News

OVERLOAD FLUX - Award Finalist

Overload Flux is an Award Finalist (Hooray for Me!) Thanks to the reader judges for selecting Overload Flux (A Central Galactic Concordance Novel) as a finalist for the Readers’ Crown 2015 Award in the Science Fiction/Fantasy/Time Travel category. I’m in with some pretty high-powered talent, so it really is an honor to be nominated. The […]

Galactic News Trends

Galactic News Trends Or, What I’ve Been Up to that I Haven’t Been Around Much Galactic news trends, in the Central Galactic Concordance universe, are the trending news topics that everyone in the civilized galaxy is talking about. Because it’s my universe, I can pretend that it’s news that a Certain Author disappeared from her […]

Buy Ebooks at Your Local Independent Bookstore

Now You Can Buy Ebooks AND Support Your Local Independent Bookstore Most people still read paper-based books, but the number of ebooks read is growing every year, and the number of people who say they mostly buy ebooks also growing. I heard a recent statistic that says 75% of book sales are for paper/hardbound. In […]

Science Fiction Romance Recommendations

I was having a conversation-by-post with another science fiction romance (SFR) author, Pauline Baird Jones, and we agreed we’re readers as well as writers, and like to recommend books to our friends. I especially like recommending SFR books to my friends because I’d like our relatively new little corner of the genre universe to take […]

This Is Me, Among Big-Name Authors

Me, Quoted in a National Newspaper I’m sure some readers of this blog are used to publicity and seeing their names in the paper, but I’m not, so I’m feeling pretty good about being quoted in the “Happily Ever After” column of USA Today. I know, that and $5 gets me a nice chai tea […]

Overload Flux Wins a 2015 SFR Galaxy Award

Just a short post to announce that Overload Flux (A Central Galactic Concordance Novel) has won a 2015 SFR Galaxy Award  for “Best Difficult Courtship: How two very different people make it work.” Overload Flux shares the spotlight with some great books, so I’m honored to be in such illustrious company. If you love science fiction romance, […]

Hooray for Holopticon: "Retro SF Comedy"

Hooray for Holopticon, my first book, is a “retro science fiction comedy.” My co-author and I bill it that way because it was written when we both had a summer free, with no plans for vacations or weddings or vacation trips or the like. If you read the description, you’ll get a hint that the afore-mentioned free […]

5-Star Review for Overload Flux

Thanks to Lexie Hamilton at her delightfully named “Poisoned Rationality” blog for the nice 5-star review of Overload Flux. It’s a wonderful feeling for an author to know other people like your work and want to read more. 🙂 “…I look forward to there being more books in this universe – while things wrap up […]

Plans for 2015

If you subscribe to my newsletter, you’ll already know some of this, but I thought I’d share my plans for 2015 a more public venue. Also, it’s self-motivational, in that I’d like to keep my promises. The Central Galactic Concordance Series Some readers have been kind enough to ask what’s next in the Central Galactic […]

Read More SF Romance

Why You Should Read More Science Fiction Romance in 2015 Five reasons you should read more science fiction romance (SFR) in 2015. For those new to the term, in my book (oh look, humor!), SFR balances plot threads involving futuristic technology and the growth of the emotional relationship between the main characters.* It also has to have […]

Fiction Categories and Keywords

Thoughts About Fiction Categories and Keywords We humans love patterns – they’re a time saver, so we don’t have to make the same decision each time we come across something new.  “Look at that big tawny cat,” thought a dimwitted ancestor, “I saw one pounce on and eat a gazelle last month. I’m not a […]

Character Flaws vs. Flawed Characters in Romance Writing

On Writing Romance: Character Flaws vs. Flawed Characters Pet Peeves, Round 2This is another in my “reader’s pet peeves” series, primarily in the romance genre. (In case you missed it, here was my previous post on pet peeves.) I’m rather annoyed by impossibly beautiful heroines/heroes who don’t know they’re beautiful, and successful people who don’t […]

Overload Flux Released!

Overload Flux (A Central Galactic Concordance Novel) is available today at an e-tailer near you: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and (soon) iTunes. It’s a science fiction-action-romance novel with mystery, adventure, corrupt pharma companies, fights, space battles, and strong characters to root for. It’s also the start of a new series.   By the way, pretending […]

On Cover Design for Fiction Novels, Part 1

This is a two-part post written primarily for other independent authors on cover design for fiction novels, with personal opinions and experience galore. There’s a lot to cover (heh!), so let’s dive right in. Great Cover Design Sells Books Fiction covers, experts will tell you, will make or break a sale before the reader even […]

Pet Peeves About Romance Novels

Pet Peeves About Romance Novels There are things that drive me crazy about romance novels these days. When I was ready (OK, driven) to write a science fiction/action series that starts with Overload Flux, it came to me, as I outlined the story arc, that all the planned novels involve romantic elements. Along with science fiction, action, […]