Steven M. Moore's Blog, page 182
July 12, 2013
News and Notices from the Writing Trenches #53…
#292: ISBNs, ASINs, and all that. Amazon doesn’t make it a habit of listing ISBNs for ebooks. In fact, they so dominate the market that many authors are foregoing ISBNs. As far as I know, all my ebooks also have ISBNs, thanks to my wonderful formatter Donna Carrick (a great mystery writer in her own right—see The First Excellence). I encourage all indie writers to get an ISBN for their ebook. These are important for many reasons, but one big one: good stats on book sales provide useful info f...
July 11, 2013
Naming your characters…
I’ve discussed naming characters in other posts to this blog, but today I thought I’d dedicate a whole post to the subject. I probably spend an abnormal amount of time fretting over titles and names of characters. Here I want to throw a wee bit of mud at my fellow authors: don’t be so politically correct! Readers and writers both might enjoy the mudslinging. Or not. (It’s really not a strong critique, so don’t get all snarky—and read on.)
When I’m reviewing a book and an author’s description o...
July 9, 2013
Does past greatness imply present failure?
I’m referring to geopolitics here. I’ll admit the question is strange, but my answer is “yes, but only sometimes.” Over a year ago, events in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia kicked off the “Arab Spring.” The ones in Egypt, in particular, seemed so promising. After Nassar and Mubarek, it seemed that Egypt, the most populated Arab country, was on its way to become a free, democratic, and secular country. Unlike Iran, Israel, and many other “democracies” that are really theocracies, with varying degre...
July 3, 2013
An interview with novelist A. J. Colucci…
[Note from Steve: A. J. Colucci writes science thrillers, stories that combine the adrenaline-rush of a thriller with real science. I met her at BooksNJ a few weekends ago and knew immediately that those who visit this blog will be interested in learning more about her. Her novel The Colony received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, noting, "Colucci's exciting thriller debut...balances scares and science nicely. Michael Crichton fans will hope that this is but the first of many such ou...
July 2, 2013
Evolution is all around us…
There is a heated war going on and the opposing forces are battling it out from grade schools on up. The war is one of words mostly, although the words are often heated. It involves Darwin’s theory of evolution and non-theories like creationism and intelligent design. Note that I’m starting this discussion correctly. Darwin’s opus is truly a scientific theory because it can be tested. Some people have problems with the word theory, equating it to the words “intelligent guess.” I’ll admit that...
June 28, 2013
News and Notices from the Writing Trenches #52…
#286: Free ebook. Free download of my futuristic thriller, The Golden Years of Virginia Morgan, today, Friday, and through Tuesday, July 2, on Amazon. What happens when paranoid U.S. government officials decide their elderly agents and top scientists are becoming security risks with the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s? The year is 2030. Meet DHS agent Ashley Scott and Pulitzer prize-winning reporter Eduardo Ortega. They battle a government conspiracy that goes far beyond an attack on the el...
June 27, 2013
Superficiality and emotions…
Human beings are wonderfully complex, so it’s interesting that sci-fi writers love to write about computers developing near-human characteristics (I’m guilty too—see The Golden Years of Virginia Morgan–FYI: this is a free download on Amazon starting tomorrow, June 28, through July 2; also, Odri’s starship in Sing a Samba Galactica is just another member of the crew). But, let’s face it, it’s hard to imagine an AI computer program capable of modeling the emotional ingredients that influence hu...
June 26, 2013
An interview with novelist E. F. Watkins…
[Note from Steve: I met Eileen at BooksNJ a few weekends ago. I immediately knew that readers of this blog, avid readers and writers alike, would like to get to know her and her opus. Her latest book is DARK MUSIC —I was immediately attracted to the musical subtheme. So, without further ado, let’s meet E. F. Watkins.]
Steve: First, tell us something about yourself.
E. F.: I write paranormal mystery and suspense stories using the E. F. Watkins author’s name. My opus is comprised of: DANCE WITH T...
June 25, 2013
An ode to coffee…
Not an ode exactly. I can’t write good poetry, so my odes are just blog posts, a poor substitute for those who love Grecian urns and the like. This post is indirectly about urns, though, in the form of receptacles found in offices usually containing bad, old, and cold coffee. When I had a day job, I fortunately had a physicist colleague who believed in a good cup of coffee, an amateur barista, if you will. The fact that Starbucks is raising the price of their coffee products by 1% made me rec...
June 20, 2013
Reading versus writing…
I’m always amazed when talking to other writers who tell me they don’t do much reading. They make all kinds of excuses: I don’t want to steal anyone’s X, where X could be plot, characters, settings, and so forth. Sure, outright stealing is plagiarism, and it’s not recommended for writers, newbies or old-timers. Another excuse: I want my ideas to be fresh, not stale and formulaic. I don’t know how you can be fresh if you don’t know what other writers are doing in your genre. And, if you don’t,...
