Writing
How to Turn an Existing Short Story into a Novel
Pamela Koehne-Drube over at Novlr wrote a great framework for expanding a short story into a novel. It's like she was reading my diary.
Writing
Writing
One Is The Loneliest Number (of POVs in a Vinestead Anthology Novel)
I know, I know... House of Nepenthe isn't even out yet, and here I am talking about Book 9 of the Vinestead Anthology. Believe me, I wish I had the marketing instinct to build up excitement for my longest and most ambitious novel ever before it hits shelves,
Writing
On Trauma, Time, and Anaïs Nin
I've been reading non-fiction by Henry Miller and Anaïs Nin in the hopes of transporting myself back to a time I've romanticized as being the height of literary community. I love the little insights into their thinking, their processes, and their feelings. I also like seeing
Books
Crying in Bed, Reading in the Park, Writing Everywhere
The other night, Matador had trouble falling asleep. Something was plaguing his little eight-year-old mind, and he tossed and turned in his bed while I lay reading and crying beside him. Not openly, of course. I wasn't bawling. But tears ran down my cheeks, and the same low
Writing
House of Nepenthe: It's Harder to Work When You Just Don't Want to, Duh.
I recently finished another revision pass on House of Nepenthe, a process that felt like trying to get a long sofa up a spiral staircase, and I didn't even have anyone screaming pivot at me the whole time to keep me motivated. For context, Vise Manor came out
Writing
Going Narrow: A Practical Guide to Buckling Like a Belt
After a brief and underwhelming sabbatical from the Church of Bezos, I’ve returned—head bowed, tail tucked, and ready to once again sell my wares in the temple. You know, the one Jeebus flipped tables over because it had become a marketplace? That one. Except this temple is digital,
Writing
Ethics vs. Exposure: The Dilemma of Publishing with Amazon
How convenience, compromise, and capitalism are breaking the indie dream. Enter the Behemoth I'm pretty sure the phrase "love-hate relationship" was invented in anticipation of how I would feel about Amazon in 2025. I remember–decades ago now–being at the library on base in Misawa,
Writing
Leaving Amazon is Expensive
For the longest time, Amazon was all a self-published author really needed. Upload your book, let them assign you an ISBN, and boom—you're published. Simple. Easy. Almost too easy. But now that I'm stepping outside the walled garden and going wide, I'm running
Writing
Daniel Recommends: Micomlan LED Desk Lamp
It would be embarrassing to tell you how many desk lamps I've purchased in pursuit of the one that would make it easy to see my printed-out manuscript and mark it up, but I'm going to tell you an abridged version anyway. I'm not
Writing
Hi Nice To Meet You Buy My Book
Social media has been a double-edged sword for self-published authors for a while now. On one hand, it’s a place where writers can connect, share tips, and support each other. On the other, it often devolves into a noisy marketplace where everyone is shouting about their latest book, hoping
Writing
Query Letter Advice: How to Pitch a Multi-POV Novel
I've always struggled with pitching my books, whether to literary agents or my mom, mostly because my stories are multi-POV. From Por Vida on, my novels have always had four main points of view. I won't get into why I prefer that structure here, but it
Writing
Mobilize Your Literary Universe With Obsidian Sync
In a time when everything is a service (including this website!), it's rare to come across a piece of software that is A) free and B) so valuable that you actually want to pay for it. This year, two apps have met that criteria for me. The first