Two of my favorite musical things: Acapella vocals and solo Cello.
Pentatonix is an incredible group.
Fun Fridays – March 14, 2014
Blog
Who Are You Hanging Out With?
During a recent television program, realization struck. I didn’t like anyone on the screen. So why was I spending time with them? I don’t think I’ll be returning to that program soon. When you are writing a story, you are asking your reader to hang out with your characters. For a very long time. Will they want to do that? Granted, you’ll be providing drama and conflict. For …
Two Important Ingredients for Success
I’ll never forget the day, just after church, when a friend pulled me aside and said, “My son can’t find a job and he needs to make some money fast. So he’s going to write a book. Any advice for him?” Yeah, well, the advice I had wasn’t for him, it was for her: “Don’t ever say anything like that to me again.” Whatever gave people the impression that writing was a get-rich quick …
How to Be A Publisher’s Favorite Author
Three years ago, Seth Godin published his book Linchpin. Since I follow Seth’s books and blog as a personal and professional challenge, I read it and was inspired by it’s concepts. In it, Godin speaks about some of the new realities in business relationships. There used to be management and those who were managed. But now, he says, there is a third group…linchpins. These are people who make …
Fun Fridays – March 7, 2014
This is a vision of what New York City is really like. Agree or disagree?
One of our kids lives in Manhattan and was too nice to be chosen to be an extra in this video...thank goodness.
An Atypical Time in an Agent’s Life
I have enjoyed reading various “typical day” posts lately on other blogs, so I thought instead of sharing a typical day, I’d share an atypical month: Sad News for Us My father-in-law, a Baptist minister, passed away at age 89 after two strokes. While our family is sad to lose him, his funeral was a celebration of his life. Snow, Snow Everywhere! I realize snowfall in Virginia is …
The Pessimist’s Guide to Things That Will Never Work
This is the first in a three-part series on attitudes toward work, specifically for people in publishing.
Today, I am writing about pessimism. If there were a book glorifying its virtues, it would be the title above. It would be a thousand pages long with an updated and expanded edition published annually.
Full disclosure…I became a baseball fan of the Chicago Cubs in 1966, a year when …
Did You Feel the Tremor in the Industry Last Week?
by Steve Laube
I know what it is like to feel the earth move under my feet having experienced the '64 Alaska earthquake firsthand. (The above picture is from the neighborhood where we lived called Turnagain Arm.) Therefore I know the difference between a 9.2 Richter scale quake and a tremor that registers near 2.0 on the scale.
Last Thursday Amazon announced they were reducing the royalty …
Fun Fridays – February 28, 2014
"Thunderstruck" by 2Cellos.
Re-imagine something and turn it into something of your own. Great artists and Great writers do this every day.
Who knew AC/DC could ever sound like this?
How Much Back Story?
Sometimes in my review of a novel, I find that the story doesn't pick up soon enough. I'm not sure what I'll be reading about and my interest may lag, though I can still eye great writing.
"But I wanted my readers to know about my characters," the author may protest.
Understandable, indeed.
However, I believe it's important to lay out the basic conflicts for the reader early on so she'll …