Not too many people know this about me, probably because I don’t really have all that many friends to begin with, but I like to watch religious movies like ‘God is Not Dead’. The most amusing thing to me about them is that the people involved think that, by watching the films, non-believers will have … Continue reading Cost and Value
Author: John McCarthy
What did you think?
My first book, Bad Habits, has been out for a few months now. You may have heard me talk about it, may have bought it, may have read it; you may have even had it stolen out of your mail. But now I want to know what you think of it. If you thought it … Continue reading What did you think?
Bad Habits
It doesn't escape me that this is the first book announcement of my career as a writer. Prior to its availability, I still told people I was a writer. I was writing with the intention of putting my work out for sale, just as your favorite author does, I just didn't have the prior work … Continue reading Bad Habits
Pulling the Trigger
I've never had difficulty adding words to things. If you listen to me talk you'll hear the commas and parentheses as if they were actually coming out of my mouth. That situation is encouraged by the fact that I can count on one hand the number of times I regret, probably too strong a word, … Continue reading Pulling the Trigger
The Right Number of Words
Up until the first novel I finished last year, the longest piece of writing I had ever completed was my doctoral dissertation. It presented evidence that the Internet was a poor place to conduct survey research. Too many people come to the survey and don’t start it. Of those that do start, too many people … Continue reading The Right Number of Words
Overlap
I was a swimmer in High School. We had a good team, explainable by the three plus hours of practice daily, an hour of which was before school. Prior to high school I hadn’t been on any swim team, although I spent my entire summers at the neighborhood pool two blocks from my house. My … Continue reading Overlap
One New Thing
A good way to become something is to act like you already are that thing. Fake it til you make it. Pray first and faith will follow. Subscribe to magazines for writers if you want to become one. Last year my daughter came home with a school fundraiser offering magazine subscriptions. I avoid magazines. The … Continue reading One New Thing
Who I am and Why I’m Here
They say, and I believe them because they rarely lead me astray, that authors nowadays need a platform to reach readers. Certainly the new ones, of which I am one, could benefit in an effort to find their audience, but there are larger advantages. While I am not putting myself in the same category as … Continue reading Who I am and Why I’m Here
The Bad Guy
The most common question I see authors getting when I go to their talks is about where they get their ideas. It's kind of a throwaway question, and I don't listen too hard to the answer. If you've read the author's biography, you know where Clancy's, King's, and Weber's minds are lounging. My favorite is … Continue reading The Bad Guy
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