I think my prose reads as if English were my second language. By the time I get to the end of a paragraph, I'm dodging bullets and gasping for breath.

There is nothing that compares to an unexpected round of applause.

A good short-story writer has an instinct for sketching in just enough background to ground the specific story.

My writing has to support more than my research habit, but I love to curl up with a book about some dusty corner of history.

For me, writing a short story is much, much harder than writing a novel.

The money can be decent, but I really don't recommend the work-for-hire route as an entry into publishing. Too many things can go wrong.

Editors of open anthologies actively seek submissions from all comers, established and unknown. They are willing to read whatever the tide washes up at their feet.