Musings Of A New Southern Man

I have a lot of Christian friends. I know a lot of them have delicate sensibilities about certain topics. As a service to them, I hereby issue a warning about the novels I write. They will draw an R rating, and some chapters will have a very hard R rating. I don't do this to shock people. I do it because I want my characters and situations to be real. Do people have things in their past of which they are embarrassed? Of course. We all do. I put some of those things into my novels. Do we do things now that are morally ambiguous? Some people do; I try not to be one of them. Do we live in a world where those around us are obscenity-spewing louts? Yes we do. I put some of those things into my novels. Are there horrendous actions done that make even jaded people wince? Yes, and I put some of those things into my books. My main character in my second novel is a squeaky clean guy with the exception of the things he does that are at the very center of the action. Does he swear? He make...

I could go on and on about things I gleaned from my weekend immersion in the Pikes Peak Writers Conference in Colorado Springs. I met great agents such as Evan Gregory and Paige Wheeler, a genial and talented editor for Titan Books named Steve Saffel, gracious romance writer Susan Wiggs and a bevy of published and aspiring authors who are as committed to their love of writing as I am. But four mentors stand out, and I talk about them in no particular order of importance. Donald Maass, head of his own literary agency and the man who literally wrote the books on how to become a great writer. (I purchased "The Breakout Novelist" and will drink in his lessons like I am on a feeding tube.) Don's greatest attribute is his burning passion for great writing. He brought challenges to every writer in the room during a lunchtime keynote speech about his view of publishing and its impact on the future. I also sat in on his teaching session of Agenting in the 21st Century, whic...

No, I am not overhyping the event with my title. This will be my second Pikes Peak Writers Conference, and if this one comes close to the quality of the first one I will be a happy man. But here's the secret. I think this one might be even better for me. My first conference was a beginner's experience. I focused a lot on the proper ways to do a pitch session, which is an eight-minute, face-to-face meeting with an agent during which you try to sell your novel and gain representation. I went through one pitch session and received a request for a partial manuscript. OK, that's not extensive experience, but I am comfortable with the format. I have a pitch session this weekend with Evan Gregory, an agent for Ethan Ellenberg in New York City. Evan is an intelligent and thoughtful young man, and I am looking forward to the opportunity to meet. My focus this year will center more on the business of being an author. I will center on subjects such as the branding of a writer, inc...

I am not one of those people who can blog while I am going full-bore on a writing project, which explains my silence over the past couple of weeks. Well, going full-bore is part of the explanation. Taking eight days of vacation and spending a wonderful time with family in South Carolina explains the rest. I left my computer and flash drive behind. That doesn't mean I stopped working on my book. Several of my quiet times in the Carolinas were spent going over scenarios and rethinking ways I approach a certain scene. I juggled ideas. I spent middle-of-the-night time going over plot twists. I hit the ground running when I returned to Colorado. The past several days were spent rereading, rewriting and tightening. I love the work. My goal of having the novel ready to pitch will be met. I have a pitch session scheduled during the Pikes Peak Writers Conference later this month. I will be ready. I can blog later. Thanks to my friends who have sent me not...