The Archive consists of Years of articles, interviews and stories, all in one place
Welcome to the back shelves. Over the years I’ve written nearly a thousand articles, interviewed hundreds of authors and shared plenty of stories along the way, from essays on writing and the mind to free lessons for writers, travel tales and life beyond the desk. Much of it is still as useful today as the day it was written, so I’ve gathered it here for you.
To explore, open the Archive menu at the top of the page and choose any title. New pieces are added as I go, so check back now and then.
Everything here is free to read. If you’ve found it valuable, you’re welcome to support my work, and either way, thank you for stopping by.
NOTE:
Work in progress. I’m moving years of articles, interviews and stories into this archive a few at a time, so not everything is here yet. More will appear over the coming weeks, so check back in a month or so to see what’s new.
Also in the Archives you will eventually find:
Conversations with Remarkable Writers
Over the years I’ve interviewed more than 350 authors, including New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors, writers published by more than 20 major publishing houses, who have collectively written thousands of books, and authors from 45 states and nine countries.
You’ll find Robert McKee, the former USC professor whose book Story is known as the screenwriter’s bible, and UCLA screenwriting professor Richard Walter, whose students include Academy Award winners Alexander Payne and Dustin Lance Black. You’ll meet Craig Johnson, creator of the Longmire series, three co-authors of Clive Cussler’s novels, Robin Burcell, Boyd Morrison and Craig Dirgo, and David A. Adler and Dandi Mackall, who have written more than 250 and 450 books respectively.
Not every voice here belongs to a novelist. I’ve spoken with a press officer for NASA, a US Air Force stealth bomber pilot, an FBI Academy-trained forensic artist, a police hostage negotiator, psychiatrists, a professional jazz drummer, a medicine woman, an 11-year-old author, and even Don Knotts’ brother-in-law.
They write thrillers, mysteries, westerns, romance, poetry, history, children’s books, young adult fiction and nonfiction of every kind, and they belong to organizations from the Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers to the Western Writers of America and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Each interview shares how these writers work, what keeps them going and the advice they’d give you. Browse the collection below.