"So nat'ralists observe, a flea Has smaller fleas that on him prey; And these have smaller fleas to bite 'em.” Jonathan Swift, On Poetry: A Rhapsody We’re all a cheerful heaving mass of parasites. Parasites on parasites at times. A delightful thought, one of the joys of having a biologist write about writing… Some of... Continue Reading →
Slog
I see in today’s paper that Australian research identifies me as a ‘slogger’ - a bloke who would like to work less but needs the money. And there I thought I was just a lazy beggar who would like to fish a bit more often. The interesting part to their whole schpiel – which didn’t... Continue Reading →
Third Annual Indie Author Labor Day Sale
I'd like to thank Amie Gibbons for pulling this together. Between school and life, I've been too busy to think straight, let alone do the legwork. You should really check out her work - she writes fun, original urban fantasy/mythology that is as perky as she is. It’s that time of year again. The kiddies are... Continue Reading →
Tortoise Kebab
Here I am still busy with Xeno’s last chapter (which has become at least one more chapter) in trying to finish TOM – the ‘quick’ light fantasy/satire novel about a semi-feral young cat who finds himself transformed into being a curmudgeonly magician’s apprentice – that I was doing as light relief from more complex books.... Continue Reading →
Halloween Sale and More
(Updated @ 1130 hrs) It’s the time of ghouls and goblins and things that go bump in the night. Halloween is one of my favorite times of year. To celebrate this year, some of the Mad Genii and friends are taking part in a limited time sale of some of their work. (Be sure to confirm the prices... Continue Reading →
blurbs and descriptions
"Hello, I'm Dave... and yes, I, I... have a reading problem..." "Go on Dave, you're among friends here. We've all been there." "Well, I don't think I want to quit. But... but I need help." "Oh, none of us do, when you're deep in a great book. But the bastards put that Amazon link at... Continue Reading →
It’s Wednesday and Sarah is MIA
Well, not really. She is at a workshop and we got an SOS from her earlier to let us know that her travel laptop has crapped out. Now, besides being a pain because it means her writing will be impacted, it means she isn't able to do a blog today. So here's what we're going... Continue Reading →
The spoil* of the poor is in your houses
Dave couldn't make the internet work (oh noes, teh webz are busted!) So these are the words of the illustrious Grand Doc Monkey, not mine. ************** ‘The spoil* of the poor is in your houses.’ *AKA’loot’ We’ve talked about super-readers, the small percentage of readers who buy 25% of the books. I am sure... Continue Reading →
A Bit of Promo for the Mad Ones
Promotion is one of those things every one of us at MGC knows we need to do but we don't do nearly as often or as much as we should. We'd much rather be writing -- or tearing out our fingernails -- than promoting our own work. So, since we haven't done this for awhile,... Continue Reading →
Don’t knock at doors. Knock down walls instead
It's no surprise to anyone who has been a regular follower of this blog to know I'm a big supporter of small press and indie publishing. I have been for a long time, long before I actually started working in the industry. But that doesn't mean I wish ill to traditional publishing. It has its... Continue Reading →
Mad Genius Club 