Stories & Articles
Launching with Kingsley Grant
A few months ago, I was privileged to be a guest on Kingsley Grant's podcast, The Mid-Life Launch. Since then, I've become a fan of the show and consider Kingsley Grant to be a friend. Kingsley is a speaker, a coach and an author and is one of those people that...
James Divine Inspiration
A few months ago, I had the pleasure to hear James Divine speak at a local event called, The Story Project. His speech was emotional, encouraging and inspiring. He and I have had the chance to connect a few times afterwards and I now consider him a friend. I...
The Skill of the Lucky
Some years ago, I was into poker: Texas Hold 'em poker. I got quite good at the game and felt a little cocky about it after a while. I spent lots of time practicing. I spent lots of time reading books like Super System. I frequently played charity-style matches with a...
4 Ways to Tell a Story
Those that know me well, know that I'm not just an author. I'm a designer in my day job. I'm also a photographer, amateur actor and amateur filmmaker. These disciplines might seem diverse on the surface, but in reality, for me, each sprouts from the same part...
Grammar Crimes – Antiprescriptivism
"Antiprescriptivism" yeah, I made up a word. Cuz, know what? That's how the English language works, sukkah! Woah, I'm slummin' it teh keyboardshortcutters. DWI. Last year, Weird Al Yankovic produced a song and video called, Word Crimes. It was funny and I love Weird...
Looking for Beta Readers
ARCs are almost ready! An ARC is an Advanced Reader Copy. In days past, publishers would send out printed copies to a select group of readers to proofread and provide feedback on books before they were published. These days, though, this seems so archaic (and...
I’m a Writer, not a Writer
If you spend enough time around writers, you'll certainly notice that they care a great deal about words, word-smithing, language, grammar, and all sorts of topics concerning "writing well." You'll encounter the aspiring Hemingways and Burkowskis. You know the...
For the Love of Print – E-Books Don’t Yet Rule the World
Since my publishing team and I have decided that self-publishing is the best route for us, I've been speaking with a few people on the subject. Since this is not my first foray into self-publishing, I'm putting together a plan that includes print books. When I speak...
The Surprising Truth About Your Keyboard
Do you know why the keys on a keyboard are laid out the way they are? Conventional wisdom says, "It was designed to slow typists down to prevent the jamming of keys." Oh yeah? Is that really true? If that's true, riddle-me-this: why are 'e' and 'r'--the fourth most...
Five Reasons to Avoid Fiverr – Using Fiverr is Hazardous to Your Health
I've had a few friends, colleagues and acquaintances tell me that they had their media template/logo/book cover designed by someone at Fiverr and I find myself SMH (that's "shaking my head" for the uninitiated). In my opinion, this is a bad idea. Before I dig into...
Celebrate!
All of the "fix it" writing is done. All of my proof-reading is done. All of my self-editing is done. It's time to celebrate. Celebrate! This means that the Sneak Peak will probably be going out this week. This means I'm hiring an editor this week. This means...
Lessons from the Slump – Moving Forward
This past week, I worked to recover from a slump I fell into the previous week. During that "slump week," I felt worn out and I had trouble accomplishing anything. Editing can be exhausting, especially self-editing. All of the work I was "supposed" to...