The Most Famous Character in American Literature?
Some time ago, I visited Louisville, KY to do some research for a novel. I stayed at the grand Seelbach Hotel. First opened in 1905, the Seelbach has hosted nine US presidents, gangster Al Capone, numerous Hollywood celebrities, and most relevant to us, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald frequently visited the hotel during his Army assignment…
continue readingWhat’s Hot Right Now
There is the eternal question of trying to write a book that cashes in on a hot trend. Authors say, “I’m going to write a thinly veiled novel about being a tyrannical CEO’s assistant (or movie star’s assistant, or editor’s assitant, or a blogger from Terre Haute’s assistant, whatever) and hit the bestseller list.” Or,…
continue readingDon’t Worry, It Only Looks Like They’re Stealing Ideas
New writers often fear losing their ideas. They’re the ones who ask agents to commit to total confidentiality before they’ll send a submission. They’re the ones who worry about trusting editors and publishers. It does seem easy, after all, to send in a great idea and have the editor just hand it to his drinking buddy to write.…
continue readingAloha
So I’m finally back from Hawaii and somewhat recovered from my trip. Even though I flew regularly for work over the course of a couple years (to the tune of more than 200,000 frequent flyer miles), I have never been able to sleep on airplanes. In spite of relaxing in first class seats (those Amazon…
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