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The Legend of the Apache Kid out Sept 5
The Legend of the Apache Kid by Sarah Black, out from Dreamspinner Sept 5
Check out this beautiful cover by Paul Richmond!
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3195
I think this is one of the most deeply romantic stories I’ve ever written- here is a little bit of Raine and Johnny:
Johnny was drowsy against my shoulder. He ( Read more... ) -
Meet Johnny Bravo
I’ve been in love with this kid, Johnny Bravo, since he rustled some goats and sold them for cabrito across the border in Mexico in my book Lawless. Lawless is one of two stories I wrote about Colton and Diego, hard-headed and difficult men who were always screwing and screwing up. Johnny Bravo was something else again, and he’s been sitting in the ( Read more... ) -
What the Hell Were They Thinking? The Story Idea in Genre Fiction
It is confusing and more than a little distressing to be a writer in a day when the quality and value of one’s work is equated with sales. The idea of sales does not just imply lots of readers, but lots of money. Success and failure is understood to have a cash value. We want access to our box-office take when our little ponies go flying out of the ( Read more... ) -
The Legend of the Apache Kid
My new story, The Legend of the Apache Kid, is going to be published by Dreamspinner. They are a very open-minded publisher, and always let me try new things with my stories-with both form and content. I really love this ability to experiment with language and story-telling.
I’ve been thinking about conflict more in the last year than any other ( Read more... ) -
The Trouble with Poets
The Trouble with Poets
- They say poets dance on bars and drink mescal out of dirty glasses, while prose writers stand by the exit sign with a travel size Germ-X in their pockets, worrying about twisted ankles and the likely head injury when someone takes a tumble and hits the concrete floor. Poets do not have health insurance. (The lanky hank of a ( Read more... )
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Marlowe's Ghost by Sarah Black, out now!
Marlowe’s Ghost by Sarah Black, out now from Dreamspinner
(In which I reveal my unfortunate obsession with Christopher Marlowe!)
Blurb:
Former Marine Will Marlowe dreams of being a great classics scholar, but his subversive street art, Bad Toys, is what he does best. When he’s sent to London to retrieve Tommy Jones, what he’s really interested in is ( Read more... ) -
Using dialogue to develop character
I was in Taos yesterday, scouting out locations for the new story, (and also scouting out a location for my retirement.) The downtown bookstore, Moby Dickens, was a treasure. I got a book on writing and hiking called The Trail Writer’s Guide by Cinny Green.
Hiking and writing are just about my two favorite things. Last night I started reading the ( Read more... ) -
Excerpt from Marlowe's Ghost, coming 1-25
He was a year out of the Corps, finishing up a degree in classical history at George Mason. Will thought he might go to law school since he felt like a cynical asshole all the time. Law seemed to be the proper career for a person with his outlook on life. His mother had suggested he might want to talk to someone at the VA. He’d assured her it wasn’ ( Read more... ) -
Coming of Age
Coming of Age
I love the idea of the coming of age novel, because deciding to grow up, and the trauma that results, makes for some fine human conflict. It’s a natural internal and external conflict. You don’t need men with guns leaping out of the alley when you’re dealing with growing up.
I am also living with a son who is 19, and is taking his time ( Read more... ) -
Flamingo out tomorrow
My short story from Dreamspinner is out tomorrow- Flamingo, a May-December romance--and me trying to be funny! It's a comedy, if you can imagine!
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2676