A Profound Look Back at the Week: October 18-24

Did you know where the phrase ‘fair warning’ comes from? I didn’t but I learned it this week along with other fascinating things such as that we urgently need actual zombies because we can’t even do an apocalypse right.

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A Profound Look Back at the Week: September 20-26

The closer we get to October the happier I normally am. This year there have been interruptions to my growing happiness but I try to be wise about them. After all, many people real-life all the time and not only sporadically like me. It’s all fine, I’m sure and I will have the chance to settle into my usual routine sooner or later. Adulting is okay for a while but not constantly.

A Profound Look Back at the Week: September 13-19

I am an adult. This may be stating the obvious for some but for me it is a declaration I vowed to myself I will make if I survive this week with nothing more than mild damages to my mental health. And I did. I also bought a car.

Books and how to treat them

A librarian friend of mine hurt me deeply this week when she said libraries do something called ‘weeding”, which is exactly what it sounds like — rounding up old, damaged, and unpopular books and — yes, gasp — throwing them away.

The joy of book research

“There is no delusional idea held by the mentally ill which cannot be exceeded in its absurdity by the conviction of fanatics, either individually or en masse.”

One-Style-Fits-All: The Worst Advice Ever

I sent a query the other day and got quickly rejected because the size of my book exceeded their maximum. In addition to this perfectly sense-making reason I also got a list of writing tips to improve my writing. It made me feel extremely bad for about a second.

The Simplest Way to Market Books

Book marketing is tough. I know because I’ve tried it and I’m still trying. The choice of what some like to call marketing tools is stunning. There are also thousands of people ready to help you with what is effectively your war effort — a war on global oblivion of your brilliant work of art. However, there’s a much simpler way.

Two Eyes or a Bestseller

My right eye has been bothering me recently. I think I’m seeing flashes of light at the edges of my peripheral vision and it’s making me nervous, after two years ago an ophthalmologist warned me to watch for the flashes as they could be an early signal of impending doom, also called retinal detachment. No, this is not fiction, sorry.

Writers, Give Me Your Recipes

In a book by one of my favourite crime writers, a secondary character tells the main character — a crime writer — that some of her fans are unhappy with her. Why, the writer asks, is the plots or the characterisation? No, it’s because you mention food a lot in your books but never give the recipes, the secondary character says.

A Profound Look Back at the Week: December 7-13

It has been another week of vaccine and lockdown news, as well as lockdown and vaccine news, and I don’t even want to start on Where the Economy is Going (Any economy. Anywhere) so I won’t. Let’s talk about something more profound.