingWho’s Watching the Watchmen?

**Waves a sniffly good-bye at the month of June…** How about an update of everything I’ve been working on? On the fiction side, I’ve started outlining the second book of my Shinjuku Shadows Trilogy. Book 1, Tokyo Blood Magic is at the publisher, Shadow Alley Press, churning through the editing process. Another smaller, but no less important, project is the next book in the Adventure Kids series, Blackbelt Chloe and the Birthday Cake Catastrophe. I typically write short stories in the cracks between major projects as a kind of brain cleanser. It gives the creative brain cells a fresh flavor, andContinue readingWhat I’m up to…

I’m excited to present to my newest middle-grade story, They Call Me…Wyatt Lee. This one is by far the longest of my Adventure Kids series, reaching true novella length. Nevertheless, it’s as long as it needed to be, with all the jokes, action, and weird aliens I could cram into it. I call it The Last Starfighter meets Galaxy Quest and Super Mario Kart. The Adventure Kids books are perfect for kids 9-12, and each paperback includes some pages for kids to personalize their book with drawings, perhaps inspired by the story. And the ebooks are only $1.99. Just two bucks! Vrooom-a-zoom-zoom~! Get yours now!

Several years ago, I had the idea that wanted to do a kind of neo-pulp character, like the Shadow, or Doc Savage, or Conan, somebody larger than life. I wanted to tell pulpy stories, but with a more modern sensibility. What came out of that brainstorming was a phrase that I couldn’t get out of my head, and I don’t know where it came from, Black Rose in the Garden of Eden. From that phrase came the character Black Rose, a nineteenth century sorceress who wears a tricorne hat and carries a bullwhip. One of the hallmarks of larger-than-life characters isContinue readingWhere the Devil Resides – Now in Trade Paperback!

I’m super-excited to show you the new cover for my steampunk horror novella, Where the Devil Resides. The previous version was something I put together on InDesign, and it wasn’t terrible, but I do not possess this kind of stellar illustration skill. The artist here is Vincent Sammy, an illustrator from South Africa. I hired him when I discovered that he was the artist who the cover for the issue of Apex Magazine where my story “Screaming Without a Mouth” appeared in March 2016. He calls this one, however, his “favorite cover ever.” He really knocked it out of the park. CheckContinue readingCover Reveal!

Last week was rough, what with the pandemic everywhere, but this week I’m hanging in there, thanks to some little boosts that add up. Dawn of the Deadly Fang is getting some great reviews. One of my stories is in an anthology up for a major award. I had a super-fun interview. And I had a surprising number of creative folks come out of the woodwork when I asked for a little help on the screenplay for a TV pilot I’m developing. Several people sent me incredibly useful notes, and I managed to organize a virtual table read on Saturday night viaContinue readingBooks and Interviews!

When StoryBundle owner Jason approached me a couple weeks ago about putting together a YA MegaBundle for a super-low price, I jumped at the opportunity. I love connecting authors with one another, and with readers. This huge multi-genre project is a perfect chance to benefit a good cause (children’s literacy) and bring a little brightness into the world—for parents and teens alike—during this difficult time. Get it now! We’ve gathered a truly exceptional collection of YA books for you in a range of SF/F genres. Whether you’re looking for a pulse-pounding action in space, a witchy urban fantasy mystery, orContinue readingAnnouncing the YA Charity Megabundle!

A few years ago when I was writing The Hammer Falls, I put together a playlist that could get me in the head space of the world and the characters, particularly Horace “The Hammer” Harkness’s life and emotional landscape. I pulled that out of my hard drive and dusted off the byte-bunnies and now present it to you in the form of a Spotify playlist. This is completely unofficial and unlicensed, just a list of amazing music. Check it out. Listen before, during, or after reading. 🙂

A friend of mine gave me a cool idea, and that was to put together a (strictly unofficial and unlicensed) soundtrack for Junk Magic and Guitar Dreams on Spotify. As I was writing the book, I referred to music often to help me capture the mood of a given scene, and also to try to put music into words. This list of songs tracks the mood and emotional landscape of the book all the way to the triumphant climax. You can listen before, during and after reading. 🙂 Click here to listen the Junk Magic and Guitar Dreams Soundtrack onContinue readingJunk Magic and Guitar Dreams – The Soundtrack

After my post last week about The Ventures and their music, etc., I received a really cool email from a fan who wanted to tell me a story. I thought it was so great I asked Gareth’s permission to share it with you, and he kindly agreed. “I used to work on a grounds crew at the University I live by and during the winter, the only thing we could do was shovel snow. The area I had at the time had no gardener’s box, so I shared the box of the area next to mine. The regular gardener of thatContinue readingThe Ebb and Flow of a Creative Career