Let’s kick off October with something scary–every author’s worst nightmare. It’s not that we’re afraid you won’t like what we like; disliking it is fine. What kills authors is if you don’t read our books at all. Think of a great recipe sampled only by one person, a sofa sat on by two or… Continue reading What Every Author Fears the Most
Everyone who has been around violence in an intimate way will tell you this: not everyone can kill. And so in my book What Boys Are Made Of, I decided to ask what would happen if you took someone who couldn’t, and made their first kill both deliberate and a complete accident. Cue chapter one,… Continue reading If You Give a Boy a Gun: The Psychology of Violence, Up Close
Banned Books Week: the week trade publishers who have already made a butt-load off a certain book try to make a little more by pretending to be oppressed. Call me cynical. What is this week? It’s the week we talk about books that regularly get banned from schools, libraries, and even entire towns. Texts… Continue reading Why I Stopped Caring About Banned Books Week
Among those who write, you get some who love starting new manuscripts, adore it beyond anything—the freshness of the prose, the chance to put new words down, the excitement of creating characters. And then there’s the other kind, who hates it beyond anything. I’m in the latter group. It’s never that I’m not looking forward… Continue reading If You’re a Writer, You’re a Gambler
You haven’t heard much about my writing lately. I’ve been concentrating on release stuff—and that makes sense, I’ve had another release! Buzz, buzz, look at my new book, I’m so thrilled to show it to you! Actually, truth be told, by the time you actually have that book, any book, I’m a little sick… Continue reading Not as Done As I Thought
Here it is! All Roads Lead to Hell is hitting bookshelves today! Check out this amazing interview over at The Novel Approach to see some behind-the-scenes action. Lisa: So, speaking of Simon and Connor, let’s pretend I haven’t read the books yet. If I asked you to describe both of these guys to me, what… Continue reading All Roads Lead To Hell is LIVE!
Every book has a back-story, a where-did-it-come-from. Some are obscure, others a crystal clear moment. Some, on the other hand, come from a feeling. An exploration of uncertainty. I promised I’d tell all of you the back-story for why I wrote All Roads Lead to Hell. I’m a little hesitant to, because it’s weirdly personal.… Continue reading That Time My High School Made National News For All the Wrong Reasons: The Backstory of All Roads Lead to Hell
“More showing, less telling” is the battle cry of the the beta reader. But what does it actually mean? First of all, let’s start by saying that showing and telling are both okay techniques when used properly. There’s nothing inherently wrong with either. What’s wrong is using them exclusively. A book entirely told is boring.… Continue reading Show vs. Tell: The Definitive Run-Down
And it’s that wonderful time again, when a new book is heading for release! Book 1.5 of the Saint Flaherty series, All Roads Lead to Hell, is out for preorder on all platforms! Good intentions only go so far. Regretting his decision to let Simon Flaherty leave Buchell without admitting his feelings, Mick Perry follows… Continue reading Cover Reveal and Preorder Details for “All Roads Lead to Hell,” book 1.5 of the Saint Flaherty Series!
Last week I ran a giveaway. I gave away copies of the first book of my series. I gave away a thousand of them in exchange for people signing up for my newsletter. A thousand books! That’s more than I’ve sold. And now a thousand people are, I hope, reading What Boys Are Made Of. Maybe they’ll… Continue reading It’s Not Flattery, It’s Blood-Sucking Theft.
Under-Paid, Over-Enthused 