Matthew Dicks's Blog, page 712

A novel idea about a novel idea

I'm lucky.  I have a lot of ideas for books.  Lots and lots and lots.  I just need more time to write them all.  As I attempt to wrap up my third book over this upcoming vacation, these ideas have begun to crowd my brain, each one vying for the top spot. 

Invariably, I will choose two or three ideas and combine them in some way to create a more compelling story, but I for long time., I thought was pretty set on what my next book would be.  It's an idea that I like a lot, and my wife and...

I couldnt resist posting

SOMETHING MISSING: The large print version

The large print version of SOMETHING MISSING was just released last month, in case you're interested in owning every version of the book.

It was chosen as a Thorndike Reviewer's Choice book and had a nice write-up in the relatively unknown but still very appreciated Juneau Empire, even though the writer, Kathy Ward, manages to call the book charming, odd, funny and creepy all within a single paragraph.

Quite a list of superlatives. 

Here is her review:

"Something Missing," by Matthew...

Good advice

As a writer, I rely on quality feedback from my readers.  I know there are many writers who prefer to write in a vacuum, absent of comment or criticism, and this may actually be the preferred way of writing for most authors.  "Write with the door closed first," Stephen King says. 

But this is not for me.

Having grown up playing video games (Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Nintendo, PC gaming, Funspot, Half Moon Arcades, Salisbury Beach arcade), I thrive on the immediate feedback that they...

Answers and coincidences

A while back, I wrote about running into a person reading SOMETHING MISSING my book at the gym and not knowing what to do. 

The post received quite a response on the blog and especially through Twitter and Facebook, and today someone brought me an answer.

Sort of. 

Blogger Simcha Lazarus found my post and sought out the opinions of several authors, one of which happened to be Jasper Fforde, a favorite writer of mine who I just happened to exchange emails with yesterday. 

An odd...

The Man

As you may know, I cannot stand needless ceremony.

In keeping with this belief, I have begun signing all credit card receipts with the words:

The Man

Since no one ever examines these signatures, I'm not sure why I'm even required to sign the damn things anymore? If I'm going to be forced into this meaningless task, I'm at least going to have some fun with it.

Doubting myself

I learned today that The Bookworm, my local, independent bookstore is going out of business. A year ago, Barnes and Noble moved into the neighborhood, and as expected, our indie didn't last long.

While I'm sad to see the bookshop go, the store didn't even have its own website and almost never hosted authors or any other meaningful events.  The store owners discouraged the browsing of magazines and refused to allow food or drink into the store, even though it is located in a town center full...

White snow, black swan

It looks like there is a good chance that I will be home tomorrow, enjoying our first snow day of the winter season.  Though my students will be turning their pajamas inside out and placing spoons under their pillows in hopes for a foot of snow, many of my friends and colleagues are hoping that this does not happen.  With a week of vacation just a few days away and the prospect of summer vacation beginning earlier in June than ever before, many don't want this extra day off and would rather...

Ten minutes at a time

"What the writer needs is an empty day ahead."  CATHERINE DRINKER BOWEN

I saw this quote in my Twitter feed recently and thought, "No, No! No!"

A couple weeks ago, I was in Vermont with a handful of other authors, speaking about our books and writing.  During the question-and-answer session, an audience  member asked about when we write.  Specifically, do we write on a regular schedule, or do we write in bursts of creativity?  It's a question commonly asked by readers, but it was the first...

Galleys arrived!

The galleys for UNEXPECTEDLY, MILO arrived today.  Though they undoubtedly contain errors, it's still thrilling to see the story that you made up in your head bound and nearly ready for sale. 

I wasn't the only one excited to see the galleys.  My little one loves books and seemed to like this one a lot.

Too bad I won't let her read it until she's at least eighteen years old.