David B. Coe's Blog, page 44

My New Writing Toy

I've been meaning to post. Really I have. I had resolved to post everyday this week. But then I downloaded my new writing toy, and, well, it's made the gathering of my research for the new project much more fun. And it's kept me fro doing much else. The new toy is Scrivener, and I know many of you use it already. It's a mac-based program designed for writers who are piecing together a project and blending research information with story ideas. It's kind of hard to describe really. I'v...

Today's Fun Historical Fact, Week 2

My research for the new series continues....

From Carl Bridenbaugh's exhaustive (and, at times, exhausting) urban study, Cities In Revolt: Urban Life in America, 1743-1776 (Oxford University Press, 1971) comes this tidbit:

According to Bridenbaugh, "The tavern was the most flourishing of all urban institutions" in the mid-eighteenth century. New York had more taverns and public houses than any other colonial city, reaching a high of 334 in 1752 [roughly one tavern for every 45 people in the ...

A Post About Old Friends

Today’s post can be found at http://magicalwords.net, the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I maintain with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, and C. E. Murphy. The post is called “The Power of Reunions” and it’s about getting to know our characters a bit better. I hope you enjoy it.

Oh, and by the way, that new contest is still up on my website: http://www.DavidBCoe.com. Visit the site and maybe you’ll win a signed book!

Today's Fun Historical Fact

These days I'm steeped in research for the new historical fantasy project, so I thought I'd share with you my "Fun Historical Fact of the Day".  Under the heading of "This Sounds Familiar...": 

In the pre-Revolutionary period, the American colonies were eager to be economically secure in their own right, but most of them, particularly Massachusetts, were still tied closely to Great Britain.  So much so, that during the Stamp Act Crisis of the mid 1760s, when they were truly ticked off at the B...

A Post About Research and Writing

Today’s post can be found at http://magicalwords.net, the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I maintain with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, and C. E. Murphy. The post is called “Research and the Writer” and it’s about balancing the need to do research for our books and the need simply to write. I hope you enjoy it.

Oh, and by the way, there’s a new contest up on my website: http://www.DavidBCoe.com. Visit the site and maybe you’ll win a signed book!

Some News

Some of you may have noticed this on the web yesterday.  For those of you who didn't, I have just sold a new book project to Tor Books.  It's a two book (for now) series of stand alone mysteries with a strong historical and fantastic element.  The series will be called The Chronicles of the Thief Taker, or something of the sort, and it will be set in pre-Revolutionary Boston, albeit a Boston with magic -- hence the "Harry Dresden meets Samuel Adams" pitch.  I'll be writing the books as D. B. ...

A Long Post About Last Night's Election Results

Let’s start with the obvious: In the two high profile races last night, the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial elections, the Democrats got spanked. There isn’t a committed Democrat in America this morning who isn’t a bit concerned about those losses. And with good reason. In both votes, independents broke decidedly for the Republican candidates, reversing the trend that had swept Democrats back into power in 2006 and 2008. In both states, young voters and minority voters -- key eleme...

A Post About World Fantasy Convention

Today’s Magical Words post is a bit late, but that’s because I’ve just returned from World Fantasy Convention in San Jose, California. My post about the con can be found at http://magicalwords.net, the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I maintain with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, and C. E. Murphy.

World Fantasy Convention, Here I Come!

Off tomorrow to World Fantasy Convention in San Jose, California.  WFC is, year in and year out, my favorite convention.  It is big but not huge, with a strong emphasis on reading, writing, and publishing.  It's always attended by lots of writers, editors and agents, making it a great place to meet up with old friends and get some business done.

On Wednesday night, from 6:30-8:00, I'll be signing books along with a mass of sf/fantasy writers at Borderland Books, in San Francisco.

I'll be modera...

A Two-Post Monday

I have two posts going up today. The first, my usual Monday Magical Words post, can be found at http://magicalwords.net, the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I maintain with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, and C. E. Murphy. The post is called “A Luddite Looks at the Future of Books” and it’s about e-books and what they mean for the future of writing and publishing. The second is a special Halloween Week post that I’ve written for the Knight Agency, wh...