If you want to be a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, or anything outside the humanities field, chances are you'll benefit from a college degree. But woe to you whose heart is set on becoming an author, a musician, a visual artist, or any pursuit whose area of study depends on an arbitrary grading system... Continue Reading →
While I love the idea-driven, philosophically oriented science fiction authors of the 50s and '60s, the likes of which include Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clark, Philip K. Dick, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, and Isaac Asimov---I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed by the first in Asimov's Foundation series. I truly, truly wanted to love... Continue Reading →
It's sad that social media always appeals to our basest instincts. It's why YouTubers make millions---YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!!---and why Amazon authors find success writing ENF (Embarrassed Naked Female), harem, and dinosaur erotica. Unfortunately, my readers have fallen into the same trap with my latest book, The Feral Girl, but in reverse. They buy... Continue Reading →
No matter how advanced artificial intelligence becomes---even after a thousand years of quantum computing---novels written by AI will never be worth anyone's time because fiction isn't a math problem to be solved. Storytelling is the greatest form of human expression. It's how we share our lived experiences, our fears, our pain, our aspirations. But a... Continue Reading →
What can I say about this book that hasn't already been said? Harper Lee's masterpiece and only true novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, has been analyzed to death by critics and is quintessential reading for any middle school English class. How Lee manages to write with such pathos, conviction, and storytelling skill without ever having... Continue Reading →
FINALLY!!! After a three-year-long wait, the short video I asked my daughter to help me produce is complete! "The King's Sacrifice" is based on the fairytale intro that appears at the novel's start. All of the art was done by Jasmine (save for the tower and the map), who has greatly improved since she started... Continue Reading →
Writing is hard and storytelling is even harder. It is a fool's errand paved with heartache and disappointment and oddly placed metaphors. So, if you're dreaming big, wanting to see your name appear at Barnes & Noble next to the big shots of the literary world, do yourself a favor and step away from the... Continue Reading →
I am going to try and keep this short and to the point, so forgive my rant, but I am furious at the moment because Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Amazon have all pretty much shat over my name. By mere association, my work of twenty years has been chucked into the junk bin of... Continue Reading →
"The book was better" always gets thrown around when readers compare a movie to its novel counterpart. And I admit that, with few exceptions, the novel version is superior. The reasons for this are many. Transitioning a story from one medium to another is often like translating a pun into another language. What works in... Continue Reading →
I finally got around to reading one of this generation's most beloved and successful fantasy authors: Brandon Sanderson. Is the guy all he's cracked up to be, at least judging by his debut novel, Mistborn? While I found much of the book a bit too formulaic for my tastes—we are treated, yet again, to another... Continue Reading →
The Art of Storytelling 
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