March 2009

To the Stars

March 30, 2009

Ad Astra was a great time. Huge thanks to the programming coordinators for having me out, and to all the authors, editors and other attendees I met and spent time with. This is my first time in Toronto, and everyone’s made me feel right at home. I learned some important lessons: don’t wear heels you’re [...]

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Word Count and Page Count

March 25, 2009

In standard submission format, what is the usual difference in length of a book in manuscript to printed copy? If I have a hundred pages in Microsoft Word, is it really going to be a hundred pages in print? It’s impossible to say, without actually seeing your layout, what your actual printed-book page count is [...]

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Evil Monkey’s Guide to Kosher Imaginary Animals

March 23, 2009

It’s just a couple short weeks until the start of Passover (the holiday comes early this year: sundown on Wednesday, April 8th). As you’re beginning your holiday preparation, keep a copy of the guide to kosher imaginary animals nearby. It’s hard enough to stick to a restricted diet while on a normal vacation, much less [...]

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Up and coming

March 19, 2009

SOLOMON’S GRAVE is now in print! Congrats to author Daniel Keohane, with whom it was a pleasure to work. You can purchase the book from Amazon.com via the link above, or by clicking on the book cover in my sidebar. The fantastic podiobook NINA KIMBERLY THE MERCILESS will be arriving in print on May 15th. [...]

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Challenging the “future”

March 16, 2009

In one of my posts a while back, I said that when you build your world and your setting, you need to keep your technology consistent or keep it plausible. It doesn’t have to be both, but it must be one or the other. In science fiction, it’s most common for writers to adopt metric [...]

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The Art of the Unspoken

March 12, 2009

Monday I gave you an example of how the things left unseen can be scarier than anything overt that someone else can show you. Today I’ll show you how that applies to your writing, why it so commonly snares writers, and how to be aware of it and use it to your advantage. If you [...]

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The Art of the Unseen

March 9, 2009

Last week, I featured an interview with horror writer Jack Kilborn (also known to his fans and his wife as JA Konrath). After the interview, I mentioned that Kilborn’s book AFRAID perfectly demonstrates one of the key concepts of horror writing: less (description) is more. This week, I want to get a little deeper into [...]

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Be AFRAID of JA Konrath

March 5, 2009

JA Konrath, author of the Lt. Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels thriller series, busts out his “serious horror chops” (says Publishers Weekly) with his new novel: AFRAID, written under the pseudonym Jack Kilborn, debuts March 31st. It’s a pleasure to host a stop along his blog tour. Keep reading to see what JA Konrath has to say [...]

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Put Your Garlic Away

March 2, 2009

Wednesday, March 4th is National Grammar Day, and since what’s meant to be a lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek sort of event is getting all sorts of extreme response, I thought I’d set the record straight, at least as far as this editor is concerned. National Grammar Day was founded by the equally tongue-in-cheek Society for the Promotion [...]

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