Tag Archives: Writing

How I Began Self-Publishing; Part Three: The Short Stories

One of the great joys of electronic publishing is that you are not bound by length.  You can make the story as long or as short as it demands to be.  You can write novels of forty or fifty thousand … Continue reading

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How I Began Self-Publishing; Part Two: My First Book

Once I made the decision to self-publish some of my material, I was still cautious about diving in all the way.  I decided to start by compiling a collection of some of my stories that had already appeared in magazines … Continue reading

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How I Began Self-Publishing; Prelude: Greek Summers

Before I explain how I got started in self-publishing I need to explain about my summers in Greece.  However, I have a confession to make.  I will likely go into more detail than I need to because thinking about sunshine … Continue reading

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Book Review: Jack London: An American Life by Earle Labor

If I had to name the three writers most influential on my own career as a writer, they would be Jack London, Harlan Ellison, and Henry Miller.  I would snap up a biography of Harlan Ellison in a moment, but … Continue reading

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Self-Evaluation

I have reached a sort of limbo in my writing career.  It has happened before; in fact, it used to happen every school term in Greece, especially around exam time. No matter what resolve I might muster up, no matter … Continue reading

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The Dark Night of a Writer’s Soul

Second prelude:  Outside my window the apartment parking lot and cars are dusted with snow.  I was going to sit down and write an essay about my current state of mind, and was going to refer to the stunningly poetic … Continue reading

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Book Review: The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer; Part One: My New Year’s Resolutions

You might be wondering what this book and my new year’s resolutions have in common.  Never fear, all will be made clear in due time.  I am a little more than halfway through the book, and it is one of … Continue reading

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Book Review: Year’s Best SF 17 Edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer; or, What Constitutes a Good Story

Amazing how circumstance has a part in our lives sometimes.  My current poverty necessitates my getting most of my reading material from the local library, rather than used from the Internet as I prefer.  In my most recent foray there … Continue reading

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The Lepers of Literature

I was prepared to launch a tirade, but I see now that it is unnecessary.  That which prompted this essay is not a threat.  Rather, it is a sad, anachronistic, misguided assessment of what is happening in the world of … Continue reading

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Book Review: Tenth of December: Stories by George Saunders

I peruse the yearly shortlists of the major awards in search of good reading material. I don’t read it all, or even most of it – only what catches my eye. But because I am always reading something and can’t … Continue reading

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