Tag Archives: writers

Read an Excerpt from The Last Heir

 

Last HeirYou can take Jack out of L.A. — in this case, all the way to Napa Valley — but you can’t take the L.A. out of Jack, as this excerpt from THE LAST HEIR at CriminalElements.com conclusively proves.

Meanwhile, I talk to The Sirens of Suspense about the writing process, and how my three careers — lawyer, author, and vigneron — all came together for this book:

Storyteller’s Anthology

SouthWest Writers is a New Mexico-based nonprofit dedicated to inspiring, nurturing, and supporting authors of both fiction and nonfiction throughout the world.  As a second-career novelist looking to break into publishing, it was through winning the SouthWest Writers International Writing Contest in 2010 that I landed my New York literary agent and, soon thereafter, contracts with both New York and London-based publishing houses.  You might say that I owe SWW my present career.

In 2012, the SWW offices in Albuquerque were severely damaged by flooding, forcing the organization both to move and to acquire new furniture, fixtures, and equipment.  In an effort to recoup some of the attendant costs, SWW decided in late 2013 to publish an anthology of original short stories, essays, and book excerpts.  All proceeds from the sale of The Storyteller’s Anthology will go to SWW and will allow them to continue their important mission.

I was pleased to be one of the 40+ authors – a distinguished group that includes David Morrell, Anne Hillerman, Jonathan Miller, and S.H. Baker – invited to contribute to the anthology, which was ably edited by Peggy Herrington.  I would invite all of my friends and readers to consider buying a copy.  When you do, you’ll be supporting SWW and guaranteeing yourself hours of quality entertainment.  And as an extra bonus, many of the contributing authors will be appearing live at Bookworks in Albuquerque (4022 Rio Grande Boulevard NW) at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 19, 2014 to sign copies of The Storyteller’s Anthology.

Great reading for a great cause.  What better way to kick off the new year?

Puppets in the Woodwork

A debate has raged in recent years within the auctorial echo chamber, pitting advocates of “traditional publishing” against the insurgent forces of “independent publishing.”  Traditionalists – whom I’ll define as authors electing to cast their lot with one of the Big Six publishing conglomerates, under an advance-against-royalties compensation model – have decried the diluvial onslaught of self-published, print-on-demand, and e-book-original content flooding the marketplace, overwhelming the filters through which literature has historically passed on its long and wending journey to your neighborhood bookstore.  Independents, conversely, delight in the democratization of publishing occasioned – dare we say kindled? – by the advent of the e-reader, and regard as both anachronistic and paternalistic the notion of ceding 80% or more of their book’s sale proceeds to a New York publishing house. Continue reading →