Below is chapter 1 of my upcoming action thriller The Mechanic. It’ll be the first book in the John Tyler series. A preorder link follows at the end. === “There you go. Line it up and squeeze the trigger.” John Tyler directed his daughter Lexi using the power screwdriver to tighten a bolt. They both lay under a decade-old Honda Accord coupe in desperate need of a new exhaust system. The old one showed more rust than unmarred metal. Tyler…
I’ve had a couple readers reach out to me and ask why the C.T. Ferguson mystery series is ending. Short answer: it’s not. Longer answer: it’s an open-ended series. I just released the fifth book, Daughters and Sons. Amazon displays this is “book 5 of 5.” The reason is because Amazon only knows about five books. I recently sent the draft for the sixth book to my editor. And I have at least plots for the following three. This gets…
Thor: Ragnarok (let’s just call it Thor 3 for short) is raucous, good fun. It features good action scenes, some great images, plenty of laughs, and a story that moves the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) forward. There are some moments where it’s a little too cheeky for its own good, but you can look past them and enjoy the ride. The movie: Fresh from stopping the demon Surtur (voiced by the great Clancy Brown–yes, the guy who is both The Kurrgan and…
I can say I had a six-figure book launch. Yes, the launch of The Reluctant Detective hit six figures . . . if you give me the decimal point and four places after. It’s only been out for two weeks, so I’m not panicking. I didn’t expect to becomes James Patterson overnight. That will take until at least 2019! Further, I didn’t setup any marketing or promotion for the book prior to launch. Why not? It’s the first book in a…
Not every idea germinating in a writer’s mind is a novel. Some are short stories. One that gets trapped between those two is a novella. Novellas don’t get a lot of love. Everyone wants to write novels. Readers want to read novels. Some writers will put out a collection of short stories (which I’ve done). Not many will write novellas. I think there’s some unexplored space here. I think part of the reason we don’t get a lot of novellas…
Yes, I’ve been a little quiet recently. The reason is that we’re moving. Moving always sucks. Even when you contract the heavy lifting to someone else, the process is no fun. We have to move three people, all of whom own a lot of stuff. Some of that stuff will donated, some sold, and some will come with us (to combine with new stuff we’ve bought for this house). While getting new stuff (like a king bed, w00t!) is neat,…
I’ve written a couple reviews recently, and I’ll have more coming in the near-ish future. What I haven’t done recently is write about writing. Today, I want to share some experiences I’ve had working with an editor. This will be an irregular ongoing series, one I’ll add to when I have new or interesting experiences to share. First, I think every independent author should hire a professional editor. No, they don’t work for free, but we also shouldn’t expect them…
Wonder Woman is easily the best movie in the DCEU. Considering the competition, I’m sure you could interpret that as damning with faint praise. It’s not. This movie is great. It’s a shining light in a sea of otherwise dreary and mopey grey. The movie: Young Diana, the princess of the island of Themiscyra, wishes to train with her fellow Amazons. Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) initially refuses, but, as Diana grows into a teenager, tells Antiope (Robin Wright) to train…
Preamble: this movie review, and others you’ll see on this site, will focus on both the movie and the writing. This is, after all, a site about writing by a writer. This review covers the recent movie Logan, the final entry in the Wolverine saga. Yes, I’m lame enough that I missed it in theaters. The movie: Logan is set in 2029. In this dreary future, no mutant have been born in the last 25 years. No longer going by…
No Middle Name collects all the Jack Reacher short stories into one volume. Whatever your opinion of Reacher, this collection won’t change it. I’ve read all the books (and seen both movies), so I like the character. However, I also recognize that he has his faults. Reacher can be pretty pompous and annoying at times, bordering on insufferable in some moments. The good and the occasionally vexing are all in here. The good wins out. I’ll focus more on the…