I have a confession to make. I’ve probably seen more movies based on classics than classics I’ve actually read. But now I’m hoping to change that. Recently, Audible.com featured a list of free classics for those who have downloaded the free Kindle counterparts. I capitalized on the opportunity and grabbed as many of the free classics as I could (unfortunately, not all of them on the list are still free, but some may still be). Why did I gravitate to this list of free audio classics? For one, I love freebies. (For those of you who know me on Facebook, you’ve probably seen my “Free Kindle Book” posts. I love getting freebies, and I love sharing them.) For two, the list features a number of classics I’ve certainly heard of (Uncle Tom’s Cabin, for example), but few of them I’ve actually read. (I did get through Vanity Fair in high school but…
Read more
A while back, several fans responded to a query on my Facebook author page about what I should write about at my blog. One response was: What do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors? Narrowing down the list is very difficult, because I frankly love to read so much (from suspense fiction to history to devotional books to young adult). But in my estimation a few novels/authors stand above the rest. Keep in mind that I’m starting with childhood and that I had a very active imagination then (still do). The one novel that probably made the biggest impression on me when I was a kid was A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L’Engle, which I’ve read at least twice. Up to that point, it was simply the most enthralling novel I had ever read. While reading this novel, I officially fell in love with books, and the love has…
Read more
“How can I get started in novel writing?” Someone recently asked me this question, and my mind swam with a myriad of thoughts and questions. Such an elementary question forced me to stomp on my mental brakes and flash back about thirty years to the days when I filled notebooks with all sorts of strange tales with my childlike, loopy handwriting. What the questioner really wanted to know was, How can I publish novels? But the answer to that question—and what a big question it is—is only part of the journey. So let’s start at the beginning. Before anyone should seriously pursue novel publication in any formal sense, I believe he or she should first ask the following five questions: 1. Do I love fiction? To be a great writer of fiction, you must first be a great lover of it. I firmly believe that. You’ll need extraordinary perseverance not…
Read more
When I look back at my childhood and evaluate what ignited the first spark of interest in writing mystery/suspense fiction, Hardy Boys books come to mind. In fact, for quite a while, those hardcover books were practically an obsession for me. They are so closely connected to the biggest joys of my childhood that I can’t even look at one without a lump forming in my throat. During the seventies I found them at Toys “R” Us and our Hudson’s department store for $2.50 each. I’d save up my allowance from weeding the garden and study the list of books inside the back cover, wanting to buy just the right one. I was never disappointed. I remember lying on my back at one end of our pop-up camper, engrossed in the latest caper. There I’d read for hours. Lost in another world. Trying to guess what the ending might be.…
Read more
