Suspense is what keeps the reader turning pages, anxious to find out why and what and when and how. Suspense is what makes the reader worry about the characters -- whether they’ll be all right, if …
So close, and yet so far
When almost the right word just isn’t good enough... A few head-scratching examples, found in published books, of how the author almost got it right. “I can practically feel the vitamin D soaking …
Secondary Characters
A question from a reader about creating and using secondary characters prompted me to think about the people in a book as though they were actors in a movie -- complete with pay scales. If an actor …
The importance of being edited
Lately I've been spending a fair bit of time with my e-reader in hand. And I have to say it's been … educational, and entertaining. And also a little sad, to see all the careless and well-meaning …
Splitting Heirs
Under the aristocratic system of primogeniture, followed almost religiously during the Regency period, the eldest son is the heir. He gets the title, the fortune, and the land. But what if there …
Creating Extraordinary Characters
For an interview today I was jotting some notes and talking points about characters -- a subject which can and does fill entire books. But here are the three traits which came to me as most important …