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This is the first year of Thursday add-on material for PPWC. I chose Track 3: Giving it Wings (Publicity, Promotion, Marketing). I have mixed feelings about the day. The track itself, I think, was good, sound stuff. We even wrote trial press releases and gave interviews. But I talked myself into listening to the wrong […]

By Billy Collins. The neighbors‘ dog will not stop barking.I close all the windows in the houseand put on a Beethoven symphony full blastbut I can still hear him muffled under the music,barking, barking, barking…

DeAnna– Thanks very much for sending “Fragile,” my way. My assistant editor and I both enjoyed the narrative voice, but overall, the piece isn’t quite what we’re seeking for Farrago’s Wainscot, so we’re going to pass. Best, Darin BradleyFiction Editor Such is the life. However, I will happily take the compliments where I can get

Kate over at KT Literary reviewed 50 first pages over at Miss Snark – it starts here. Here’s what I learned: So far, I see I give people about four-five sentences before I’m bored. Grammar issues are grating. I hate running into a plethora of weird names. Irony is good. I want to start off

I sent my updated query off to Query Shark. Blood! Blood in the water! Blood everywhere! Dear Query Shark, An hour’s drive from Roswell, New Mexico, is a wide spot in the road named Haley. Haley’s famous for two things–Haley Hospital, the best in the state, and a dive called the Caveman Bar and Grill.

…and @#$%^ the @#$% out of them. Today I removed the phrase “rolled his eyes” or similar from Alien Blue seventeen times. I left references to that monstrous dice game twice: Miss Dewey scooted the chair back toward the computer. She poked the power button on the monitor, but not fast enough, so I was

I don’t know if it’s perfect, but this one actually rings true: Loud-mouthed bar owner must convince mayor to ditch an alien fugitive before invaders come to exterminate him and all “contaminated” humans. And there’s beer. I couldn’t get it down to Twitter-level (140 characters) without taking out the beer. To hell with it.

Another iteration of celebrating a holiday for something you don’t believe in, but you do, but you don’t, but who wants to miss out on everything, you know? Is it just for the kids or not? I got the existential; I just ain’t got the angst. We cheerfully dyed eggs on Friday night. I like

Is it “wild hare” or “wild hair”? Even the experts aren’t sure. But I, being of the Bugs Bunny tribe, go with “wild hare” every time.

This has to be my what, seven millionth time rewriting the prologue of Alien Blue? This week: a huge stack of AB edits that I should have addressed already. I pulled them off into their own little pile and saw the first chapter comments for the new book, which I now want to work on,