Bill Stephens's Blog – May 2007 Archive (5)

Ok, I'll admit it. I lack what it takes to write serious literary fiction. Stephen King settled that issue for me in his book, On Writing, when he said, "You will never be a great writer unless you are born with it." Great writers must be passionate about something, right? I'm only passionate about things I shouldn't eat or drink.

So the arrogance of someone so lacking as myself, offering up a thesis that literary fiction doesn't sell and inferring that cognitive critters…

The movie, "Flags of Our Fathers," cast a whole new light on an encounter a couple of decades ago in San Francisco's North Beach Area. I didn't know it at the time, but I met a man in a cozy Italian restaurant that arguably changed the history of the world.

You can read the story behind the book, the movie, and my encounter with Joe Rosenthal at www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/billstephens

The natives are restless. Readers of the free serialized novel, Horizons Past ( www.horizonspast.com ) are getting anxious as the novel approaches the midpoint of Act II. They want to keep the action going, rather than reading a chapter each week. The question, "How can we get a copy of the whole book" keeps cropping up.

For those unfamiliar with Horizons Past, here is a brief synopsis:

"Horizons Past examines the possibility of two…

The Good Book says, "Be sure to cast your bread on the water, and it will return to you." The publishing industry seems to be hueingto this philosophy more every week.…

Our writing group, Daedalus, has undertaken an interesting project. This group of five women college/high school professors plus me, meets monthly to critique each other's work. We are the distillate of probably three-dozen former members who came and went over the last twelve years. Our membership stabilized about five years ago and seems destined to continue into the…