My week at Blue Heaven (and my conversations with the smart people there) gave me renewed energy for ebooks. I decided to finally put two of my humorous YA short stories online, and to re-cover my first novel, JADE TIGER, so it reads more clearly as romantic suspense. As soon as I have a few more hours, I’ll sign up with Smashwords and get these up on the remaining platforms. Angst in D...
Yes, I did just use “haiku” as a verb and I promise you, things are only going to go downhill from there. (Warning: Real poets may wish to avert their eyes.) A few years ago, I wrote a post for SF Novelists called “Novel Haiku” where I suggested the game of summarizing one’s novel in the form of a haiku. Back in 2008, I described my novels like this, and shockingly...
I’m a member of SF Novelists, a group of new and established science fiction and fantasy novelists. We’ve just put together our first novel sampler, and it’s available for FREE. Please share the file with anyone you want. Although many people helped put this project together, I had the honor of designing the cover in my guise as Head Tiger of Tiger Bright Studios. Hope you like...
It took me a couple of weeks to figure out formatting and cover issues, but I finally got my first novel, JADE TIGER, up on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and GoodReads as an eBook. (Other formats may come later.) As for covers, I decided on two versions and am planning to try more as I go — it’s fairly easy to change them, and I’d like to see if some designs fare better than...
I haven’t done a lot of interviews about my first novel, JADE TIGER, so when the amazing Tiffany Trent (a kung fu* writer and fellow martial artist) asked me to answer a few questions about the book, I leaped at the chance. (“You want me to talk about writing and martial arts at the same time? Um. YES!”) Head over to Tiffany’s blog for the interview, and make sure to enter...
I’ve only written two novels, so perhaps it’s a bit premature to talk about methodology when I’m still in the process of forming mine. Then again, talking about the process helps me figure it out. You can read as many articles and blogs as you want, but you’ve got to find what works for you. As Bruce Lee said about studying martial arts (paraphrased), “Take what is...
I’m compiling a list of reviews for JADE TIGER, and have run into an ethical snag. I understand that it’s normal to pick and choose the most positive comments from a review. I have no problem doing that when the review is overwhelmingly positive. But when the review is more 50/50 good and bad, it seems icky to quote just the good bits. “Fast-paced writing” sounds great...
Jade Tiger is now available on Fictionwise! I believe this is my first piece of fiction available in that format. My favorite part is all the reviews quoted in the listing — some of which I hadn’t seen before. (I was late in getting on the Google Alerts bandwagon.) Speaking of ebooks, I’ve been rethinking my book-buying habits lately. I live in a tiny condo, and my book shelves...
My kempo school had a version of the 5 Shaolin Animals that ended up in Jade Tiger because — hey! — I hadn’t even studied kung fu when I wrote it. Tonight, we reviewed the aspects that my current school associates with each animal, and I feel the need to put them into a chart. (Keep in mind, other kung fu and kempo schools will have other interpretations.) White Lotus Kung Fu...
I’ve been out of sorts for the last two weeks, and yesterday I finally figured out why: I miss my novel. I miss my characters. I didn’t go through this phase much with Jade Tiger back in 2003 because a family tragedy pretty much consumed my life for months after I finished. The post-novel blues are vastly preferable to that nightmare, but unexpectedly powerful in their own right. I...
Because I could not bear the thought of the excess JADE TIGER stock heading to the garbage, I am now the proud owner of more copies of my book than I could ever want or need. Yes. That is an entire pallet of boxes containing JADE TIGER. Marvel at its glory! So now, here’s what I need: A list of places that accept book donations for this kind of book. (Most places I looked at want...
The first of the month can only mean one thing: a new post at SF Novelists! (Okay, it can mean lots of things, but that’s what it means right now.) Today’s post is Novel Haiku, inspired by TA Pratt’s brilliant April Fool’s Day entry. It’s a short entry, so go read it! Back now? If you don’t feel like posting over there, please feel free to post here. I’d...
One of the tasks I find most challenging when writing a novel is changing the time scale. So far in Above World, only a few minutes or a few hours pass during each chapter. The shortest chapter details the events of five minutes or so, while the longest might cover half a day. I try to keep the immediacy, to stay close inside my PoV characters’ heads. However, I’ve just reached an...