L. MacNaughton's Blog, page 23

Why You Should NEVER Carry a Notebook

For many years, I carried a writing notebook with me everywhere I went. That’s what all serious writers do, I’ve always heard. But in truth, it’s a terrible idea. Here’s why. First, when you write in a notebook, your notes are locked in rigid sequential order. If you tend to think of things randomly (and […]

Everything You Know About E-Books is Wrong

Hugh Howey is one of the smartest people I know. So when he crunches a moonshot-load of data on e-book sales and comes to a jaw-dropping conclusion, people sit up and take notice. Here’s why you should, too: FACT: Self-published authors as a group are making 50% more profit than their traditionally published counterparts. FACT: […]

Sneak Preview of The Spider Thief

I’m about to do something I’ve never done before. I’m publishing each part of my new thriller, The Spider Thief, separately in quick, fun-size episodes. Part One: Stolen Memory is about to hit Amazon. But just for fun, I leaked a sneak preview online. The response has been amazing … A hundred reads in the first […]

Win an Autographed Paperback!

Just a quick reminder: there’s only one week left to enter the Conspiracy of Angels paperback giveaway! I’ll be giving away a free autographed paperback at the end of this month. All you have to do to enter is click here to join my mailing list. When you join, I’ll also send you free bonus […]

Best of 2013: Conspiracy of Angels only 99 cents until January 31

Okay, so, I was going to make all of these announcements separately, but they’re piling up so fast that I’ll just have to just roll them all into one mega-awesome combo announcement: First, from now until January 31, the Conspiracy of Angels e-book is only 99 cents. That’s a heck of a deal. Nuff said. […]

Need more time to write?

What’s the difference between an aspiring writer and a bestselling author? Writing time. Erle Stanley Gardner, creator of Perry Mason and hailed by some as the best-selling author of the 20th century, set before himself the goal of writing 66,000 words per week. Yes, per week.  The secret: keep writing, no matter what. If you’ve […]

Two kinds of writer’s block

I get a lot of emails from writers who think they’re suffering from writer’s block. But are they really blocked, or is there something else holding them back? The truth might surprise you.  Based on my conversations with hundreds of writers, I’ve discovered that when you’re stuck, there are usually one of two entirely different […]

5 Jazzy St. Clare mysteries solved

Okay, first, here’s a brand new trailer from the ever-spectacular folks over at Booktrack.com: Can’t watch the video? Click here to see it on YouTube. Now, back to the mysteries of Jazzy St. Clare: Did you know that there actually was a real-life Saint Clare? Me either, until recently. Some other things you didn’t know […]

2013 Litquake Winner! The Case of the Mummy’s Secret

I’m so proud to announce that my fun-size urban fantasy short story, featuring sassy noir detective Jazzy St. Clare, is a winner! Thanks to everyone who has read my Jazzy stories — more than 1,000 of you so far! To celebrate, I’m giving away this story for the rest of the month — so you can […]

3 old-school secrets to writing more

Think you don’t have time to write? Wrong. There are 24 hours in a day, so if you write for one measly hour, that’s a mere 4% of your day. (Or 6% of your waking hours, if you get a full eight hours of sleep. Lucky you.) Want to squeeze in more writing time? Take […]