How to Write a Book

My writing desk. If only we had time to write long hand. 

After Red Sand came out, friends and strangers have been asking me, "How did you do it? How did you write an entire book?” With almost 1.8 million book titles on Amazon, I’m hardly unique, but not all of those authors are sharing advice.

I think everyone has a book in them. My only goal with the following information is to inspire you to write a book of your own. If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know. But first, here are a few tips:

Rule Number One

Brooklyn Brewery Tour

Mouthwatering!

I often tour breweries and distilleries - the source! I've coursed through  Oban's amber heaven in Scotland and shouted "Davai" in Russia's Baltika brewery, so I can't believe it took me 13 years to gett around to touring the Brooklyn Brewery right here in Williamsburg.

The other night I scheduled a tour. After a two pint warm-up of Radeberger at The Gibson on 11th and Bedford I stumbled over to that red brick warehouse. Erin and Justin ushered me past the big red doors into the tasting room (Mecca) for a glass of one of four flavors in a souvenir glass. I had the privilege of downing

The Big Pumpkin

My son heard me talking about my new book, so he decided to write one of his own - by himself. Bean just turned five. The only thing he asked for was a little spelling help now and then.

Slenderman

Photo Credited to Shadowhaze (Does anyone use their real name anymore?)

It isn't often you see the genesis of an urban legend. Slenderman has been described as a supernaturally tall man with no face and, sometimes, tentacles, dressed in a suit who stalks and captures children and teens. He prefers foggy, woodland areas and seems to turn arson when the need arises. The Mythical Creatures Guide reports: "It would stalk the victim for long amounts of time causing what is known as

Published!

After years of cogitation and nine hard months of writing, my first book, "Red Sand", is now available for download and purchase! Buy it for any e-reader device on Smashwords now, or check our a print version on Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble or wherever books are sold.  It costs less than a cup of coffee at Starbucks and it lasts a lot longer!
What is it about? It's a thriller, a suspenseful roller coaster that will leave you gasping for air. Not enough? You need to know more before before plunking down little more than a one-way trip on the NYC Subway? Okay. Here it is:
The cruise ship Princess Anne sinks under mysterious circumstances. A handful of survivors find themselves rescued by rickety old lifeboats and strange white-haired men, one of them without a tongue! They are carried to a desert island where they are welcomed as "guests" but treated like slaves. Promised a speedy salvation, they instead disappear one by one. Something lives beneath the sand, something even the natives fear. They live behind a great wall on the lava flows, but the survivors of the Princess Anne do not. Why? What is stalking them? When will they leave? As the political structure of the native's camp disintegrates, and a hurricane approaches, the few remaining survivors realize they have only one choice - get off the island at any cost.
Hooked? Buy it here!
I followed a simple formula to write it:
Fear the Island.
Fear the natives.
Fear each other.
Fear yourself.

I guarantee you will enjoy it more than that cappuccino, and certainly more than that subway ride.

Shipwrecks of the World

I've always had a fascination with shipwrecks, which is why they figure so prominently in "Red Sand". There is something majestic and terrifying about these tempest tossed relics of man's inferiority. Once proudly sailing above, now crushed by their own vanity, these rusting hulks represent man's neverending struggle against nature. What is a storm but the personification of man's frailty before nature's wrath?
I'm partial to shipwrecks that remain above water. To sink at sea is one thing, but

Strange Sounds

How did I miss this?
On January 11th and 12th thoughout the Northern Hemisphere, people reported hearing "strange sounds" coming from the sky. Here is a Canadian Television report on the phenomenon. Viewing the videos on YouTube, they sound like a fog horn or a blatting trumpet coming from everywhere at once. While the scientific explanation is simple (electromagnetic waves similar to the Aurora Borealis cause resonance), the sound is extremely eerie. It bears a striking resemblance to the aliens in War of the Worlds and at 3:40 in this video has a striking similarity to the film YellowBrickRoad. Good in a movie. Not so much, though, when you hear those sounds in real life.
I'm a simple guy. I like the simple explanation, but I can't help feeling like a caveman in the dawn of time when I hear this noise. It hits you a primeval way. You just drop what you're doing and wait for whatever horrible thing must be coming next.
It's rare to find something so horrifyingly real on the internet. But I'm sure it didn't scare you.