Good news for “cozy” mystery fans!

This legacy post first appeared on my old blog September 12, 2009:

According to the Southern Review of Books:
Two previously unpublished Hercule Poirot stories by Agatha Christie have been discovered among her family papers. The works were unearthed from the crates of letters, drafts and notebooks stored by Christie at Greenway, her holiday home set in a seaside garden in Devon, “The Guardian” reported. The new stories will be included in “Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks: Fifty Years of Mysteries in the Making,” which will be published by HarperCollins this month.

Writer’s Block: Um…no.

This legacy blog post first appeared on August 28, 2009:

I’ve long believed that “writer’s block” is a fallacy; nothing more than yet another excuse not to write. And today I found one of most lucid arguments for this point of view over at Publietariat.

So I’m sharing it here with you, because it’s one of those things I believe can derail a promising young writing career.

So, read and enjoy, and let me know what you think!

The need for authors to promote their own books

A legacy blog post that first appeared August 24, 2009:

As a self-published author, I knew when I was starting my publishing company that sooner or later I’d want to help other writers become published authors, too. I already do speaking on the topic, but I knew I’d want to take a more active role in creating new authors.

The importance of a good author website

Another legacy post from June 18, 2009:

One thing that’s really important for authors is understanding that the days of just writing your manuscript and turning it in on time are over. In this marketing-driven world, you must also be your book’s most passionate, dedicated promoter. Your publisher will, at best, do only half the work required to get your book

Researching Historical Nonfiction: Finding Sources and Archival Photos

This is another legacy blog post from April, 2009:

As promised, here are some tips on starting out with historical research:

Local Media Sources – It seems a no-brainer that you’d start your research with media outlets that exist today, especially if they were around during the event you’ve decided to chronicle in your book. That’s certainly what I believed. I looked forward, too, to talking with other professional writers and journalists at our regional newspapers and other outlets.

Researching Historical Nonfiction, Redux: Finding old maps

This post originally appeared on my legacy blog on April 11, 2009:

Revisiting Amanda G.’s discussion forum post, she asked:
How do I get maps of old towns that no longer exist?

That could probably be a little tricky. Depending on how old the towns were at the time they disappeared, there are a number of places you might look for maps. Here are a few ideas:

Advice to a would-be author: Historical Research

This post from my legacy blog was initially posted April 11, 2009.

Montgomery County, PA, writer Amanda Greenfield posted to my discussion board with several questions about how to go about researching a historical nonfiction book she’s working on about the Delaware Water Gap. It’s a huge subject area, and an ambitious project.

Initial Post from Original Blog

This post was the first one on my old blog that hardly anyone ever visited, which is why I’ve launched this new site. It was originally posted Jan. 4, 2009.

Well, it’s about time I bring my author site into the 21st century with a blog of one’s own. So here I am!

Actually, I already do blog about my latest book, “Almost Perfect: Disabled Pets and the People Who Love Them.” You can find that blog here.

But I’d like this blog to be about my perspective as an author and full-time freelance writer. With the state of all publishing in such flux right now, there’s no dearth of topics. Whether you write books, for magazines or for the Web (and chances are if you do the two former, you’re also doing the latter), you know what I mean.

I’d also like to use this space to talk with my readers about my work. For my readers who’d like to also talk with each other, I’ve provided a Discussion forum, which you can access by clicking on the Discussion tab at the top of each page of this website.