I get asked every so often, after a reader has finished one of my Nick Sibelius novels, where the ideas and characters come from. I understand the question. I populate the novels with quirky characters—a bicycle fanatic eco-terrorist, a good old boy who seems to accidentally kill people around him, a serial killer who uses […]
Posts Tagged ‘author’
What’s Up With Texas?
Posted: 31st March 2014 by jazzdog in WritingTags: author, Chain Reaction, champagne books, creativity, DIRTY WATER, Texas, thriller, toxic relationship, writing
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Landing Your Next Writing Goal
Posted: 10th March 2014 by jazzdog in Aviation, CHAIN REACTION, Creativity, DIRTY WATER, Story, TOXIC RELATIONSHIP, Uncategorized, WritingTags: author, creativity, Richard Hacker, writing
A great joy in my life, other than writing, has been flying. Not the big commercial jets, but small, single engine airplanes. One of the basic things every pilot learns sooner or later is that the more you try to control the airplane, the less control you have. When I first started flying, I recall […]
A Writer’s Companion: Fear
Posted: 2nd February 2014 by jazzdog in Creativity, Life, Publishing, WritingTags: author, creativity, Richard Hacker, success, writing
If you spend enough time around authors and aspiring authors, you begin to sense a force wending its way through hearts and minds. Fear. As aspiring authors we may fear we’re just not good enough for publication. Or worse, what if the thing we want so much, to be published, exposes our flaws and shortcomings […]
Where Art Thou, Continuity?
Posted: 14th October 2013 by jazzdog in Award Winning, Creativity, DIRTY WATER, Novel, Story, Texas, TOXIC RELATIONSHIP, Uncategorized, WritingTags: author, champagne books, creativity, DIRTY WATER, fiction, novel, Richard Hacker, Texas, writing
Continuity, especially in a longer novel with a complex plot, can be a real challenge. As the story evolves from the first draft, every aspect of the novel deepens with detail. The setting, from the time of day, time of year, climate, architecture, flora and fauna–the list is almost endless–becomes more defined on the second, […]
Author Chat: Audra Middleton
Posted: 16th September 2013 by jazzdog in Author Interview, Creativity, Interview, Publishing, WritingTags: Audra Middleton, author, author interview, blog, books, creativity, fiction, novel, Watcher, writing
I very pleased to have fellow author Audra Middleton with me on the blog. We recently shared duties as co-facilitators of a session about finding the right critique group at the 2013 Pacific Northwest Writers Association conference. Audra, thanks for being with me today. It’s always good to have a fellow Champagne Books author in […]
The Path to Success: Do What You Love
Posted: 9th September 2013 by jazzdog in Publishing, WritingTags: author, blog, creativity, fiction, J.K.Rowling, marketing, novel, Richard Hacker, self publishing, success
James Stewart’s column in the New York Times, “Long Odds for Authors Newly Published” about J.K. Rowling aka Robert Galbraith’s book, Cuckoo’s Calling has left me pondering what writing is all about these days. In the article, Stewart discusses how Cuckoo’s Calling under the Galbraith name had to be shopped around at publishers and then, depending […]
Virtual Book Tour Begins!
Posted: 12th August 2013 by jazzdog in Award Winning, Blog Tour, Book Release, Book Review, Crime, DIRTY WATER, Five Star, Novel, promotional giveaway, Texas, Thriller, UncategorizedTags: author, blog, books, champagne books, crime, DIRTY WATER, Five Stars, humor, novel, Richard Hacker, Texas
Week One of the DIRTY WATER Virtual Book Tour begin today! I’ll be at the Reading Addiction Blog Tours site for a Meet and Greet on Monday, August 12. Follow along as I visit other blogs with guest posts, reviews, and info on my latest novel in the Nick Sibelius series of humorous crime, DIRTY WATER. August […]
It’s Writing Conference Time or Choosing a Conference Over a Root Canal
Posted: 24th July 2013 by jazzdog in Conferences, Critique Group, Marketing, Novel, WritingTags: author, creativity, critique group, marketing, novel, PNWA, publishing, Richard Hacker
I’m getting ready to attend the Northwest Pacific Writers Association Conference in Seattle this week. The first conference I attended was the Texas Writers’ League in Austin. While I can turn on the extrovert (I was a consultant for 20+ years, afterall) I have never enjoyed going to a big gathering of people to network. […]
A Little Cream In Your Coffee
Posted: 17th June 2013 by jazzdog in Digital Media, DIRTY WATER, Marketing, TOXIC RELATIONSHIP, WritingTags: author, blog, Coffee Time Romance, DIRTY WATER, Richard Hacker, thriller, toxic relationship, writing
The Religion of Texas: BBQ
Posted: 10th June 2013 by jazzdog in Cooking, DIRTY WATER, Food, Texas, TOXIC RELATIONSHIP, UncategorizedTags: author, BBQ, blog, books, Carl Hiaasen, DIRTY WATER, Elmore Leonard, Richard Hacker, toxic relationship
Religion in Texas can be divided into three main categories: those who worship God, those who worship Football, and those who worship BBQ. Texans may not agree on God, depending on faith tradition and denomination. Or Football, depending on University affiliation (UT v A&M comes immediately to mind). However, a Texan loves BBQ. Someone NOT […]
