If you want to make a book truly scary, an evil child will send chills up the readers’ spines. In Baby Teeth, Zoje Stage has created a little girl that will give you nightmares. Being a parent is a wonderful experience. Most parents believe they have the perfect child. But children can be scary. Children…
I can still remember the day I hit Amazon’s “publish” button for the first time. Afterward, I told my wife, “If even one person reads this book and likes it, that’ll be enough for me.” That was in November of 2013. I’d just finished my first novel, a one-hundred-ten-thousand-word, year-and-a-half-long project that had been one…
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but it is up to the author to write those thousand words. (Richard Petracca) Will you be the one to write those thousand words? When you look at a picture, do you only see what is right in front of your eyes? Or do you see…
October is National Sarcastic Awareness Month, but people use sarcasm every day of the year. How often are you sarcastic? What is sarcasm? Sarcasm, according to the dictionary, is harsh or bitter derision. It is irony or the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning. When used…
San Francisco was the site of horrible terrorist attack where a contagion was unleashed that turned humans into oil-drooling zombies. At the end of book one, Nathan, who believes himself to be God’s chosen savior to restore control, manages to escape infection and death. Now the race is on to see who will end up…
How contemptible is your character? Is she a blellum? Could she be a buffarilla or a fa-ma-fuff? Would she be smart to marry a fritlag? Not all of these words can be found in today’s dictionaries, so where did I find them? I found them in word books, three of which are listed at the…
The best lie has a nugget of truth. Likewise, the best fictional story has a nugget, or maybe an entire Happy Meal, of reality. Check out any fantasy book, and you’ll find parallels to either present or historical elements. They might be leaders, wars, or social movements. So why is truth stranger than fiction? In…
About ten years ago, Doug visited a hypnotherapist, and while in an altered state, he experienced several past lives. Although I saw the same person, my experience was different: I didn’t experience much of anything. I have always been skeptical of such things, tending more toward the “if I can’t smell it, taste it, eat…
One moment you’re alive in 2018. Then you put on a ring that you feel drawn to. You’re sucked down through the whirlwinds of time, and find yourself in France during the year 1916. You’re in your pajamas with no other clothes, no money, and no means to take care of yourself. What do you…
Who out there doesn’t like to work puzzles? Dr. Frederick Rhineman loves jigsaw puzzles, so he creates a unique one of his own. I’m sure he must have gone to his grave laughing about the string of events his devious plan would set in motion. Dr. Rhineman, a brilliant chemist, claims to have developed a…
