S.W. Clemens's Blog, page 4

FEELING LUCKY?

Are you feeling lucky? Through August 30th I’ll be running a SWEEPSTAKES. The winner, chosen at random, will receive a Kindle Paperwhite eReader ($120 value) pre-loaded with two of my novels. Why would I give away a Kindle? Because it will give me the opportunity to interact with people who show an interest in reading, […]

Lincoln in the Bardo

I’ve read 29 books so far this year, and just finished George Saunders’ Man Booker Prize Winner Lincoln in the Bardo. My personal view is that Lincoln in the Bardo isn’t so much a novel as a play in novel-like form. I expect to see it on Broadway in two or three years. It’s really a very short […]

Evelyn Marsh on Sale

EVELYN MARSH on sale three more days.  

The Way We Get Ideas onto the Written Page

I don’t know if the medium is the message as Marshall McLuhan so famously declared, but it certainly changes the way the message is composed. I learned cursive in fifth and sixth grade. My handwriting was and is almost unintelligible by anyone but myself. My teachers complained. During the summer between elementary school and junior […]

Evelyn Marsh audiobook

My novel EVELYN MARSH has just been released in audio format, narrated by Susanna Burney and engineered by Eric Eagle in Seattle, Washington. Susanna does a great job of capturing Evelyn’s voice and bringing the story to life. Why an audiobook? As the saying goes, “So many books, so little time.” I’ve been a big […]

Seal Cove, a work in progress

SEAL COVE I’m currently working on an ensemble piece set in the small coastal town of Seal Cove in Northern California. Seal Cove is a fictionalized version of Moss Beach, where I’ve lived most of my life, combined with neighboring Princeton by the Sea at Pillar Point Harbor, and perhaps a few touches of Del […]

The People in My Head

Reading books allows you to live life through another’s eyes. So does writing books. As a result I’ll never write a story about social injustice, or hopelessness. It would make me too depressed. There are plenty of things in this world that inspire outrage, or anger, or pity, or disgust. If you read a book […]

Enter to Win a Goodreads Book Giveaway

In this era of unconstrained publishing, many authors give away their work for free. In principal I’m against the practice. I know of no other profession where the creator is expected to work for free. The average cost of my books runs to less than a penny a page, which I consider a bargain. Nonetheless, […]

Beginning a New Tale

The usual question a stranger will ask after finding out I write fiction is, “Where do you get your stories?” There is no singular answer. Each story has its own genesis. I always see the beginning and the ending clearly. The middle part is always nebulous and takes a while to flesh out. I wrote […]

Private Musings

This is my 17th blog entry, and as far as I can tell none of previous 16 have been read by anyone. So I’m going to assume this is a place for my private musings. I’ll imagine a reader coming across these posts after I’m dead, so if you’re that person you’ll be privy to […]