Characters and Competence

I see lots of complaints from writers about getting reviews that say that their characters are not likable or the same said of characters in movies and TV shows and I wondered is that really a problem, and I’m increasingly thinking that the real problem is that the term “likable” isn’t very precise.

Magic Systems and Union Station

When I approached writing my latest novel, Union Station, I wanted to make the magic an interesting part of the story. And so I thought for a long time about how magic works in stories, what other media included interesting systems of magic, and how I could utilize that in my writing.

Long Beach

My latest novel, Union Station, is set largely in the Los Angeles area and much of that is focussed in my hometown, Long Beach, California.