A blog for fiction readers, writers, and history lovers
“Nothing new here.” Three little words. I often come across them in book reviews and when I do, I always stop reading and move on. Because with those three little words, the writer has declared that their focus doesn’t extend beyond themselves. What they mean is, “nothing new here to me.” Assuming that your reading audience has the same level [...]
Immutable, indisputable, irrefutable truth: Men’s clothing has pockets. Inside and out. Deep pockets. Sturdy pockets. Pockets deep and sturdy enough to hold several phones, keys, pens, tablet, the puppy they can’t leave home alone, a laundromat, Wrigley Field, and the moons of Pluto. Women’s clothing has pockets that hold . . . oh wait, they’re “faux” pockets. The [...]
Writer’s block! The phrase that launches endless debates, headaches, virtual paralysis. Is it real? Is it a figment? Is it just an elegant frame for procrastination? Is it unavoidable? The question comes up like hiccups in so many author interviews. So let’s tackle this basilisk from an angle not often considered. Q: How can a writer deal effectively with writer’s [...]
The pink-chalk late winter sunrise peeks through the trees beyond my office window as I play out my literary life’s latest version of “all good things come to an end.” Behind me stands a tower of storage containers. I’m packing up ten years of research that went into The River by Starlight. A library of more than 80 books, binders [...]
“We called him Barney for short,” Mark Twain relates in Following the Equator. “We couldn’t use his real name, there wasn’t time.” Long name, short name. Popular name, uncommon name. Family name, Biblical name, exotic name. Compound name, nickname, unusual-monogram name. If you’re writing fiction, you won’t escape having to invent names for characters. Some authors find this fun, others [...]
I’m sometimes asked if I have any advice for aspiring writers, and I usually get a startled look when I snappily reply, “Nope!” I let it hang for a few moments, and then explain: in my mind, there need be no such thing as an aspiring writer, because the difference between “aspiring” and “writer” is so tiny, anyone with the [...]
Has any animal more shaped American historical fiction than the horse? I even have one outside my office window, a sculpture named Youngsong, created by my late brother in law as a tribute to the joy of young life. I had the honor of hosting the American Historical Novels discussion group on Goodreads and Facebook last week. The introductory interview [...]
"Every family has what we genealogists call a brick wall—that one person no one will talk about. There’s always an aura of taboo around 'the black sheep' or the 'fallen angel.' It took years of digging and a grain of luck to find out why the silence" surrounding Annie Rushton. From my interview with Rose City Reader: How did you [...]
The question comes up at every reading and book club: how and where did you research? And the answer is a historical fiction echo of Johnny Cash: I’ve been everywhere, man. My research for The River by Starlight and its based-on-real-life protagonists Annie and Adam Fielding sent me across eleven states and four provinces, through the doors of seventeen libraries [...]
How much research is enough? Writers of historical fiction know the dilemma well. We fall in love with our characters and want to know them as intimately as we can. What did their environment look like, smell like, feel like? What did they eat, wear, have in their homes? What were the tools of their trade, how did they conduct [...]