Welcome to my home on the Internet. Here you can find where I'm doing book signings or convention appearances, a bit about writing and more on my books. Make sure to check out the Forums where a lot of really cool people hang out.
Newest Books
- July 2011 Naked City: An anthology, my story is Fairy Gifts
- August 2011 Home Improvement: An urban fantasy anthology, my story is called Gray.
- October 2011 Down These Strange Streets: Yet another anthology. My entry is called In Red With Pearls.
Upcoming Books:
- March 2012 Fair Game: Book 3 of the Alpha and Omega series.
- Spring 2013 Mercy Thompson #7, not yet titled
Soapbox, Sales Floor or Front Porch?
By: MikeJan 26, 2012
We hung the first version of a website for Patty back in 1996. We had attended a couple of conventions, and the self-promotion movement was just gaining steam. We couldn't afford to launch a media campaign or a signing tour, but we could bodge a few web pages together. Our first attempt was called The Writer's Cottage and had a really cheesy "rustic cottage" motif. Even so, figuring out how to display content on the internet was far easier than deciding what to display.
We decided that we wanted this to be a “professional” site. A giant advertisement in glowing pixels designed to hijack the attention of any web-weary traveler who stumbled in and convince them to buy a book or two. This approach was both obvious and unoriginal. Fortunately, we saw a few cringe-worthy examples of commercial author sites with scrolling text and flashing "Buy It Now" buttons, and went back to the drawing board.
Ultimately, we decided to keep the books page updated with everything we can think of that a reader might want to know about Patty's writing. That part of the site may go several months without changes. We decided that the home paged needed more regular changes, so people would know that the site wasn't abandoned. We called these little changes "updating the home page", but times change, and at some point people started calling it a blog. Which, brings us back to the problem of what to write about here.
Ask twenty authors what they blog about, and you'll get thirty opinions. Some authors have fascinating hobbies, and others have interesting careers. Some are extroverts who will happily blog about the intimate details of their life. There's probably no right answer. I'm amazed by the folks who can come up with a scintillating blog nearly every day. Within a week, I'd be sharing my recipe for Cheerios (hint: add milk). Ultimately, we've decided that we can use this site to share some details of our lives, and some of the concerns and details of making a living as an author. We try to keep it chatty, and friendly, and fairly short. Sort of, "This is our front porch, and we're so happy you stopped by."
Cue Nostalgia . . .
Patty and I grew up back in the 60's and 70's in rural America. That ineffable kind of golden-hued dream that Norman Rockwell paintings tried to capture. Front porches were an important part of the culture. You see, a front porch was a middle ground, neither in the house nor on the street. A place to chat about the weather, and discuss the church bazzar. A place a housewife could talk to the mailman without inviting gossip. A place to meet that didn't let visitors see the dirty dishes in your sink. The front porch was not the place to discuss business matters, or engage in political or philosophical discussion. Weighty topics were reserved for after-dinner discussion in the den.
Some authors are daring. They blog about politics, social injustice, and crusade for their favorite charities. We've occasionally had requests to promote one agenda or another here, many of them worthy causes that honestly deserve more attention. Many times I've started to pen a serious entry, and worked up a good head of steam, only to finally decide against it. That's not what front porches are for.
Now, if I could only figure out how to serve lemonade and cookies. . .