Sometimes I dread reading a review of my work for fear of what it might contain. No one likes to have their work torn to shreds by a reviewer who had a problem with, or blatantly hated, what you had to offer. Probably the most painful reviews to read are those that are the most…
As a writer, I am more productive now than I have ever been in the past. The reason why I am so productive these days is because I have learned to focus. Staying focused is a daily battle for me, as it is with most people. At any minute of the day, there are always…
Continuing on with this series about some of my non-literary influences, I would like to talk about someone who was a profound influence on me at one time, and that is Bill Hicks. I say one time because as I explained in the last post, I try not to get too influenced by anything or…
In a quest to explore some of the things that have influenced me as a writer over the years–things other than books–I have decided to do a series of posts on some of those influences. Books are only part of the story when it comes to the things that have influenced me as a writer…
The other day, I came across a series of videos recorded by writer and broadcaster, Ira Glass. In the videos, Glass talks about the art and craft of story telling, and hands out quite a bit of advice on writing and the creative process. In one of these videos, Glass talks about the value of…
As a writer of dark fantasy horror, my early influences where always going to be movies. Yes, I have read thousands of books within the dark fantasy and horror genres, many of which have influenced me greatly over the years, but it would be wrong of me to discount the influence certain movies have had…
When I was a kid, I read a lot. I read classic books like Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, the Hardy Boys detective novel series and whatever else I could get my hands on. I loved reading and I loved escaping into the worlds created in those books. When I hit my teens, my reading habit…
Once upon a time in the land of fiction, I found myself captivated by the allure of morally ambiguous characters—those fascinating creatures who lurk in the shadows of good and evil, making every story they grace infinitely more intriguing. Let’s take a moment to appreciate these enigmatic beings who dance on the fine line between…
I used to hate the fact that I was an introvert. When I was a teenager and I would go to parties, I would always end up sitting in some corner, wracked with discomfort, out of place, wishing I could be more like the extroverts in the room. These days, I’m happy not going to…