There is something special about the teen years. You know enough about the world to figure out how it works, but you’re not embedded in it. You see where the lines have been drawn by generations before you and you challenge whether they were sketched out in the right place. Teens also have more time […]
In the great expanse of writing, sometimes the world can get really small. Recently, my sister-in-law, Jean, suggested a co-worker read my Gabby Wells thriller, Kneel & Prey. The co-worker remembered book and Bauer. That was about it. A few mouse clicks later the co-worker bought a novel written by a Catholic author about a […]
Every writer needs help. I’m banking on the saintly kind. Any new business could use the assistance from a group of advisers that can guide them through the pitfalls and challenges they will face in their new endeavor. Not only have I pursued that in our world, but the next. I’ve enlisted the guidance from […]
Welcome to Season 2, Episode 3 of My Name Is Not Steve – The Podcast by Storytellers about Storytelling with People Not Named Steve. This time we talk about how to answer the call of your muse… and, hint, it takes a crap tone of hard work. Mobile Users Listen Here or Subscribe on ITunes […]
Writing is fun. Writing is hard. Like any creative endeavor, it has its peaks and valleys. Moments of inspiration are short and writing through incomplete ideas, long. For the hobbyist, indulging in your chosen art only when inspiration hits gives a false impression that, if one were to do it full time, everyday would offer […]
Welcome to Season 2, Episode 2 of My Name Is Not Steve – The Podcast by Storytellers about Storytelling with People Not Named Steve. This time we talk about some of the challenges faced when writing the Gabby Wells novel series and discuss the best way to avoid pitfalls, using film and television examples. More […]
Writing is often a lonely, isolating experience. We usually find our quiet space, fill it with white noise or our favorite music, and write characters that exist in our minds before they do on paper. We spend a lot of time like that. Too much, sometimes. The most valuable thing to me is my time. […]
I just got back from a great vacation with my family in Virginia. There were so many wonderful things to do that everyday was packed with activities. There were a couple of times, however, when everyone else went out and I stayed back in the room and wrote. I loved it. The idea that I […]
A lot of readers who enjoy our Gabby Wells Thriller series are teens who don’t have Amazon accounts. No matter how much they enjoy the book, they can’t leave a review for it or buy other books on their own because they don’t have their own credit cards. Amazon solves this problem by providing Amazon […]
Kneel & Prey, the first novel in the Gabby Wells Thriller series, is on sale for under a buck until July 4th. In this fast-paced novel, Gabby hears rumors a classmate is planning to commit mass murder during the town’s Independence Day celebration and is willing to risk everything, including her soul, to save her […]
The popcorn ceiling looked like an alien landscape. With the full moon spraying its light into Gabby’s room, she stared up from her bed, her eyes exhibiting no interest in sleeping. The clock was nearing two in the morning, and Gabby did her best to convince herself it was time to dream. She didn’t peruse […]
Energized by her time with her friends, Gabby headed over to the Safety Harbor Hardware Store to visit Harold, her father. She loved stopping by. It was a piece of home and smelled like wood, paint, cardboard, and metal all mixed together—like a potent cologne. Before entering, Gabby stopped outside and stared at the small, […]
The downtown gazebo was the center of Gabby’s universe. Located on Main Street, catty-corner from her father’s hardware store, the old, wooden structure with a circular roof looked like something out of a Mark Twain novel. Gabby and her friends, self-dubbed The Gang, considered it their home away from home. The Gang started when she […]
The child’s cry echoed in Gabby’s mind. She had heard it so many times before. She hopped out of the police cruiser and closed her eyes, using her ears to lead her to its source. “Gabs, we’re supposed to stay in the car,” Emma said through the window. Guided by the child’s screams, Gabby jogged […]
Thirty minutes and two slices of pizza later, the school year officially ended and the student body surged from the building like a pimpled-skin tsunami. Gabby kept a steady pace toward the parking lot as the wave passed around her. Emma trudged next to her, lugging her stuffed backpack on her back, the searing June […]
This wasn’t the first time Gabby Wells had snuck her way through Safety Harbor High unnoticed. It probably wouldn’t be the last. Heck, she could do it blindfolded. Actually, she had, once. But that wouldn’t help her now. Not today. Down the long, empty hall, the gray cinderblock walls resembled a prison and the harsh […]
It’s not uncommon for writers to use their work to express their fears. This is true for me as well. The Gabby Wells Thriller series is infused with my internal struggles. Gabby faces a lot of serious crap in these novels, stuff no 15 year old should have to face. She’s a bit broken by […]
Kneel & Prey, the first novel in the Gabby Wells Thriller series, is on sale for under a buck until July 4th. In this fast-paced novel, Gabby hears rumors a classmate is planning to commit mass murder during the town’s Independence Day celebration and is willing to risk everything, including her soul, to save her […]
Welcome to the tenth episode of My Name Is Not Steve – The Podcast by Storytellers about Storytelling with People Not Named Steve. This time we discuss how there really aren’t original plots and that’s okay. It’s not about originality, but execution. Mobile Users Listen Here or Subscribe on ITunes In this episode: Kneel & […]
God never seems to draw a straight line. I wish he did. It’d sure make life a lot easier. The path I’ve been on in writing the Gabby Wells Thrillers is one of the most convoluted one could conceive. Two years ago, almost to the day, I posted about this strange unfolding. Back then I […]