Linda Maye Adams

The Journal, Monday, April 9

Hey Folks, I hope to get started on my next novel soon. Probably another noir mystery. We’ll see what appeals to me. Probably no writing today. An edit came in, though it’s a re-read so it won’t take more than two or three days. I don’t like doing re-reads, but if the writer insists, I’ll do it for half the price of the original edit. I don’t personally recommend revising an edited manuscript, but when I’m wearing my copyeditor hat, the customer is always right. In the meantime, my recent camping experience proved I can walk (rugged terrain) three miles … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, April 1

Hey Folks, Long post today. Hope you had or are having a happy and uneventful April Fools Day and Easter. I’m finding if I can avoid the Smashwords blog on this day, I come through pretty much unscathed. Mark Coker got me (and a great many others) two or three years ago when he used the Smashwords blog to announce that Amazon was doing something very harmful to writers. They would soon announce they’d come up with an intelligent program that churned out novels, thereby negating the need for writers. Something like that. And yeah, I bought it. I emailed … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, March 29

Hey Folks, A lot of good links included today. The learning truly never ends. I started the morning per usual, cycling back over what I wrote yesterday. As I went, I realized I’d left some sensory detail out of a few scenes at the beginning of chapters. That “grounding the reader” thing. It’s important. So why do I have to do that while cycling? Well, I don’t always. Most of the time I remember to ground the reader at the beginning of each major scene and chapter as I’m writing it. But that’s the value of cycling. Of being “unstuck … Read more

The Journal, Monday, March 19

Hey Folks, No writing today. More on that (through gritted teeth) later. Well, I simplified my website a bit, based on recommendations in the link I shared here a couple days ago. No drop-down menus on the home page. Now when you click (for example) Mystery Novels, it takes you to a page full of mystery novel covers. Each cover links to its own page on the site. They also recommended having only one row of menu items. I decided against that. I write in (so far) four differnt genres plus short fiction and poetry. So I decided to leave … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, March 15 (The Ides of March)

Hey Folks, Well, another slow start to the day. And chances are I’ll have only a half-day today. I meant to rise early (2-3) and get straight out to the Hovel and the novel. Uh, but that ain’t what happened. I decided to skip my waking-up ritual, so as it turned out I just sat and stared at my writing ‘puter for awhile. Didn’t even read over what I’d written yesterday, which is my usually start on the writing day. So back up to the house for a bit to write this, check things around the web, etc. When I … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, February 28

Hey Folks, Well, there y’go. Last day of the month. I’m pretty sure I won’t finish my novel today, so I guess I’ll miss putting one out in February. (grin) Well, I won’t write a whole novel during February, but I published one yesterday. That’s the cover over there on the left. Came out okay, especially given that I’m considerably out of practice. I rolled out early this morning for some reason, around 2 a.m. Of course, I checked Dean’s site. At the time there were about 20 hours left in the North by Northwest Kickstarter. So I dropped in … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, February 13

Hey Folks, Not sure what’s going on in my head currently. I have to slow down, I know that much. Probably today I’ll try to finish getting StoneThread Publishing up to par, and then do the necessary things to publish my previous novel. I gave up on the notion of reading it to my wife. We’re both too tired in the evenings for that sort of thing. When I do return to writing, well, I’m kind of losing interest in my WIP, The Age Exchange. Not really, but sort of. The thing is, I’m itching to write a true thriller. … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, January 16

Hey Folks, Not a lot to report today. We had a quick trip to Sierra Vista to resolve the second life roll. Fortunately it turned out to be a much less eventful than it might have been. I wrote early this morning for an hour or so, and then a bit more after we got home. Those numbers are displayed below. Feels good to be back to the novel. See you then. Of Interest Linda Maye Adams posted “Perfectionism and Reading Fiction” at https://lindamayeadams.com/2018/01/15/perfectionism-and-reading-fiction/. See what you think. I might tackle this topic myself in a day or two. You … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, January 7

Hey Folks, Wow, strange day. I usually write a lot of what will become the day’s Journal entry early, then add to it off and on through the day. Today was supposed to be another nonwriting day, but it turned out about like yesterday did. But with a unique twist. I was working on my current work in progress when an idea sprang into my head. It was a morbid little thought, one more suited for my person Eric Stringer than for me. Or maybe even for my character, Charles Claymore Task. Charlie would love it. Anyway, for about an … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, December 30

Hey Folks, As part of my prep for 2018, over the past month or so I’ve been developing a new way to brand my covers. Specifically, the author name part. Here’s the way my author name will appear on covers into the future: The background will blend with the cover. Of course, the font colors and the background behind my first name also are adaptable. You’ll see this in a cover below. Branding is all about making your work easier for readers to find. That’s why one precept of cover design requires that, even in the thumbnail version, both the … Read more