Are You William Faulkner? Check Yes or No

An article in the current issue of The New Shetlander made me recall a writing teacher in college who, when asked about composing in the vernacular, gave this response. “You should ask yourself one question: Am I William Faulkner? If the answer is ‘no,’ then you should never write in the vernacular.” I’m not sure where the contempt for writing … Read More

JUST IN: New cover art for Blood Groove

So the good people at Tor have completely redone the cover for my upcoming vampire novel Blood Groove. And while I liked the original art (at posting time still visible on Amazon), this new cover does a much better job capturing the book’s atmosphere: So what does everyone think?

Underworld’s Hero

With the upcoming release of the latest vampire vs. werewolf film, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, I’ve been pondering my inexplicable affection for the first two Underworld films. By all rights I should hate them: at first glance they’re surface-intense, drama-light, filled with inconsistencies and missed dramatic opportunities. They use the tattered trope of sexy, leather-clad vampires and sexy, hairy-bodied … Read More

"That’s the way of the world, baby."

My next novel, Blood Groove, is set in 1975 for a couple of reasons. Since it’s a vampire novel, I wanted it to be free of the influence of Anne Rice; her landmark Interview with a Vampire came out in 1977. I also wanted it to take place in a time when it was still possible to exploit cracks in … Read More

New cover for The Sword-Edged Blonde paperback!

Here’s the all-new cover for the paperback edition of The Sword-Edged Blonde, due out in June 2009 from Tor prior to the hardcover release of the second Eddie LaCrosse novel, Burn Me Deadly. (Click on the image for a bigger view.) The artist is JS Rossbach. So what do you all think?

Reunions, part 2

This is a very personal post, one I never thought I’d get to write. Many years ago, nearly two decades by now, I met two young ladies and fell in love. Holly was three when I first saw her; Brandi was a newborn. The lack of biological connection was never a factor. When you open your heart to a child, … Read More

And another good cause…

Press release from the Kinkaid Foundation, San Francisco: “On November 14th, beloved member of the Bay Area music community Michelle McFee underwent radical cancer surgery in San Francisco. From her early days as a Pegasus poet through her years working with the New Riders of the Purple Sage and into today, Michelle has been a constant in Bay Area music … Read More

For a good cause…

Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Name of the Wind, is doing a fundraiser for the Heifer Project, an effort to provide people in third-world countries with both livestock and the training to care for them as a renewable resource. Lots of authors have contributed various things for auction, including me: I donated this premiere issue of Spectra Pulse magazine signed … Read More

Reunions, part 1

This past weekend I took the Mater Familias and the C-in-C back to Tennessee to visit his grandmother, and a bunch of my old friends. We tried a visit when the baby was six weeks old, but in the time (10 hours) it took us to drive there, Mom got sick with something contagious, so we essentially had time to … Read More