Monthly Archives: January 2012

Ethan Kaille’s Diary: 30 January 1765

Posted on January 30, 2012 by dbjackson

As I noted in a post on the first of this year, I recently came across a day journal belonging to Ethan Kaille, thieftaker and conjurer, whose many adventures in Colonial Boston are the subject matter for the upcoming Thieftaker … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, Character, Ethan Kaille, History, Mystery, Short Fiction, Thieftaker, Urban Fantasy, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Writing Tips: More on Dialogue — Conversations As Narrative

Posted on January 27, 2012 by dbjackson

The other day, in my first Writing Tips post, I wrote about said-bookisms and the challenges of dialogue attribution.  Just to reiterate, the key to effective dialogue attribution is showing readers the emotions and thoughts of those characters who speak … Continue reading →

Posted in Character, Ethan Kaille, Friendship, Novels, Publishing, Short Fiction, Thieftaker, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Writing Tips: Said-Bookisms, the Obscure Sin that Can Doom a Manuscript

Posted on January 25, 2012 by dbjackson

I’ve been writing professionally for more than fifteen years, and I’ve been reading avidly for far longer.  Over the years the publishing market has seen sea-changes in almost every respect, with ramifications for the business, the very act of reading, … Continue reading →

Posted in Character, Ethan Kaille, Novels, Publishing, Reading, Short Fiction, Thieftaker, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

A Worthy Cause

Posted on January 21, 2012 by dbjackson

Tonight my wife and I will be attending a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood that is being held at the house of some friends.  Planned Parenthood has recently found itself in the crosshairs of social conservatives on Capitol Hill.  Actually, this … Continue reading →

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A Publicity Idea and a Request for Help

Posted on January 19, 2012 by dbjackson

So I’m looking at having postcards made with the Thieftaker jacket art on the front and information about the book (ISBN number, jacket blurbs — stuff like that) on the back.  I want to have stuff to give away at … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, Fun, Novels, Publicity, Thieftaker, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , | 21 Comments

Researching New Thieftaker Books

Posted on January 17, 2012 by dbjackson

One of the things that often strikes friends and family as strange about my work is the distance in time between “what I’m working on” and “what I have coming out.”  We are still six months away from the July … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, Ethan Kaille, History, Novels, Publishing, Reading, Research, Setting, Thieftaker, Thieves' Quarry, Writing, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Parent’s SAT Angst

Posted on January 15, 2012 by dbjackson

My daughter is in the dining room right now, sitting down to take a practice SAT.  She’ll be at it for four hours. I still remember taking the SAT.  I remember my scores, even though it’s been over thirty years … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, kids, parenting | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Appearances for 2012!

Posted on January 13, 2012 by dbjackson

I have just updated the D.B. Jackson website with a listing of my appearances for this year.  Right now the list is a bit thin.  I’ll be at Marcon (Columbus, Ohio) in April, ConCarolinas (Charlotte, NC) in June, and World … Continue reading →

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“…To Ourselves and Our Posterity…”

Posted on January 11, 2012 by dbjackson

Over the past two weeks, my younger daughter has had an interesting assignment in her middle school humanities class.  The teacher had the kids reading not only the U. S. Constitution, but also all twenty-six amendments to the Constitution.  The … Continue reading →

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THIEFTAKER Galley Proofs

Posted on January 9, 2012 by dbjackson

This week I am proofreading the galley proofs — the typeset text — of Thieftaker, book I in the Thieftaker Chronicles (due out from Tor Books in July of this year).  This is the author’s final step in the production … Continue reading →

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