The World of the Omniverse ranges over a multiverse populated with Elves, Pixies, Faeries, Dragons, Kobolds, Humans and other mythical creatures. At the center of the Omniverse looms the dark, mysterious presence of the Builders, creators of all. But most importantly, it has The Inn at the Crossroads, the mystical hub of the multiuniverse.
This is the series’ blog. Enjoy the posts.
I’d like to take a brief break from talking about writing and my efforts to publish my novels to talk about travel tips. Here is tip #1. Always call the hotel to confirm your reservation. Kim and I are going to the Fancy Food Show in NYC. It’s always a great show. We booked, once again, through the Fancy Food shows travel consultants and aggregators, Travel Planners. We’ve gone to many of these shows, all different types, including the New York Gift Show, and never had a problem. But, when I called the Essex House, now owned by Marriott, they... Read More
I’ve been thinking about the difference between (writer) agents, recruiters and the hiring boss. The biggest difference between agents (for writers) and recruiters is pretty straightforward. Unless the writer has a track record and has published novels or short stories or poetry, the agent is basically representing someone’s talent based on a sample of their work. Even if that sample is a completed manuscript, it’s still a sample. One book. They are taking a huge chance that the writer has something to sell. But no one knows who or what will sell. If agents knew what would sell, everyone would... Read More
Maybe I should mention in my query letters (emails) that we have about 500 students who come a years to our art schools and about the same amount who come to the inn as guests. Not to mention the chocolate customers. Now, when I write my cookbook, I’ll mention that plus our 15,000 student mailing list and our bigger inn guest mail list. If I self publish, I’ll definitely use those markets AND the Facebook pages and twitter accounts. I have 15K followers on one of my twitter accounts alone. Not to shabby. But I don’t feel right about mention... Read More
Sure, they’re fantasy because in the real world, there are no Álfar, no matter what Snorri Sturluson says, and there are no Dragons, or Dwarves, at least not the Germanic mythical kind, and no Pixies, just like The Inn at the Crossroads introduction says, right? The stories, however, are about people even if the people are highly adaptable Pixies who can change their bodies and look like anyone, right? Or ambitious Faerie Queens who become The Last Dragon Queen. They’re all still people, right? Or a crazy Human waiter who thinks he is from outer space, right? Right! Because every... Read More
I don’t want to call it writer’s block because I have never gotten writer’s block. Rather I wasn’t sure which way to go but Carey, Bill’s wife, said what to do. Or it might have been Bill. It gets confusing when your characters talk to you about the story. Anyway, I’m through that small 24 hour people of saying, “What to do?” over and over and over. Book #4 is now at 15K words or more. (I am updating the number of words as I write.) I have also gone back and changed the introduction. Now it’s more of a... Read More
So, maybe that will help. Thanks to all you nonspamers who have read and commented on my facebook account. Now, start commenting here. Thanks, M.
It goes beyond a simple comma but there is where we start. I do not like putting in the Oxford Comma. No! But when you have a subordinate clause before the comma it looks awfully like the Oxford Comma and then I start adding them to make them look uniform. You can use the Oxford Comma or not but, if you use it, use it all the time. First you have to learn to distinguish between a real Oxford Comma and a comma masquerading as an Oxford Comma. “Kim was working, Mark was writing this article, and Alexis was on... Read More
I have started book #4 in The Omniverse Series. In this book, Carey and Bill return to Greenwich, finally. I don’t want to reveal any more about the book just yet. I have only written ten thousand words, but let me tell you, it’s a corker. I am having a great time writing it and you will have a fabulous time, an absolutely fabulous time reading it. We finally get to meet Bill’s other daughter, you know the one, the one he had with Titania, Queen of the Fae and now Queen of the Dragons. Bill finds out her name.... Read More
So, look for an excerpt or two after I’ve edited it a bit.
I did not think I had it in me. I rewrote The Inn at the Crossroads and it is much, much better. I shrank the introduction down from 14 pages to 7 to 4 or less. Not bad. I rewrote Chapters 1, 2, and 3 and re-edited the rest of the book. But most importantly, I have started the book closer to the end than I previously had. I got it as close to the end as I could, Mr. Vonnegut. Honest. I ignored, much to my shame, this little nugget of wisdom on my first, really second, novel. I... Read More