Steven M. Moore's Blog, page 66
May 14, 2019
Characters…
Last week I discussed point of view (POV) vs. person. Both involved characters and how we treat them in our stories.
Readers often identify with characters. In my fiction, I kill a few off. Invariably, someone comments or writes, “Oh no, not X! He’s such a great character.” Readers can become attached to characters, but writers have to treat them a bit more objectively—what happens to them must fit the plot and move it forward, and fit the themes winding in and around the plot.
Some authors d...
May 9, 2019
The author’s conundrums…
Most authors hesitate when they first think about publishing, whether it is a traditionally or self-published book. Second thoughts are inevitable. We ask ourselves: Will anyone like my book? Will those who don’t attack me? How much marketing should I do? Will I regret publishing this book?
I posed these questions in 2006 with my first book, Full Medical. With every book since then, they rear their heads like some Greek chorus announcing pending doom. The last general question is the most imp...
May 8, 2019
News and Notices from the Writing Trenches #169…
Spring rain. Inevitable I guess. Maybe April showers will bring May flowers. At least it’s not snow. (Okay, some have had a few late winter storms, but here in NJ, it’s just a lot of rain.) I’m always going out with a hat now—serves as an umbrella I don’t have to carry. And speaking of hats, see my post last week on them.
Recent reads. I’m an avid reader as well as a full-time writer. I thought I’d mention some books I recently read: Cherubs 2 by Marc Liebman is a military thriller about a he...
May 7, 2019
POV vs. person…
I thought I knew about point of view (POV), but I learned I didn’t the hard way, from a review of one of my books. I consider myself a man of logic and reason, so I accepted the critique and learned from it. I now watch my use of POV like a hawk.
I was confusing person with POV, among other things. They’re related, but they’re not the same. POV can be omniscient, i.e. the viewpoint of someone who’s not a character in the story “looking down” as it were and telling the reader what’s happening....
May 2, 2019
Living with my name…
I happen to like my name. We’ve been friends since birth. No, I’m not that economist currently in the news. Even Google Alerts got confused. Hey Google, the economist is Stephen—that’s with a “ph” not a “v.” I’m Steven. I’m no relation to Mark Moore either. And I’ve never played with the New England Patriots. And I’m not that other author Steven Moore or the felon Steven Moore. Etc. Etc.
I am an ex-scientist who once worked with terabytes of data and tried to make sense of them (something tha...
May 1, 2019
Small press catalogs…
One of the unexpected pleasures I’ve received from my association with small presses is confirming my old opinion that they have catalogs with many good books written by many good authors. Of course, the author’s negative in this is that it also confirms that competition is stiff, but the pleasure is augmented when the author, like me, is an avid reader. I always knew this, of course, and often perused specific publisher’s catalogs. But I’m doing it more often now.
Let me hasten to add that t...
April 30, 2019
Hats…
Like bumper stickers, hats are used to make political statements, acknowledge where their wearers have been or want to go, what their wearers would rather be doing, or expressing support for some sports team. Mine generally do none of that. (I don’t display bumper stickers either.)
I generally wear three types of hats: baseball caps, Panama hats, and Irish wool hats. My reasons for doing so might seem unusual. While the hat itself might make a statement, my main purpose for wearing them is, i...
April 26, 2019
Steve’s shorts: Fascist Tango, Part Five…
Fascist Tango
Copyright 2019, Steven M. Moore
Chapter Thirteen
At Rodrigo’s Club
Before Rodrigo returned to the club to take me to his mansion, I inspected the safe in his club office. All the material in there had to do with club business, so that sleuthing campaign was a bust. Lots of guaranis and other South American cash too, as well as other currency from everywhere else. I resisted the temptation to “borrow” some of that just to stick it to Rodrigo—I didn’t need the money, of course.
In...
April 25, 2019
Mini-Reviews of Books #41…
You Say Goodbye. Keith Steinbaum, author (Black Opal Books, 2019). I’ve always appreciated a good murder mystery, and this one met my expectations. Lots of possible suspects, lots of clues and misdirects, and some interesting themes weaving in and around the plot, all making a complete whodunit tapestry.
One theme is music. The victim’s boyfriend, Sean Hightower, is an aging one-hit-wonder rock musician who spends his days selling cars and has nights performing gigs where annoying night clubb...
April 24, 2019
Interviewing author Zoe Tasia…
Steve: I have the great pleasure today of interviewing author Zoe Tasia. She’s a multi-genre writer of fantasy, romance, and psychological thriller novels. Some of her books are co-written with Minette Lauren under the pseudonym Zari Reede. I just finished reading her Kilts and Catnip (The Shrouded Isle Book 1), which is a fantasy that includes Celtic myths and magic, but it also adds mystery to that genre list. [Note from Steve: A review of this book will be posted tomorrow.]
Without further...
