• Challenge,  On Writing

    Great Challenges

    Behind On My Reading… But hope to be caught up this next week. Both novels and short stories. Looking forward to the reading, actually. Just had a few weeks of silly amount of things to do. The Great Challenge for a story-per-week lost two writers this week. They both wrote me and said they would miss. One managed ten stories, the other twelve. Fantastic! Now each of them has $600 in workshop credits as well as the short stories. So now both the novel Great Challenge and the Short Story Great Challenge have openings if you want to jump in. You sign up on Teachable and then let me know…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Amazing Learning Chance

    This Program Is Stunning for Writing and Publishing… I have to admit, when I took off for the university in Gunnison, CO to help Kevin Anderson with his new publishing program there, I was skeptical. I had been around numbers of university writing programs over the years and always left wondering why anyone wastes their time and money. So I went in with shields up and determined to keep my mouth shut about any normal university stupidity and politics because Kevin wanted this to work. Well, boy was I wrong. This program at Gunnison, both the Genre Writing MFA program and Kevin’s MBA Publishing program was amazing. Taught by real…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Great Time in Gunnison

    I am Kevin J. Anderson’s Guest Instructor… Gunnison, Colorado reminds me a lot of McCall, Idaho. Only this place has a university with an amazing publishing and genre fiction program. Kevin runs the publishing master’s program. Amazing program, just amazing, and Kevin might be the most qualified professor on the planet to run a publishing program. His program filled and those students are all smart and focused and nice people. It was fun getting to hang around with them for a few days. I’m headed back to Vegas (about a nine to ten hour drive). So if I have missed an email or not gotten codes to you for workshops,…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Silly Busy

    So Not Much Tonight… Working on the Trademark for Fiction Writers chapters to post here, on some copyright stuff, and having a wonderful dinner with other writers. And not least of all, doing some writing. So all good. Almost afraid to glance at another movie after that ugliness in endings yesterday. That movie really is a prime example why writers need to understand what their readers are expecting and answer the expectation in some fashion. And tonight had a fun discussion about one of the best ending writers to ever write, Zane Grey. My Thunder Mountain series is named after a Zane Grey novel. And I visit the same setting…

  • Challenge,  On Writing

    Wow, What A Bad Ending

    COUNTDOWN… Robert Altman Movie… Book by Hank Searls called “The Pilgrim Project.” Stumbled across it, about an alternate universe when the Soviet Union got ahead of the US in the space race, and sent three men to the moon. So the US rushed one man to the moon. Really bad graphics, but a lot of stars. So along comes the ending. Astronaut sort of panics, lands on the moon, wonders around with only three hours of air left looking for a shelter he was supposed to have landed beside. But we the viewers think he’s going to make it. That is our expectation. He finds the Soviet’s dead cosmonaughts and…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Licensing Transition and August Workshops

    Some New Stuff Up… Including a Pop-Up on how to make publishing and submitting short fiction fun. All the Pop-Ups are still available, without the short story, in the Pop-Up bundles. But first I wanted to say that in the Licensing Transition, which will be going on all year, there are two new videos tonight, making it five so far, and that is just gaining speed. A bunch more by the end of the first month. Also, on the Las Vegas front, the Business Master Class still has some openings. It will be in October here in Las Vegas and you can write me for information. Going to be a…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Trademark Book

    About Three Chapters Done… I wanted to make sure I was going in the right direction before I posted them here. Less confusing to all of you if I don’t have to back up. (grin) So I will do one more chapter, then start posting the chapters will moving forward. Stay tuned. Trademark law is such a strange beast. But while you are waiting, keep learning copyright. Off to start the Business Master Class group list. If you are signed up, expect an invite tonight or tomorrow. And check your spam filter on Sunday before you email me saying you didn’t get the invite. (grin)  

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Space Travelers Bundle Going Away

    Last Few Hours…  Today (Thursday) is it!!! Sector Justice: A Seeders Universe novel is in this one. It stands completely alone. Basically a Star Trek like sf novel with a focus on cool space adventure, romance and some sex. Go figure. (grin) And it is a little longer than my normal novel these days. Kristine Kathryn Rusch put this bundle together and it’s a great bundle with some great books, stories, and writers. You can get it on Storybundle. All these books and anthologies full of stories are worth the read, folks. Just hours left. ————-  

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    A Prolific Problem

    I Spent Many Hours Today Looking For One of My Own Stories… Not kidding. You see, I write so many short stories, no chance I can even begin to remember a small number of them. But today I wanted to put together a brand new Poker Boy collection to premier in a new Storybundle coming out in two weeks. Kris has a brand new novella in it, never seen before as well. So this Storybundle will have Sorcery and Steam themed books in it and I remembered clearly writing a Poker Boy story where a goddess in fighting armor has to deal with Poker Boy. So I wanted that in…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Fun Day and A Bunch of Reading

    Fireworks Were Fun As Well… Kris and I started off the day by working some, then we headed out for a really nice lunch at the Wynn. You know you are eating quality when you can cut calamari easily with a fork and it almost melts in your mouth. Oh, my… Unlike where we lived for the last 23 years, Vegas is not a 4th of July Holiday destination. So streets were pretty calm. We got back from lunch and I headed to the gym for my run/walk. Then I went to work after a great dinner recording the first three videos for the Licensing Transition and getting them up.…