When writing prose or poetry, most folks are used to the standard dictionaries and encyclopedias. These tools are useful to make sure an author is using a term correctly. When delving into specialist, or niche, subjects, it may be a good idea to check and see if a dictionary or encyclopedia exists to make sure […] I’ve read several articles about how digital sales will eliminate dead-tree (print) format. Most of my author pals sell more digital downloads than print. I’m the exception, apparently. My print sales to digital sales are 4:1, where I will sell four print books for every digital download. Some months it goes much higher, such as my […] I have another guest post over on The Fictorians, a literary blog that has monthly themes. This month, the theme is what book inspired me to write. My answer is my first science fiction book called “The Space Ship Under the Apple Tree” by Louis Slobodkin. You can read the blog/article here: http://www.fictorians.com/2014/05/06/apples-and-aliens/ Guest post by author Mike Robinson “Back then, with the visions, most of the time I was convinced I’d lost it. There were other times, though, where I thought I was mainlining the secret truth to the universe.” — Rust Cohle, True Detective Behind the wide facade of Speculative Fiction twist the hedge-mazes […] I’m not one to post about controversial stuff. I avoid religion and political topics for the most part. But there’s something that’s been really bugging me today. There was a post over on ScienceFiction.com about an interview with Tracy Hickman at AnomalyCon. I’m sure it wasn’t purposeful, but the piece made Tracy appear to be […] 
1. I’m selling X books This is probably the biggest lie that self-published authors tell. Everyone wants to be successful, and the more successful an author is, the more they sell. It’s almost a self-fulfilling prophesy. Average readers want to read something that everyone else likes — think Harry Potter or Twilight. I’ve seen […] Something that has come up often concerns panelists at conventions. Many conventions require panelists to pay full price to get into the con. Most of the ones I attend grant the panelist at least one, but sometimes two, tickets to the show. Of course, this is assuming the panelist will be on a set number […] I’ve seen this type of question pop up several times in the last few weeks: Is the vampire genre dead? Are zombie markets dying? Is the horror market in decline? The answer is actually simple: it doesn’t particularly matter in 2013. Yes, there are thousands of vampire/Twilight books available in the marketplace, particularly ebooks. With […] In response to the new Facebook guidelines I hereby declare that my copyright and trademark are attached to all of my personal details, illustrations, graphics, comics, paintings, photos, videos, nude pornos I made in the 1990’s, that picture of me burying a dead body, horrific close-ups of my nose hairs, doodles I made in the […] 