by mike | Dec 22, 2014 | Books, Movies, Non-Fiction, Uncategorized, Writing |
Over a century ago a British engineer, Col. John Patterson, wrote a book titled, The Man-Eaters of Tsavo and Other East African Adventures. A considerable portion of the book details his experiences in dealing with attacks by two enormous, man-eating lions that...
by mike | Dec 15, 2014 | Books, California, Historical Novels, Myths & Legends, Native Americans, Uncategorized |
The Modoc People, like all Native American tribes, have their own folklore—myths and legends handed down through time. In my historical novel, Stone Woman: Winema and the Modocs, I insert one of these legends at an emotionally charged moment in the (true) story. It is...
by mike | Dec 5, 2014 | Books, Humor, Life, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing |
Dude, you gotta read this book! About a year ago I had the great pleasure of working on The Everweed State (subtitled E Cannabis Unum; how cool is that!) with author Rebecca Baumgartner, who had a good deal of help with research from her husband, Tracy. This...
by mike | Nov 24, 2014 | Books, Editing, Historical Novels, Native Americans, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing |
I managed to nab the URL of mikesirota.com a long time ago, and ever since then it has connected people to my Mike Sirota Writing Services website. That time has come to an end, as I’ve officially retired from coaching writers, and evaluating/editing manuscripts....
by mike | Nov 10, 2014 | Books, California, Historical Novels, Native Americans, Research, Uncategorized |
No, this post is not about a song from Frozen. (Great song, though.) I imagine you all know the old saying that begins, “If you love something, let it go.” Well, that’s exactly what I have just done with a historical novel, titled Stone Woman that—for me—has been a...
by mike | Nov 3, 2014 | Books, Editing, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writers' Conferences, Writing |
Okay, this week I’m going to be a curmudgeon—something that I do quite well, actually. There are organizations, conferences, workshops—whatever—that stress sitting down with your laptops on fire and writing novels just as fast as you can. Write 5,000 words over a...