Yesterday morning, before work, I took my sealed and signed ballot to the local town hall and dropped it in the official ballot box. It was a clear, crisp (for California) morning. The town hall has a fish pond and the water was mirror still in the early morning hush. This afternoon, I received confirmation from […]
Continue reading
The Alliance of Independent Authors is hosting the Tools & Tech for Indie Authors Conference from October 17th – 18th, 2020. It’s free registration for the 24 hours of the conference and for accessing the recordings in the 48 hours after it closes. Sessions include How to Sell More Books with Bookbub and Write More Books […]
Continue reading
I received my mail-in ballot last week, along with the voter information pamphlets that explain the various propositions we’re voting on and give the candidate statements. I like to spread all the materials out on my dining table. I read over everything, check online with a few trusted news sources if I have questions, then mark […]
Continue reading
I was unable to catch a glimpse of Comet Neowise back in July, but trying to spot it caused me to pay a lot more attention to the night sky. Now, I’m not in the greatest location for star watching. I rent a two-story condo in a small complex and either my neighbors or strategically placed […]
Continue reading
Get a peek into my writer’s brain as I comment on some old plot notes I made on the SSU series back in 2007. The October 2020 edition of my KierDevils newsletter went out on Thursday, October 1st. If you’re a subscriber and don’t see it in your Inbox, please check your Spam or Junk folder. For […]
Continue reading
One of my quirks as a writer is that once I’ve written details into a story, I tend to believe that’s the way it is. For example, in this draft of WAR: Retaliation, there’s a once-in-a-century storm about to hit. The wind is racing through the city. The clouds are roiling overhead. But having a too-dangerous-to-drive-in storm […]
Continue reading
They say that a good writer bleeds onto the page. Figuratively, of course. So, what does it mean when a reader literally leaves blood on the page?Disclaimer: No, this wasn’t some blood sacrifice on my part. I’ve somehow become Queen of the Paper Cuts. I swear that at the office all I have to do is be near […]
Continue reading
Like many Californians during fire season, I’m currently obsessed with the Air Quality Index (AQI). I spend my day constantly checking to see what level we’re at, so I can decide whether it’s safe to talk a walk or whether just running to the grocery store requires an N95 mask to protect against the particulate […]
Continue reading
I’d have moved to Las Vegas. Or returned to West Africa. While we didn’t quite get to the 112F predicted yesterday, we did get up to 109F today. That’s the hottest temperature I remember since moving to California in 1999.To help reduce the heat in my bedroom, which gets the afternoon sun, I went out and bought […]
Continue reading
It’s funny typos time again! The September 2020 edition of my KierDevils newsletter went out on Thursday, September 3rd. If you’re a subscriber and don’t see it in your Inbox, please check your Spam or Junk folder. For Gmail users, it might also be on your Promotions tab. If my emails are consistently ending up in your spam […]
Continue reading
