by mike | Apr 23, 2018 | Adventure fantasy, Death, Fantasy, Guilty Pleasures, Movies, Uncategorized |
The first time I watched the 2011 historical fantasy/adventure film, Season of the Witch—starring Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman—I did so with no preconceived notions. The verdict: okay, I’d seen better movies, and for sure a whole lot worse, but I found it watchable....
by mike | Sep 21, 2017 | Adventure fantasy, Books, Editing, Ghosts, Horror, Native Americans, Research, Thrillers, Uncategorized, Writing |
Many writers find it a challenge to come up with names for their characters. This post first ran in 2013. “Hey Mike, where do you come up with those weird character names and place names in your fantasy and sci-fi novels?” Yeah, I used to get that question, or...
by mike | Jun 1, 2017 | Adventure fantasy, Books, Fantasy, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing |
That was a question I first asked in this 2013 post. The answer to that is a great big YES. At least I do. I’ve been thinking about that a lot in recent months for a specific reason. Let me explain. I just reissued one of my long-ago adventure fantasy novels, The...
by mike | May 8, 2017 | Adventure fantasy, Books, Fantasy, Uncategorized, Writing |
When my daughters were little I used to tell them stories that, for the most part, I made up on the fly. One such fantasy tale was about two teens, brother and sister, who enjoy a simple life in an idyllic land under the protection of Tutors (wizards). When a dark,...
by mike | Apr 6, 2017 | Adventure fantasy, Books, Editing, Publishing, Research, Uncategorized, Writing |
This post from 2013 addresses a major issue for folks who say that they want to write a book. Having been a teacher, coach, editor—and, of course, a novelist—for the past couple of centuries, I have heard it all from wanna-be writers about how difficult it is to make...
by mike | Feb 23, 2017 | Adventure fantasy, Books, Editing, Horror, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing |
Thus ends my three-part series, first presented in 2013, on how writers can engage their readers at the start of their novels. Okay, one more post on how writers engage their readers with a strong opening hook, and then I’ll get back to other important matters, such...
