or, How Netflix’s Wednesday isn’t like the other Addams Family stories. Preface: I ADORE the Addams family. I always have. Even as a child, I loved the Addams family (and spurned the Munsters). And I was still a teenager when I discovered the darkly morbid comics of Charles Addams, the cartoonist who created the characters who would eventually bear his name. (Fun fact: the original cartoon…

(Or, creating a book using Agile, part 2) So I meant to get this out at the beginning of the sprint… Instead, I’m coming in at the end. That’s fine. Mostly. Wait, do you know what I mean by sprint? Some of you will, but for the others… In Agile, work is typically grouped into what’s called a ‘sprint.’ Now you may be familiar with the term ‘sprint’ as a short Pomodoro-esque writing session,…

Earlier this year, I was asked to take part in the Read for Pixels fundraiser, which benefits The Pixel Project. The name “The Pixel Project” might make you inclined to think it’s about video games, but no. The Pixel Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to stopping violence against women. I am rather automatically predisposed toward the cause: mostly because I’ve been the victim of…

(Or: How I start a novel, Agile-style.) So as I am hitting the ‘send’ button on sending two manuscripts off to my agent, I am naturally planning my next book. As one does. And I thought it might be interesting, if not helpful, to go over what I do and why. Because at heart, I will always be a project manager. I have to do this because I have ADHD. However, long before I was diagnosed with…

Yes, I’ll be in Dublin in just over a week!

So a few quick notes about when and where you can expect to find me:

Format: Panel

16 Aug 2019, Friday 18:00 – 18:50, Wicklow Hall-1 (CCD)

Grimdark is a fantasy subgenre defined, amongst other things, by its cynical outlook and flawed protagonists. The term was originally pejorative, stemming from the Warhammer…

One of the things I’ve learned about the publishing process is that very often you cannot talk about your triumphs until months or even years later. Contracts might be signed, but announcements happen on a strict schedule. This business moves slowly…right up until it doesn’t.

Or, to put this more bluntly: The Ruin of Kings has been optioned to become a TV series.

But…what does that mean,…

Last year this article started making the rounds on facebook and social media. Various other sources have picked it up because…well go on, read it. It’s amazing, isn’t it? The core idea is like Lord of the Flies with knowledge instead of blood as the punchline. They took one thousand tablet PCs, still in boxes, dropped them off at two villages, and left. No instructions. No lesson plans.

T…

I’m not usually one for affirmations, but this. Every time I doubt myself: this.

I’ve finished the first draft of Blood Chimera. Once I’m finished with the first draft proofing and removing of all that passive voice (god oh god, why is it so damn easy for me to write in passive voice?) I’ll send the manuscript out for beta reading and, hopefully, walk away from it for a while. While people…

For the last year, pretty much coinciding with my determination to make this writing thing really happen, the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America has been embroiled with multiple strings of ugly controversies involving sexism, racism and the unfortunate growing pains of a changing marketplace and industry. Full disclosure: currently, I can’t join SFWA. I am an outsider, and I’ve never…

Okay, so let’s talk about “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” the new Guy Ritchie movie. (Hint: That means there are spoilers below.) First, you should know that I am a bit of a King Arthur nerd. Not so much that I have a degree in it or anything, but enough that one of my most cherished possessions is a several hundred year old copy of Le Mort d’Arthur. King Arthur references (some subtle, some…

While this won’t be much of a surprised to the more experience, time moves slowly in the publishing world.

Right up until time moves fast.

And that was last month. A few weeks ago I signed with an agent, and I assumed–given the time it’s taken to get to this point, the yearsof work–that it would probably be months before I had any real news, that it would be a slow but steady knocking on doors as…

So I turned myself to face me But I’ve never caught a glimpse Of how the others must see the faker I’m much too fast to take that test.

-Changes, David Bowie

Now that I’ve talked about how you shouldn’t try to make everyone happy, let’s talk for a minute about criticism. Now, I don’t mean reviews, although certainly reviews may contain criticism. Usually reviews are just critical, which isn’t the…