A couple of weeks ago, a reader sent me am article from the Wall Street Journal about a first novel that became an overnight success, (“Preparation for the Next Life,” by Atticus Lish.  (Click here)  The story is one that would make any struggling writer salivate.  Tyrant, a sm

Whenever my co-host, Susan Stoner, and I sit down to discuss the venue for another of our YouTube book review series Just Read It,  the air crackles with good vibes.  Collaboration is something novelists seldom get to experience and while I enjoy the contemplative times of writing a

A few day ago, Susan Stoner, author of the Sage Adair Mystery Series, her husband-cameraman husband George Slanina and I met to tape the first 4 videos of our new book series, Just Read It.  Laurelhurst Village Assisted Living served as our host and we were joined by four guests to d

Black Drop, the fourth novel in Susan Stoner’s Sage Adair mystery series hits the bookstores this month. Set in the Pacific Northwest during the 1900s, Adair, an undercover agent for the Labor movement, is the hot on the trail of a would-be assassin. President Theodore Roosevelt is

Susan Stoner, author of the Sage Adair Historical Mystery Series and I were browsing through in a large, three-storied bookstore the other day when suddenly my friend paused and, looking down the aisle at the floor to ceiling shelves, uttered a deep sigh. “Gosh, there are a lot of b

I went to hear a marketing/public relations expert make a pitch to writers the other night. My friend Susan Stoner, whose new book, Dry Rot, received a glowing review in our local newspaper, came with me. Both of us hoped to pick up a pointer or two on how to promote our works. The wo

Susan Stoner’s third mystery in her turn of the 19th century series features undercover detective Sage Adair at the top of his game. A labor strike, a union leader framed for murder, a rag picker poet and collapsing city bridges in the Pacific Northwest makes a tasty stew of murder

Talk to owners of small bookstores about business and the reply is usually tentative. They are grateful to have a business but uncertain about the future. So far the stores in my neighborhood are hanging on, particularly if they sell used books as well as new, I try to support these e