I have been awarded the Sunshine Blog Award. And now, before we discuss that further, I’m going to–in true Devon style–get all pensive about it. From my hasty research, I conclude that there are two kids of blog awards. The first is backed by some sort of organization of some kind. That can be as…
Me! That’s right, folks. The Paris Book Festival has posted their annual competition results and I have taken an honorable mention in the General Fiction category. Thank you, thank you very much. I would like to thank all you little people who have helped me get where I am… Now, the award will only be…
The Sound and the Fury, written by William Faulkner, the corrected text published by Vintage International in 1984, but originally published in 1928 and (the Appendix) 1946. It is shocking how long it took me to get into this book. I don’t really like to know too much about a book before I read it,…
Well, I suppose that I knew it was coming. Or, in other words, you can’t win them all. As part of my marketing and publicity strategy (I am very new to this), I am entering Benevolent into various book competitions throughout the year and even around the globe. It is the single-most expensive part of…
Time for an April synopsis! Before we get all entertainment here, let’s acknowledge that this was the month I received my first paycheck as a novelist and entrepreneur of Owl and Zebra Press. Createspace, Kindle, and Smashwords (which, between the three, distribute to all my other sales venues) take one, two, or even three months…
I have not been a fantasy fan for very long. It took a daughter who was very into The Chronicles of Narnia and then Harry Potter to change my averting, literary ways. And then I was handed a copy of The Once and Future King. Oh! Where have you been all my life, T. H.…
While growing up with dreams of becoming a career author, I have lived in my head the whole reading at a bookshop thing, countless times. As a reader, I have been to my fair share of book readings. Apparently, most of you have not. Book readings are a traditionally low-attendance affair. Now, I have been…
The Purpose Driven Life: What On Earth Am I Here For?, Expanded and Large Print Edition, by Rick Warren and published in 2002 by Zondervan. Note made in 2020: The term “evangelical” has been changing much, of late, so I doubt that I would now call myself “evangelical.” Please take any use of the term…
Well, since I am starting to read books for review on this blog, I am going to refrain from telling you about that, in the monthly review. There will still be other media and things that cross my path, however. Here are some reviews and things from March. Bernie (movie, 2011 ). We rented this…
Epitome of Copernican Astronomy & Harmonies of the World, by Johannes Kepler, translated by Charles Glenn Wallis, and published in 1995 by Prometheus Books for its Great Mind Series. (The goal was only to read Harmonies, and I read only parts of Epitome, when referenced.) When I ran the randomizer on my list of like…
Launch day. Well, I can first off say I learned way more about the internet today than I ever wanted to know. Other things that happened: I showed up all over my own personal Facebook page as well as on Benevolent‘s, my author page, and Owl and Zebra Press’s, including with a cool tee shirt…
Lately I have heard and re-heard some very old writerly advice. It is this: Read. In other words, if you want to be a good writer, you need to read, and read a lot. Now, I have a little bit of a superstition of sorts about this. Actually, I guess it’s not really a superstition,…
I was just a writer. All I ever wanted to be was a writer and all I ever planned on being was a writer. Even last spring, when I decided it was time to start focusing on the goal. Even last summer, when my aunt and I started Owl and Zebra Press to publish my…
Another holiday, another list of holiday recommendations. So, we’re going to start with the movies, ’cause apparently I have quite a few romantic comedies in my cherished DVD collection. In no particular order, and with no real weeding: Once (2006). One of my all-time faves, but sort of anti-romantic, as far as that goes. Can…
So I have been doing more thinking about how publishing a novel is like having a baby. So much so, that I have come up with yet another very apt connection between the two. I don’t know how many of you have studied or even thought about the phenomenon (it probably has a name, but…
Don’t know if I will continue to let you know what I am reading and make it a tradition, but I thought I would start, anyhow. Here are the books I read in January: Benevolent, like 93 times, and also most of Webster’s New World College Dictionary (3rd edition, 1996), Roget’s 21st Century Thesaurus (1992),…
I have been repressing this blog post, because it’s a little cheesy and may seem too far-fetched for applicability. However, I can restrain myself no longer. Being an author is like being a mom, and the book is your baby. It is. Here’s why. Now no disrespect to moms. They are pretty cool. I’m a…
Things I don’t particularly like about being a writer: Marketing Publicity Talking to people, especially answering questions on the spot (Crotchety!) Not getting paid for long periods of work Tweeting Distractions (from working at home) Not being taken seriously Self doubt Snooty writers and snooty critics Needing a GRE or 12 conferences in Hawaii Editors,…
Occasionally, in the life of a writer, your job demands that you curl up in the fetal position and bawl your eyes out. Maybe it’s only happened to me once, but I’m pretty sure it’s not the last time. You see, because I have only been a part-time writer (and full-time mom with a double-full-time…
About a week ago, my four-year-old son, Eamon, and I were having a conversation about heroes. He did not understand that there is a difference between superheroes and heroes, and began the conversation by stating that there are no real heroes. So I enumerated for him the types of heroes that a four-year-old would understand.…
the starving artist 