Tanna Tully, aka the Firefly Witch, was my first continuing character. I had the term “firefly witch” banging around in my head ever since I first learned that witchcraft was actually religion called Wicca. That would’ve been sometime in the 80s, but it wasn’t until the 90s that I tried to create a character around the idea. Because she … Read More
Who are the honorary Tufas?
How does one become an honorary Tufa, you may wonder? The criteria is really pretty simple. You must have a song that you’ve written quoted (with your permission, of course) in a Tufa story. So far, there are three honorary Tufas. The first was Jennifer Goree. You can find out more about Jennifer and her connection to the Tufa here, … Read More
The origin of character names: Eddie LaCrosse
One of the most common questions I get from fantasy fans is, “Why is your hero named ‘Eddie’?” Naming characters, especially the main characters of continuing series, is an art far more than a science. For example, one of my favorite characters, Robert B. Parker’s Spenser, has a first name, but in the 40 books Parker wrote (and who knows … Read More
The apocryphal soundtracks to some of my books
It’s no secret that music is a big part of many of my novels, from inspiring the titles to influencing the plots to being part of the story itself. I’m not alone in this, I’m sure. Recently my friends at Facebook’s Heroic Fiction League, Nathan Long and John R. Fultz, posted “playlists” of YouTube videos, songs that either their heroes … Read More
New Short Story (and interview) at Apex Magazine
My short story, “Sprig,” is now available at Apex Magazine. There’s also a fairly long interview. Check it out, and if you like it, leave comments at the magazine site.
Five Great Movies About Writers
Writers aren’t that exciting to be around when we’re working. What we do–staring into space, muttering to ourselves, typing then backspacing and typing some more–isn’t exactly dynamic. It might be why there are so few good movies about writers actually writing. That doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of good movies with writer characters in them; that’s fairly common. But … Read More
Writers Day #4
This is the fourth of a series of videos showing how a typical writer (i.e., me) works through the day. This one is about research, something you can often do when real life intrudes on your actual writing time. [divider] [media url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRt9r6s-Xzw”]
Ain’t No Cure: vampirism as disease
(October, the month of Halloween, conjures one name in our household: Dracula! This is the third of a series of posts on various aspects of Dracula and vampires in general. I’ll be giving away a two-pack of my own vampire novels Blood Groove and The Girls with Games of Blood to one lucky commenter per post, so comment early, comment often!) Richard Matheson, among … Read More
Did Orson Welles make Dracula romantic?
(October, the month of Halloween, conjures one name in our household: Dracula! This is the second of a series of posts on various aspects of Dracula and vampires in general. I’ll be giving away a two-pack of my own vampire novels Blood Groove and The Girls with Games of Blood to one lucky commenter per post, so comment early, comment … Read More
Writer’s Day #3
This is the third of a series of videos showing how a typical writer (i.e., me) works through the day. This one is about revision, and how some writers get nervous talking about fonts on camera. [divider] [media url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCoHqZ-YVh0″]