If you’re thinking of getting any of my books for the holidays, it couldn’t be easier. I’ve got you covered, even for autographed books!
I’ve been recommending this essay for years to every writer I know. And it’s free to read online…
I compiled a list of fun facts about this brilliant mathematician after reading two biographies. The oddest little things stayed with me, and here they are…
This month I’m participating in the 100-word #adventghosts2024 flash fiction event run by writer Loren Eaton. You'll find links to all the stories participating in this event at his blog, I Saw Lightning Fall. Here’s my piece. Loren will be adding links to more stories as we get closer to Christmas, and as writers submit them. So be sure to check back. Here’s my story…
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Back in 2013, when the book that was to become my wife’s first bestseller was months away from publication, I found myself with time on my hands. It had taken her seven years to write and research that book, and we were constantly driving up and down the east coast so she could interview people and investigate archives.
But now her book was done, and something I had wanted to write finally had the breathing room to come to life. I envisioned a multi-book series about the life of Kris Kringle. I was inspired by the Mary Stewart books I’d read as a kid, on the life of King Arthur. The first book in that series focused not on Arthur but on Merlin as a boy. Because it had seemed logical to Stewart that we should understand the mentor before the mentee.
I wanted to do something similar. The book I wrote in 2013 was in Jack Frost’s voice. As I described it to my then-agent, the book was: “The life of Kris Kringle, as told by her adoptive father, Jack Frost.”
No matter who I told that pitch to would sit up and say, “Her?”
Which was cool. That, after all, was the whole point of the series—that Santa was a woman all along.
Point being, no one cared about Jack Frost, including, possibly, my agent. It took me the better part of a decade to realize that there are not enough cultural references that click with people (ie, readers) about Jack Frost. But everyone in the world knows Santa Claus, or whatever the gift-bringer icon is in their culture.
So I focused the story on Kringle, writing at least two vastly different drafts of her story. The second version clicked with the agent, but she was not able to sell it. Editors don’t want a seasonal fantasy novel, went the argument.
Oh well, silly me for thinking otherwise.
I indie-pubbed Sorceress Kringle in 2019, and got to work on a sequel.
But I had all this Jack Frost material burning a hole on my hard drive. And when I occasionally peeked at the opening scenes of his story, I got sucked in. I loved his voice. He was a cantankerous prick, the total opposite of sweet, wholesome Kringle.
Could I revise the material and release a prequel? Well, why the hell not?
So today I’m happy to announce that The Icemaster of New-York is finally out in the world, eleven years after it was first conceived. It’s a shorter book than Kringle, and takes place about sixteen years before Kringle takes the stage. It’s bloodier, messier, and sexier too.
I’m proud of it, mostly because it does a good job of telling how Jack Frost came to be, and why he’s so freaking angry. I think you would be, too, if the work of your hands was considered bleak and miserable by most people after the glamor of Christmas wears off each New Year’s Eve.
The book is available in three formats: ebook, paperback, and hardcover. Design by the marvelous James Egan of Bookfly Design, who did the Sorceress Kringle cover back in 2019.
Check out both books here. Autographed copies, as always, are available from Malaprop’s, the bookstore in my town.
It’s good to see the old bastard out in the world at last, telling his own story. You might hate him, but rest assured he hates you, too.
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Yes, I know that I’ve been absent here, but I’m totally fine with it. I’m either totally here, or I’m totally in my work. But for now, as an aid to memory, here’s this quote from the film Gladiator that I am always looking up, and thought it would be nice to have handy on the blog in case I ever need to read it again.
We love that movie. Probably has something to do with our time together in Rome when we were first married, or Richard Harris as Marcus Aurelius, or Denise’s hilarious one-time encounter with Russell Crowe.
My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son. Husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.
I have a short story in a new anthology that is published today! I’m excited to tell you about it because, believe it or not, it’s my first appearance in a fiction anthology. The book is a collection of 24 short stories by 24 different writers who contribute to the SleuthSayers mystery blog that I am always crowing about here…
Every couple of months I get a letter from someone asking if I’ll ghost-write their book. Typically, my correspondents are white, wealthy, business dudes. They’ve made something of themselves, and they want to share their hard-earned wisdom with the world. They think a book is the ticket, but they have no idea where to start. Someone told them they need a ghostwriter, and they start writing people like me. I got one of those emails recently, but this time it had a more interesting wrinkle. Besides asking about my services, the guy also wondered aloud if he should just self-publish the damn thing, and not bother trying to get a “real” publisher. This was a switch. Here’s why…
It’s a great month to be American, folks! The ebook versions of the two history books I wrote with my wife, Denise Kiernan, are on sale across all platforms. For the entire month of February, you’ll be able to pick up each book for $2.99. Bosom buddies Samuel Adams and John Hancock can’t stop nodding their Huzzahs in assent!
I spent a stupid amount of time over the holidays consuming advice for authors in the form of articles, podcasts, and videos. Some of it was actually helpful. A lot of it was just nonsense designed to a) make you insecure, and b) spend money on whatever service the person doing the spouting was selling. Since the rise of self-publishing, a LOT of people are marketing courses and software for writers. I jumped for a lot of those things at the beginning, thinking it would give me the edge. But I’ve soured on most of it.
My latest post for SleuthSayers, the mystery writers blog, shows what happens when stuff annoys me…
The popularity of the 2023 movie Oppenheimer has brought national attention once again to the Manhattan Project. My wife, who wrote a book about the subject, routinely gets emails from fans asking how they can find out definitively if a family member worked on the project during wartime. Here’s her response…
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