Getting testimonials for the back of a book is a strange task. I imagine if you have an agent that is what the agent helps with, but I wouldn’t know. I have had my share of rejections from them. Panhandlers will be my second novel published without one. I’ve decided with my third – yet-to-be-finished – novel, I will attempt to go that route again. … Continue reading Testimonial for back cover of Panhandlers
Last month I shared my thoughts on Scott Frank’s Netflix series Godless. You can read it here. I also posted it on twitter. Scott Frank read it there. And he replied. Frank set me straight, and to my surprise, he has never read Blood Meridian. Below is the conversation that we had via twitter. Scott Frank: “I’ve not read Blood Meridian. I stole plenty from the … Continue reading Godless and Cormac McCarthy, pt. 2: follow-up with Scott Frank
***This contains some spoilers*** Decided to check out the Netflix show Godless after hearing great things about it and finding out the writer/director, Scott Frank, is from Ft Walton Beach, which always makes it a bit more special when it’s someone from so close to your home town. I live in Pensacola, Florida for anyone reading this who might not know me. And I love … Continue reading Godless and Cormac McCarthy
I’m fascinated, obsessed may be a better term, with word count. I want to make sure I reach the magical number of 50,000 words when writing a novel. Native Moments is around 95,000 words. Perhaps a bit on the long side. As of now, Panhandlers is just above 58,000 words and I’m working on paring it down to get it as tight and precise as … Continue reading The Art of the Short Novel
Woke up today to a great 5 star review. I’ve heard there is a magic number, 25 maybe, that once you reach that many reviews Amazon will start promoting your book. I’m not sure how true that is. What I do know is that reviews make writing feel like you didn’t completely waste your time. It makes you feel like writing is a worthwhile endeavor. … Continue reading Amazon Reviews
Great interview from one of the modern masters of the craft. Continue reading Art is Heavy Lifting
Just bought tickets to visit Costa Rica in January. Almost twenty years later…Seventeen to be exact, but what’s three year? Yes, that is still a long time from now, but I’m older now and I plan ahead. I’ve got a business to run even while I’m out of the country. Much different than when I was twenty and a buddy of mine mentioned that Costa Rica … Continue reading Costa Rica – Twenty Years Later
For some reason every time I see Pensacola in a book I’m reading, a sense of hometown pride swells in me. For instance, I’m currently reading Tom Robbins’s Another Roadside Attraction and came across this line on page 61: “Despite his silly grin. He was accepted for pilot’s training and was graduated from the Pensacola air school, third in his class.” This line is from Barry … Continue reading Seeing Your Hometown in Novels
Hemingway said, “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn. American writing comes from that. There was nothing before.” Melville was before that, but you could arguing although Melville was American what he was doing wasn’t really American writing. It was more English than American, right? American writing is the terse, hard sentences. The absence of adjectives. Melville used … Continue reading Who is the next heavyweight of American Literature?
Here is your chance to win an autographed copy of Native Moments before it comes out. The GoodReads giveaway ends July 26th. That is almost two months before the release date. Enter Now! Also, if you preorder from Amazon you will receive your copy earlier than if you wait to buy it from me directly. I won’t have any for sale until about two weeks after the release … Continue reading Good Reads Giveaway
Nic Schuck 