How a tagline for spaghetti helped me find a way to move forward in a writing project when I have no idea what to.

What Happened to Traditional Publishing? I think most of the people on this mailing list are interested in reading books. So, I thought you might be interested in some inside information on the state of traditional publishing. I have personally experienced the decline in traditional publishing over the years, but I didn’t grasp how bad things are until I read an article by Elle Griffin - No One Buys Books , April 22, 2024. As you might imagine, publishers are not forthcomin

On most days, my wife and I make sure to take a walk in the neighborhood. Every so often we see a baby, say between two and four months...

It's time you discovered the secret to coming up with endless brilliant ideas.

My fourth novel, NEW LOTS, was published by Tor/Forge twenty-five years ago. I set the story in Brownsville, Brooklyn, during the last...

I’ve been avoiding sending this blog entry for several reasons. First, I’ve never gotten into the blog thing much. It strikes me that...

One of the most frequent questions I get from readers is…how can I get copies of your old books? All my old books (my first five novels)...

After readers finish one of my new James Beck books, many of them want to know if there is another book planned. Or, even better, they...

Why? Because I have no control over what a reader might say. Whether I live or die, so to speak, is out of my control. But you ask –...

— Marshal Zeringue Featured at Writers Read: John Clarkson, author of Bronx Requiem. Recently I asked the author about what he was...

—Marshal Zeringue CAMPAIGN FOR THE AMERICAN READER. Clarkson applied the Page 69 Test to his latest novel, Bronx Requiem, and reported...

The 5 keys to writing realistic fight scenes. Read about fighting. Watch fighters. Feel what it's like to fight. Understand the damage inflicted during a fight. And most important, write fight scenes that are true to your story's characters.

These days it seems that more than ever, people want nothing less than a full measure of success, with all the wealth and fame that...