Best Friends

A few weeks ago, Ana and I celebrated the fourth anniversary of our wedding day. This was not as easy as it might sound. You see, up to that point we had been batting only about .333 on anniversaries together. We were married on August 8, 2008 (8-08-08), under...

Writing from the Inside

The other night Ana and I drove a few hours to go hear two of the UK’s finest mystery writers, Sophie Hannah and Tana French, read from their newest novels and answer questions. They were both amazing—personable, hilarious, generous, brimming over with intriguing...

Back to the Machete

I’m writing a book. Have been for weeks. Up until today, it’s felt like I was wielding a machete, hacking my way through gigantic hostile jungle plants as I made my way deeper and deeper into a dark, unknown forest. I’ve had the strong sense that I’m headed somewhere,...

Seeing Comes First

In 1999, I lived for a brief time in an apartment about a block from a Barnes & Noble bookstore. I used to go over there every day or two to and stand at the front racks, imagining that there was a book with my name on it right on the front table. I would also go...

Quotes and Truths

A friend just sent me a copy of a book entitled Attitude Is Everything, by Jeff Keller. The subtitle reads, “Change Your Attitude … Change Your Life!” and the book’s introduction leads off with this famous quotation: “The greatest discovery of my generation is that...

Philosophy in a Nutshell

I love coming up with epigraphs, those little quotes, snippets of inspirational verse, bits of lyrics, or lines from a film that authors sometimes stick up at the top of chapters, like philosophical Post-it Notes, to set a certain tone or theme. Not all my books have...
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You may not be a published writer. But everyone tells stories. For a limited time, you can download “How to Write Good (Or At Least, Gooder)” for free. Right now this 130-page book is a JDM Readers Club exclusive. PLUS when you do you get an additional bonus free gift.

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