So Zarreich is Finally Out There For decades I’d considered this 1981-1982 novel an unpublishable first draft, but it was so rich and opened up such new territory I could never let it go. After a disastrous attempt at a … Continue reading →
This summer’s successful resurrection of The University of Mars got me wondering if I couldn’t do the same for another older novel I’d once declared dead. I’ve just finished a second draft of Zarreich, but this novel isn’t ready for … Continue reading →
In a dysfunctional 2065 where religious zealots restrict the world to outdated twentieth-century technology, eighteen-year-old Zeke Venan dedicates himself to the life of the mind and to the further evolution of humanity. He drags his Australian girlfriend to an impoverished … Continue reading →
As I mull over a forthcoming post to celebrate the long-overdue publication of The University of Mars, I’ve reflected a bit on its extended history. I. Draft 1, 1980-1981 The novel began with a longing to describe an archetypal University … Continue reading →
Four Theater of the Absurd Novelettes Bumbling officer Marty Brimfeeler probes the death of a brainwashed terrorist in Houston. Five horses break out of their corral and reduce the city of Dallas to rubble. Hapless insurance executive Bobby Thompson proves … Continue reading →
Still working on the snappy, one-phrase, brand-defining pitch you’re supposed to have ready when you find yourself riding an elevator with the CEO of Random House. But all I have are concepts culled from various web interviews over the years, … Continue reading →
This is not really a review of How to Market a Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market by Richard Fayet, free on Kindle, but the book is a useful guide and it did inspire further thoughts on something I’d been … Continue reading →
A naïve and disconnected artist gives a party to celebrate his success, only to find himself drafted that same night into a mindless war against the Reunion, an apparently unstoppable army of hallucinatory consciousness. I’ve finished Draft 2 and closed … Continue reading →
Caspra Coronae is now, halfway through its second draft, Asylum and Mirage. Hanging the essence of a novel on its title is important, and while Caspra Coronae has a lovely sound, it doesn’t convey anything about this novel, and would … Continue reading →
When I recently re-interviewed the main characters of Caspra Coronae, it became obvious to all of us that Walter’s evil machinations and his over-the-top, humiliating death were merely dull plot. And that in fact the entire Part 2 of the … Continue reading →
