I’m very pleased to announce that Bundoran Press, a small Canadian press that’s put out some terrific books in its short life and has a new owner and managing editor, Aurora Award-winning author Hayden Trenholm, has bought my science fiction novel Right to Know (that’s the working title–it could still change), with the goal of …
Category: Books
Why books are better than the movies made from them
My 11-year-old daughter Alice and I, during a before-school stop in a coffee shop this morning, were discussing books that have been made into movies: specifically The Hunger Games, which won several People’s Choice Awards last night. “Why are the books always so much better than the movies?” asked Alice. A question for the ages. …
J.R.R. Tolkien in his own words
Today is J.R.R. Tolkien’s birthday: he was born January 3, 1892. In honor of that occasion, here’s the section entitled “In His Own Words” from the biography of Tolkien I wrote for Enslow Publishers, J.R.R. Tolkien: Master of Imaginary Worlds. These quotes are drawn from on an interview with Tolkien conducted by Daphne Castell and …
The tangled tale of how my YA fantasy Spirit Singer was born, died, and is being resurrected
Let’s step into the wayback machine, and set it for the turn of the century… In that long-ago time, ebooks were in their infancy. There were dedicated ebook-reading devices, but practically nobody had them. (Although I did: a Hiebook. Read a lot of David Weber on it through Baen’s free ebook library.) There were ebook …
Things my editor told me
I think I’ve mentioned—though no more than a gazillion times or so, so you might have missed it—that my next book to be published by DAW will be Masks, first book in a trilogy (and hopefully series) that will continue with Shadows and Faces. Earlier today I spent a couple of hours on the phone …
First book from writers I advised as writer-in-residence is released!
On Saturday I attended a book launch at the Regent Park branch of the Regina Public Library, and no, it wasn’t for one of mine: it was for Only One Round: One Couple’s Journey to Living the Good Life, by Steve and Reneé Wallace. I was thrilled to be asked, because Steve and Reneé were …
The birth of The Hobbit
I posted this back in July, but it seems apropos to post it again today, with the release of the first movie in the new trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book The Hobbit. It’s the first chapter of the biography of Tolkien I wrote for Enslow Publishers, entitled J.R.R. Tolkien, Master of Imaginary Worlds..and it’s …
How I became a DAW author
Here is a tale I’ve told oft before, though never (I think) in print or pixel: the tale of how I became a DAW author. It’s an oft-told tale because I like to share it with writers who are still in that seeking-publication stage, for though the specifics of it are of little use (I …
From the vaults: Opening of Land Surveying in Saskatchewan
Commissioned by the Saskatchewan Land Surveyors Association, Land Surveying in Saskatchewan: Laying the Groundwork for Property Rights and Development talks about the work of surveyors past, present and future in the province. And here’s a good long chunk of Chapter 1, which (you should pardon the expression) lays the groundwork for the rest of the …
Chicon 7: the 70th World Science Fiction Convention
(Note: if you’re thinking this doesn’t exactly read like a typical convention report from a SF writer, that would be because this is actually my weekly science column. A slightly different version will be my column for the next issue of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild newsletter Freelance. Never let a convention go to waste! (The …
Saturday (er, Sunday) Special: J.R.R. Tolkien, Master of Imaginary Worlds
I think I’ve now posted the introductions to all of the biographies I wrote for Enslow Publishers except this one: J.R.R. Tolkien, Master of Imaginary Worlds. Like my book on Orson Scott Card, it was part of their Authors Teens Love series. Why, yes, I did really really enjoy writing this one. How did you …
Saturday Special: The First Two Chapters of The Haunted Horn
For this week’s Saturday Special, the first chapter of the YA/middle-grade ghost story The Haunted Horn, which I’ve just released to Kindle (other ebook formats and eventually print to follow). It’s set in Arkansas, where I went to university, although Searcy bears only a passing resemblance to the Oak Bluff of the story (although both …
My latest live walk and vlog
Buy Autographed Books
Most Recent Episodes
-
Episode 126: Robin Stevens Payes
An hour-long chat with Robin Stevens Payes, author of four novels in the Edge of Yesterday series, intended to entertain young adult readers and spark an interest in STEM/STEAM careers, especially for girls. Websiteedgeofyesterdaybook.com Facebook@RobinStevensPayesAuthor Twitter@robinstevenspayes Instagram@robinstevenspayes Robin Stevens Payes’s Amazon Page About the Author Robin Stevens Payes is the author of four novels for… -
Episode 125: Brian Trent
An hour-long chat with Brian Trent, award-winning author of Redspace Rising and Ten Thousand Thunders plus numerous short stories. Websitewww.briantrent.com Facebook Brian Trent’s Amazon Page Brian Trent’s work regularly appears in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, the New York Times-bestselling Black Tide Rising anthologies, The Year’s Best Military and Adventure SF, Terraform, Flash Fiction Online, Daily… -
Episode 124: Chadwick Ginther
An hour-long chat with award-winning Canadian fantasy writer Chadwick Ginther, author the Thunder Road Trilogy. Websitechadwickginther.com Facebook@chadwickginther Twitter@chadwickginther Instagram@chadwickginther Chadwick Ginther’s Amazon Page Chadwick Ginther is the author of When the Sky Comes Looking for You, the Thunder Road Trilogy, and Graveyard Mind. His short fiction has appeared in many magazines and anthologies, and his story “All… -
Episode 123: Alan Smale
An hour-long chat with Alan Smale, NASA astrophysicist and Sidewise Award-winning author of alternate and twisted history and hard SF, including Hot Moon and Clash of Eagles. Websitealansmale.com Facebook@alansmale Twitter@alansmale Alan Smale’s Amazon Page The Introduction Alan Smale writes alternate and twisted history and hard science fiction. His novella of a Roman invasion of ancient… -
Episode 122: Brad R. Torgersen
An hour-plus chat with Brad R. Torgersen, Dragon Award-winnning (and Hugo, Nebula, and Campbell-nominated) science fiction and fantasy author. Websitewww.bradrtorgersen.com Facebook@brtwrites Twitter@bradrtorgersen Brad R. Torgersen’s Amazon Page The Introduction Brad R. Torgersen is a multi-award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer whose book A Star-Wheeled Sky won the 2019 Dragon Award for Best Science Fiction Novel at the… -
Episode 121: Joan He
An hour-long chat with Joan He, bestselling author of The Ones We’re Meant to Find, Descendant of the Crane, and Strike the Zither, the first in a duology, recently released by McMillan. Websitejoanhewrites.com Instagram@joanhewrites Twitter@joanhewrites Joan He’s Amazon Page The Introduction Joan He was born and raised in Philadelphia but still will, on occasion, lose her… -
Episode 120: Kevin Moore
An hour-long chat with Kevin Moore, author of The Book of Souls, a mystical ghost story, the first book in a series featuring Jack Kelly and his paranormal abilities. The Book of Demons (think Harry Potter meets The Exorcist) is the sequel. Websitewww.kevinmoorepublishing.com Facebook@kevinmoorepublishing Instagram@kevinmoorepublishing Kevin Moore’s Amazon Page The Introduction Kevin Moore is the… -
Episode 119: Olesya Salnikova Gilmore
An hour-long chat with Olesya Salnikova Gilmore, author of the critically acclaimed new historical fantasy novel The Witch and the Tsar (Ace Books). Websiteolesyagilmore.com Facebook@olesyaauthor Twitter@OlesyaAuthor Instagram@olesyaauthor Olesya Salnikova Gilmore’s Amazon Page The Introduction Olesya Salnikova Gilmore was born in Moscow, Russia, raised in the US, and graduated from Pepperdine University with a BA in English… -
Episode 118: Sangu Mandanna
An hour-long chat with Sangu Mandanna, critically acclaimed author of children’s books like the Kiki Kallira series and The Celestial Trilogy, as well as The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, her first novel for adults. Websitewww.sangumandanna.com Twitter@SanguMandanna Instagram@sangumandanna Sangu Mandanna’s Amazon Page The Introduction Sangu Mandanna was four years old when an elephant chased… -
Episode 117: Brad C. Anderson
An hour-long chat with Brad C. Anderson, author of Duatero, a searing far-future science fiction novel recently republished by Shadowpaw Press. Websitewww.bradanderson2000.com Facebook@bradanderson2000 Twitter@BradAnderson5 Brad C. Anderson’s Amazon Page The Introduction Brad C. Anderson lives with his wife and puppy in Vancouver, Canada. He teaches undergraduate business courses at a local university and researches organizational…
Facebook
LinkedIn
GoodReads
RSS
Twitter
Email
Youtube