writing
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Updates: Writing and Marketing
It’s going to be an interesting month. On the writing side, this week I’m tackling the climax of Tangled Roots (working title), the sequel to Driftless Spirits. It’s Halloween in Casten’s Horn, bones have been found, Ivy’s visiting Charlotte, and… Continue reading
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Scenes That Didn’t Happen
I spent yesterday afternoon in a long brainstorming session about the next chapters in Book 2. The book starts really well (in my humble opinion) but I’d begun to feel a little, dare I say it, Driftless. Exactly where and… Continue reading
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Happy New Year! (2025 wrap-up and looking ahead)
We had a very white Christmas here in the Driftless area of Wisconsin: I’m back in my office after taking the last week of 2025 off to recharge. This morning I played around some more with Amazon Ads for Driftless… Continue reading
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As a Writer, My Browser History Has Become Suspicious
Or, “I promise, Honey, I’m not planning to kill you.” I’m writing novels now, but in my prior life I was an engineer and a researcher. Getting my facts right is ingrained in my personality. My fictional town was founded… Continue reading
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Book Contests – Research and Thoughts
This post is to collect my thoughts on entering my book in contests as a form of marketing. My hope is other self-published and indie authors find this useful, maybe as a way to start slightly ahead of Square One… Continue reading
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Driftless Thursday: Bears
According to the Wisconsin DNR, the black bear population in the state is currently estimated at around 24,000. Since moving to the Driftless Area five years ago, we’ve seen a bear about once or twice a year, although we’ve had… Continue reading
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Writing Observations: Quirks and Routines
So, I’ve written my first novel and I’m pretty proud of it. Book 2 is already started but as I write I’m becoming more and more aware of my little quirks and routines. I’m curious if other writers share these… Continue reading
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Secrets in Casten’s Horn (About the Series)
With my first book, Driftless Spirits, now in all the usual places (Kindle, Apple, Nook, Smashwords… here’s the full list), I thought I should talk a bit about what’s coming. The series title is Secrets in Casten’s Horn. It’s hard… Continue reading
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An Update on Publishing
Today I’ve officially clicked “Publish” on Draft2Digital. “Driftless Spirits” in ebook form is rolling out to every distributor and reseller they cover. The links to find my book on CastenHouseBooks.com open a universal links page on Books2Read. As new sites… Continue reading
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Real “Things” in Driftless Spirits
Driftless Spirits is a work of fiction, of course, but I like to sprinkle historical events, lore and even items in my writing that exist in real life. This post tries to capture links to those things in case you’d… Continue reading
