I started listening to a popular writers' podcast this morning, one I have listened to a few times before and enjoyed. Today, however, I had to turn it off after only a couple minutes. One of the writers talked about writing in the first person and how he preferred it to the "30,000 feet view …
Tag: writing

The Headless Victims
Image by Couleur from Pixabay Quick update! The sequel to Headless, No Promises Large Enough is in the final stages. Really! And I have started on the third book of The Ghost and the Mask series, as well as this... The victims of the serial killer who is now known as the Kofu Head Collector* …

Wrong Monsters
Featured image is a snippet of the cover of The Wrong Monster. A quick update on the upcoming picture book, The Wrong Monster by me and Jiyoon Shin. We've been working hard to get this book put together and looking fantastic for the release. And since this is our first picture book, things are taking …

How Will It All End?
Image by DarkWorkX from Pixabay Watching the final season of Game of Thrones this week has me thinking about endings. Often TV shows and book series that have enthralled audiences for several seasons or books have disappointing endings. As a writer, wrapping up your story in a satisfying way can sometimes be a big challenge, …
Storytelling vs. Lying
Some authors like to say that they are professional liars because they make up stories. While this is somewhat humorous, I don't like the implications. In this world where politicians and professionals lie daily about important, sometimes life-threatening or life-altering matters, and with zero remorse or conscience, I don't care to have my craft lumped …
Okay… Here’s an Update
What am I doing? In my journal here, I've started posting Japan-related things that tie-in to my novels, thinking that might interest my readers. But it was nearly crickets on my UFO catcher post last week! Maybe I took a wrong turn. So this week I'm just going to give a quick update on what's …

UFO Catchers
Photo by jpellgen (@1179_jp) on Flickr, Creative Commons, some rights reserved When you think of UFO catchers do you think about James Spader in that movie Alien Hunter from 2003? (which I never saw). Or perhaps the new Roswell, New Mexico TV show (which my nephew stars in, by the way!). Do you imagine people …

Make Your Own Japanese Monsters
Since this is my first post of the year, Happy New Year! Have some sake with the lovely uh...lady above to celebrate. Don't worry, the haradashi is actually a friendly monster! I'm very excited about the year ahead. If all goes as planned, you'll be seeing a few new books from me. But for a quick …

New printing of Headless! What’s changed?
Headless has been out for almost two years now, and it finally has a shiny new cover. And I do mean shiny. This paperback printing is glossy! I think it looks great. Along with the cover, there were some minor changes made to the interior, which are listed below. This is actually the third printing. …

Notes to Myself
A note to myself from the first draft of the Headless sequel, Part 2: Sometimes I've got to get the story out and fill in the fights later. The blacked-out bits are to avoid spoilers. But the fights are something I do enjoy writing very much. Now I get to flesh this particular one out. …