I’m not sure what possessed me, seriously. We occasionally take road trips, and maybe I wanted to test my limits. When I was younger I could drive 8-10 hours (with a few breaks) at a stretch, and a recent road trip to Chattanooga surprised me by revealing how easily drivable it was. So when I was asked to visit a remote site for a week to aid in a printer migration (vast herds of HPs and Epsons making their way across the tundra? Yeah, went there) rather than flying like a sensible person, I decided to drive. 983 miles. Probably not a good idea. Took two days, and 6-8 hours on the road is probably my limit these days. So I drove from MS to Lake Eerie in 2 days. Done it once. Probably don’t need to do it again. Continue reading
Spectacle, It Ain’t
It occurs to me—not for the first time, nor with me first—that a writer at work, head down on a project, whatever it is, has to be just about the dullest creature on the planet. Yeah all of us, at once. The single dullest creature. It’s probably some sort of hive-mind effect going on, except for the fact that they’re no communal thought. Separately but altogether making up one really dull creature. Continue reading
Today is the Tomorrow We Worried About Yesterday
Ninth chapter almost done, after a week’s delay while my wife and I went on a long-delayed and much deserved vacation. Ahem. Where was I? Oh, right. Chapter 9, and the realization that, not only is there a Chapter 9, but there will be at least as many more before the story is told. I’m not just talking about the number of words, though it is a subject of concern to me. I’m thinking more about scope and emphasis, and to what extent they truly define what a work of fiction is. Continue reading
Brief Commercial Interruption
With my location and schedule being what it is, I don’t do a lot of signings, but for anyone interested I will be at the Vicksburg Public Library (700 Veto Street, Vicksburg, MS) tomorrow, Saturday, July 27th from Noon to 4PM, signing copies of Southern Haunts along with Alexander Brown, Diane Ward, and possibly more contributors to the anthology. I’ll have copies of several of my own books as well, so if you’re in the neighborhood, stop by.
Also, last week my contributor’s copies to the Clarkesworld, Year 4 compilation 
anthology arrived last week, which includes my story, “Night, in Dark Perfection” in addition to others by a lot of other people, you know, Hugo and Nebula winners and that ilk. Check it out.
It’s Always the First Time
I don’t know who said it first, but it’s been said before and it’s the absolute truth—“I don’t know how to write a novel. I only know how to write the last one.” There’s a lot of Zen in that statement, because the clear implication is, as the Zen masters would say, “It’s always the first time.” It certainly applies here. I’ve written either ten or eleven novels before now. I honestly do not remember the number. I could go to my works list and count them, but the exact number isn’t the point, because this applies whether it’s one novel or a hundred plus. No, the point is that I now know how to write those novels, because I’ve already done them. Which is a very roundabout way of saying that I’m in the process of learning how to write the current novel. By the time I’m done, I’ll have figured it out and, having figured it out, I won’t be doing it again. A tad ironic, yes, but there it is. Continue reading
