First Cup of Coffee – September 29, 2023

Thoughts today on focus, how to rebuild concentration, and the alarming truth that every interruption costs us 23 minutes of time to regain previous focus. Also more data on trad publishers buying mostly full manuscripts.



First Cup of Coffee – September 25, 2023

A slight divergence into thoughts on fashion and how the pandemic affected that. Also, being a hedonist. More on topic: why do book sales vary so much by platform? Some books sell only on certain retailers and I don’t know why.



First Cup of Coffee – September 22, 2023

About my tumultuous week and how wonderful Mary Robinette Kowal is. Also, by request, an explanation of what AI is and isn’t, and what it has to do with writing stories and creating art.



First Cup of Coffee – September 18, 2023

I’m talking about author finances today and the challenge of a variable income – particularly if you don’t have a salaried spouse – and how that works out for predicting taxes. Also why I don’t think advertising is the be all and end all for Indies.



First Cup of Coffee – September 15, 2023

Great week for me! Talking about being up front with my new editor on how I *can’t* write an outline, a bit about knife-throwing and learning to relish failure as much as success, and the monsoon rains of autumn.



First Cup of Coffee – September 4, 2023

About “rules” – on publishing and on creating worlds and magic systems – and how to know when to ignore what other people have to say. Also, the perils of being clever: just… don’t.



First Cup of Coffee – August 28, 2023

My weekend at Bubonicon: great conversations with other writers and coming home ready to put a new project into motion. Also, how some members of the SFF community treat Romance like antimatter.