The problem of book theft …

Thank you, Susan M. Toy for this fantastic article to warn authors about copyright infringing and the danger of scams in the writer’s world.

Books: Publishing, Reading, Writing

Close to two years ago, I discovered that my eBooks, both of them, were being listed for sale on a site about which I’d never heard before. They were not under contract to sell my eBooks nor was I receiving any payment for the nearly 1000 times the site reported my novel had already been downloaded. There was a link on the site authors could write to, if they felt their copyright had been infringed. So I wrote, asked them to take down my books, and … nothing happened. That’s when I contacted my friend Tim Baker, whose books were also listed on the site, and he wrote this blog post about our experience. Many of our friends also took up the cause, sharing this blog post and following up with more information as they heard of it – good friends like Chris Graham who blogs as The Story…

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Why Do Writers Write?

Jack Eason has written a phenomenal article explaining why writers write. I felt like sharing it ; spreading word and let readers comment their thoughts. I’d be curious to hear if you agree as much with him as I do.

Have We Had Help?

You may as well ask why do painters paint, or sculptors sculpt. Like them, we have a burning desire within us to produce something for posterity. In our case, for your reading pleasure. The serious writer isn’t in it for the money, only the story. Nor are we attempting to become famous during our lifetimes, just to be read.

Sculptors use chisels and other tools to release that statue trapped inside the block of marble. Painters use brushes, palette knives and all manner of paints and pigments to produce that painting which you admire in an art gallery. Whereas we use words to paint a picture for your imagination to feast on.

By its very nature, writing is a solitary occupation. You have to have a writer’s soul and a total commitment to the craft, not to mention a steely determination.

An editor or a teacher of English can give…

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The Great Debate: Maps in Fantasy

Nicholas Rossis latest blog post debates about maps on fantasy. A very informative and interesting – and of course useful post for new upcoming fantasy writers. Thank you Nicholas!

Nicholas C. Rossis

When working on Pearseus, I decided to include a map. In fact, I ended up drawing at least three versions, then buying Cartographer and doing another three versions there. Then, I realized a lot of people hate maps in books. A recent post by A.J. O’Conell of Bookriot explains why.

I Hate Maps

When epic fantasy N.K. Jemisin released her latest novel, The Fifth Season, she posted the – admittedly beautiful – map from her novel on her blog.  What’s unusual about this is that Jemisin is one of a handful of authors who have been vocal about their distaste for maps in high fantasy.

So, why aren’t some fantasy authors fans of maps? Three reasons are usually cited:

• Maps on the fly-leaf are cliché; every author from J.R.R. Tolkien to George R. R. Martin seems to have one.
• Sometimes being able to see every major location in a world

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