EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW. . .

Below I've listed the four writing books from which I've learned the most about the art and craft of fiction (in no particular order):

1. The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman
2. The Novel Writer's Toolkit by Bob Mayer
3. Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King
4. Writing the Break-out Novel by Donald Maas

Everything you need to know about how to write a successful and entertaining novel can be found in these four books. They are like a mini-Master's Degree program for under $75.

THE SUNSET FOR BAD MOON RISING

I opened the front door the other day and a package that had been propped up against the door fell over. The mail man had set it there when he delivered the mail. It was my novel, Bad Moon Rising, coming back with the response from The Nancy Ellis Agency. A Very Fast Response. I had enclosed a SASE for their response, but I hadn't sent enough postage for the return of the manuscript, but there it was in the original box on my front porch. I had expected them, if they passed on the novel, to recycle the manuscript.

A form letter inside the box told me that the novel wasn't for them. They passed. The agency who had recently gotten a black eye for not paying authors their advances and that had asked for my book had turned it down. Oh well.

This is to put in writing that my first full-length novel manuscript will be going in a drawer until further notice.

Prepare for updates on the young adult novel, currently entitled Godtalk. Before writing this post, I was able to crank out two more pages of chapter thirteen.

So here we go. . .