Month: August 2014

In honor of National College Colors Day – here’s the story of how I became a Jumbo. A few days after my high school graduation, a family friend delivered a beautiful box to my home. The box was large, and wrapped in lovely paper, adorned with ribbons and a bow–and best of all, my name was on the card. “A graduation gift!” the family friend exclaimed. “Something to help you settle in when you arrive at college.” She didn’t have time to stay while I opened the present, but I didn’t waste any time when she had gone. The box contained two lovely (and

  Ninjas are famous for climbing walls with the ease and grace of a spider. According to legend, ninjas could scale even impossibly high, completely polished surfaces with ease. Some myths even claimed they could fly. In reality, ninjas were highly trained assassins and spies–not supernatural beings with magical skills. They couldn’t fly, but they did possess the ability to scale walls that would stop most people, partly due to a set of metal claws called shuko (or, sometimes, shinobi shuko–since shinobi is the more traditional Japanese word for “ninja”). Traditionally, shuko were made of metal. They consisted of metal bands (or occasionally,

In this, the last week before the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Colorado Gold conference, my Wednesday post points over to the RMFW Blog, and my post there about negotiation. Negotiation is NOT A Four-Letter Word. The concept is simple: negotiation doesn’t have to be “zero-sum” – a philosophy that says “when I win a point, you lose” (and vice versa). When building a long-term relationship, you’re better to negotiate from a mutual benefit perspective. For tips on how to do that, click the link and read on. Or, if you’re not into clicking the link, here’s a photo of Ceti as

I’m posting this in honor of some writer friends whose debut novels will soon head out on submission to publishing houses — and for everyone else who could use a reminder that none of us is as alone as it may seem.

Authors often build platform, audience, and recognition through articles and guest blogging. Freelance articles, written either “for exposure” or for pay, need to be written pursuant to contracts that specify publication terms, copyright status, and other important information. Guest blogs are normally written by verbal or email agreement (without a separate contract). This is fine, as long as both parties understand and agree upon the basic terms that govern the guest post. Let’s look at a few principles authors should pay attention to when writing guest posts for blogs: 1. Maintain Ownership of Your Content. Make sure it’s clear that the guest post (and