What does an adventurous writer do when the city where he lives is socked by the blizzard of the half-century? He documents the whole thing! I’ve taken some photos and videos of Snowmageddon 2011 on the North Side of Chicago (Edgewater Beach). … Read the rest
Hi there. Chicago is in the midst of what is possibly the biggest snowstorm in more than a decade.
Fortunately, I’m prepared. Not for the storm, but for the blog today. I spent a lot of last night putting together some sidebar links on Self-Publishing and so I can leave a quick post about it now and get ready to face down Snowmageddon 2011!… Read the rest
Sidebars and Snow! Read More »
It’s been a big week already for Hungry Rats, with two of our biggest events in the last six months breaking over two days.
First, the book has been the subject of front-page Sunday coverage for the Flint Journal, Genesee County’s main newspaper with a readership of almost 230,000. … Read the rest
Hungry Rats in the Flint Journal and the Cleveland Review! Read More »
Unfortunately, some things are inescapable.
If you’ve read a “haunted house” story written in the 52 years since Shirley Jackson’s catastrophically fragile novel, The Haunting of Hill House, came out, then some of its revolutionary appeal is lost to you. … Read the rest
Monday Review: The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson Read More »
“Computer, discontinue program!” — Deanna Troi
So here I was feeling a little lazy today and thinking “I really don’t feel like writing a full post,” and Ta-Nehisi Coates, one of my favorite writers at The Atlantic has written an absolutely pertinent short piece on the whole electronic/book fracas and the opportunities it presents. … Read the rest
Ta-Nehisi Coates and the Magic of Electronic Texts Read More »
Check it! I’m going to be doing a reading from my novel Hungry Rats at the best bookstore in Chicago’s Wicker Park!
Quimby’s Bookstore
1854 W. North Ave
Chicago, IL
Saturday, February 5 · 7:00pm – 8:00pm… Read the rest
Hungry Rats Reading at Quimby’s Books in Chicago Read More »
You shouldn’t. Nobody should.
In Greek mythology, the mortal Sisyphus thought he was more clever than the gods. In the afterlife, he was consigned to roll a rock up a hill, only for it to tumble down every time he approached his goal. … Read the rest
“Why Should I Be a Writer?” Read More »
This is the short version. For the super-short version, click here.
POWERFULLY, PERSONALLY, PALPABLY, PROPULSIVELY
SELF-PUBLISHED
There are dozens of blogs out there talking about how you can self-publish, many of them selling a product and dropping popups on your browser.… Read the rest
So About This Self-Publishing Blog! Read More »
The painting is L’ombre de Samuel apparaissant à Saül chez la pythonisse d’Endor by 17th-century painter Salvator Rosa. Rosa inspired dozens of English novelists of the macabre. They, in turn, influenced new generations of Gothicists on both sides of the Atlantic, and the influence wore on through to the early 20th-century avant-garde, to hardboiled detective fiction and noir, to rock and electronic music, and, of course, to Goths.… Read the rest
So… About That Gothic Blog… Read More »
I’m exploring some options for the blog this week, but I want to at least give you something to do while you’re here. So check out this intriguing rendering and discussion of Fonthill Abbey, the white elephant of early Gothic superstar William Beckford.… Read the rest
Blog Under Construction, But Look At This (#1) Read More »