Fieldwork

I Thought I Poisoned William Vollmann

April 17 ’10

Last week, I had the incredible, unbelievable, amazing, opportunity to interview one of my literary heroes, William Vollmann.  Who is more awesome than Bill Vollmann?  He is the master of fieldwork.  He goes where no sane person would ever think to venture, puts himself into incredibly dangerous situations then brings back insights that, in my […]

Bat Soup

March 1 ’10

Sometimes the writer simply has to go on vacation.  The pressures of constant fieldwork, the huge abundance of creative energy,  the day to day maintenance of basic sanity, the constant voices in one’s head…  When it all becomes overwhelming, the only thing to do is to get on an airplane and fly to Palau.  And […]

ROAD TRIP

February 11 ’10

Felix Duarte and I just got back from a long road trip.

THE BORDER

January 24 ’10

I’ve been having dreams about Felix Duarte, my character from Point Dume.

WHO’S DRIVING THIS TRAIN?

January 6 ’10

My favorite character from Point Dume, Felix Duarte, has hijacked my next novel and I’ve been taken hostage by a new theme.

IT IS HARD TO SAY GOODBYE

December 7 ’09

PUTTING YOUR CHARACTERS TO BED SO THAT YOU CAN MOVE ON TO THE NEXT BOOK

MAN DOWN: FIELDWORK DISASTERS

November 5 ’09

My weekend in the hyperbaric chamber and other misadventures. The life of a writer can be treacherous a thing.

POINT DUME has a Cover and it’s Great

October 29 ’09

The new cover for Point Dume is finished. It was designed by David Shoemaker and it is the perfect image for this novel.

The Challenges of Having Sexually Active Characters

October 6 ’09

The Challenges of Having Sexually Active Characters: Advice for Fiction Writers

The Perils of Fieldwork

September 28 ’09

Marijuana is an important element in my new novel “Point Dume”. I’ve written on this website about hiking into the cartel grow sites and breaking down the infrastructure of the camps. I’ve preached about environmental devastation. I’ve discussed the various hybrid plants that are being developed. But I haven’t said much about my direct and […]