Culture

Since I come from a journalism background, I spent a lot of years getting pounded with warnings about plagiarism. It was, at least at the time, considered the cardinal sin of writing, one which would brand a scarlet “P” on your shirt and get your fanny tossed out of college without so much as a backward glance.

Flash forward a few years, and my how things have changed. The latest rage comes over the story of Kaavya Viswanathan, that ...

I’ve never been a big fan of modern memoirs. These days, it seems that most of what populates the nonfiction bestseller lists veers toward the treacly or the titillating–pop-culture confessionals that celebrate victimhood as virtue or parade the worst kind of bad taste. Honestly, why would anyone plunk down their hard-earned cash to delve into Paris Hilton’s sex life? Well, obviously there’s a market for it, otherwise publishers wouldn’t be offering handsome advances for these tell-all books.

Don’t ...

Well, the holidays here in the States are off to a roaring start! I’ve been informed by my editor to expect some heavier edits on PRODIGAL, which comes as no surprise. It’s a bit longer than HAMMERJACK, and didn’t go through quite as many drafts before I sent the manuscript off to make the deadline for publication next fall. Right now, I’m cracking my knuckles and waiting for the edits to arrive–but in the meanwhile, I’ve had ...