The Publishing Civil War
posted 3 months ago | 1 comment
So, Amazon is to become the official publisher of its own books. It was, of course, bound to happen, too tempting to resist. After all, it does represent a large chunk of the retail book business and does operate its own production and distributio...
The Snides of March
posted 4 months ago | 2 comments
Hollywood pictures about political campaigns are usually contrivances that portray politicians as corrupt and deceptive. Politicians are cast as liars, cheats, and sexual predators, and their campaign staff as masters of cover-up– cynical manipula...
Would I Have Joined the Protesters?
posted 4 months ago | 2 comments
Boy was I pissed off. I had just graduated college as an English major. It was 1947. World War II had finally resulted in victory. At nineteen I found myself competing for jobs with millions of ex-servicemen who had come home from the war with gua...
How Will It End?
posted 4 months ago | 2 comments
People are always asking me whether I know the ending when I begin to write a novel. I imagine many writers of fiction are asked the same question.
It brings to mind what one of my friends, Rod Thorp, used to say. Rod and I and a group of other n...
It brings to mind what one of my friends, Rod Thorp, used to say. Rod and I and a group of other n...
Books to Movies
posted 4 months ago | 2 comments
I recently served as a speaker on a panel discussion organized by the Book Publicists of Southern California under the irrepressible founder and Chairman emeritus Irwin Zucker on the subject of “Books to Movies.”
Beside me, there were two other p...
Beside me, there were two other p...
You Betcha
posted 4 months ago | 1 comment
So here is what once was dubbed a typical American story. This pretty little girl is the daughter of a High School English teacher and a mother who was what was once a revered and iconic American role model, the devoted homemaker, the admired moth...
The Three Questions for Authors
posted 5 months ago | 1 comment
It is a strange phenomenon and most authors of fiction appear to confirm it. They are always asked the same three questions. Whether the questions are asked in a formal interview setting or by readers, non-readers, fans, or casual acquaintances in...
The E-Book Intrusion
posted 5 months ago | 4 comments
It was completely predictable that the e-book phenomenon would spawn various enhancements like video and music designed, according to their creators, to “enrich” the reading experience.
I suppose there are some readers who will welcome having the...
I suppose there are some readers who will welcome having the...
Should Novelists Review Another Novelist's Novels?
posted 6 months ago | 4 comments
I have always been wary of novelists reviewing other novelists, especially in places that attract serious readers of serious novels like the New York Times Book Review which, despite its diminishing influence, still has an effect on the reading ta...
In the Media, How Many Wrongs Make a Right?
posted 6 months ago | 4 comments
Years ago, in the wake of Watergate, I wrote a novel titled The Henderson Equation which dealt with the following premise:
If media, meaning a powerful newspaper, had the persuasive power to bring down a President, why is it not possible for a ne...
If media, meaning a powerful newspaper, had the persuasive power to bring down a President, why is it not possible for a ne...
