Ghostwriting: I won’t do it…

Recently, I was approached by someone to become a ghostwriter for their adult thriller novel. Mixed emotions ran through my system. The initial inquiry was heartfelt with a story of a friend who had recently passed away, resulting in the writer struggling to get her mojo back. I did sympathize, but the fundamental tenants behind ghostwriting to me are just wrong.Read More

There is no such thing as an aspiring writer…

There is a term that I have seen bandied around in the bios of various writers, and it’s a term that I don’t like: aspiring writer.

What I don’t understand is how one can aspire to be a writer. You can aspire to be an author. You can aspire to quit your day job to become a full-time writer. You can aspire to share your writing with the world. But aspire to be a writer?Read More

The Perfect Gift for a Writer: A Dictionary

As the title suggests, I recently received the perfect gift that any writer could get: a dictionary. But this was not just any dictionary. This was a copy of The Compact Oxford English Dictionary.

Big whoop, I hear some of you say. Well, actually, it is.

The Oxford English Dictionary (2nd Edition) is a 20-volume beast. No joke. Published in 1989, it clocked in at 21,728 pages. And that doesn’t include all the supplement materials that have since been added. The 3rd Edition is still in production and is not expected to be published until 2037. I hate to think how big the Oxford English Dictionary will be by then.Read More

Kiwi in US Writing Market

I had originally written this post for a site called EpicFantasy.org. However, since the post went live back on April 25, 2016, the site has gone down. As such, I’ve decided to include the post here on my personal blog instead. So here goes:

Kiwi in US Writing Market

New Zealand… Aotearoa, as the native Maori call it — the land of the long white cloud. It’s a country filled with majestic beauty: a mountain range that spans the length of half the country; volcanic lakes and desert terrain; beaches within a few short minutes drive of any major metropolis; secluded forest bush that takes you back in time; and farmland everywhere you turn. Many settlements could be frozen in time, and with the exception of the cars driving down the street, you would never know that you were in the 21st century. New Zealand has become the film industry’s location of choice with many historic and fantasy blockbusters filmed here, including The Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, and the epic drama The Last Samurai. (Sorry to burst the bubble, people, but the images of Mount Fuji in that film were actually of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont.)Read More

Writing helps sooth the savage beast…

There are many psychologists out there that will gladly tell you that art, in its varied forms, is a great therapeutic tool. Drawing is often used with children to help them deal with whatever is troubling them, helping them to express their thoughts on paper, albeit in a cryptic fashion.

Writing  is like that for me.Read More