There's a little flow chart thing that happened when you read the subject line of this email. As such: Option #1: If you've ever lived in (or regularly visited) Austin, Texas, chances are good that you read this email's subject and thought, "Oh, Johnny knows about Bob!" or possibly "Does he mean that Bob Schneider?" Option #2: If you're not an Austin regular, you probably said, "Who?" ... and that right there is the first way that I'm basically the Bob Schneider of authors. You're welcome?...
6 days ago • 11 min read
Last week, a friend asked me a question: If I could pick just one book for the world to remember me by, which would it be? After much hemming and hawing, I chose Unicorn Western. I love all of my books, but in a pinch I had to give UW the win. It's just so ... WEIRD and UNUSUAL and LIKE NOTHING ELSE. I like the idea of being known for something truly wacky -- something that manages to be bizarre and profound at the same time. The problem is, a lot of my readers haven't read Unicorn Western....
19 days ago • 6 min read
Good morning! I've got three small things to share this week, so I figured I'd put them together in a single email. Finally: Something from me that's scannable! THING #1: Talking to creative kids about the hard parts of artistry, self-worth, and angst Most Fridays, I record a very fun podcast about writing and creativity -- a peek "inside the author's studio." It's called the One-Drink Book Club and is usually a paid benefit for members of my Substack. However, I decided to make the most...
27 days ago • 2 min read
The struggle is real, folks. When I first heard that famous quote about long vs short letters and how long it takes to write each, I thought it was just someone being clever. Now, I think it’s truth. Writing books is easy for me. Writing short stories, on the other hand, is a real bitch. Last week, I finished a story in the Gore Point world called Moloch. (It’s actually the “a group of kids find a wounded soldier demon in a cave with disastrous results” prompt I offered in the same group of...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
It hit me yesterday just how much I appreciate you guys. I knew that I appreciated you (along with anyone who's ever read one of my books), but this was an existential next level. I thought it merited an email to say so. To say thanks. The realization hit me right in the face. I'd just pulled into a parking space at my gym, and I was preparing to grab my things and go inside, but first I shored up the rest of the day's to-dos on my phone. I need to go back to the bookstore, for instance, to...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
I was talking to a friend (who also happens to be a reader) recently, and she asked me how I know when a story is finished, when there's still more story left to tell, and how those two things play together to create sequels -- and, eventually, complete series. We were specifically talking about City of Fire (sequel to Gore Point), but it applies to any sequel. I'll use that example here ... but no worries; I can do it without spoilers. I should also pause here to remind you that the City of...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
I got the ridiculous idea in my head recently to write a branching-narrative story, similar to the old "Choose Your Own Adventure" books from the 80s. (I originally wrote the story with you all voting at a few decision points along the way. Remember that? I called the project Mine Zero.) But then people said "I want to know what happens with ALL of the choices!" So I said okay, fine. I'll write out all the damn choices, with all the options, and readers can decide what happens as they read by...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
This Wednesday, I had one of those moments -- one of those landmark days where you say, "Oh, wow ... that thing I always imagined finally happened." And it's so surreal, you almost don't know how to react to it. And so you barely do react to it. Until later in the day, when you suddenly find yourself thinking: Okay, that was really, really fucking cool. I need to be more excited. And that's when it hits you. I'm about to tell you all about it, but first some quick housekeeping. I'll do it...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
I'd like to try an experiment. The whole point of being on my list is to have access to stuff other readers never see, but so far it's meant only behind-the-scenes info ... which is fun and all, but my guess is you'd also like some exclusive content, like stories that ONLY exist here, for those of you in the Truantverse. So I thought I'd write a new short story just for you -- one I'll co-create it WITH you along the way. We'll do it with your help. I'll write a bit, stopping at a fork in the...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Hey! Happy Sunday to you. (People were amused that my last email was sent from a coffee shop with my daughter, so I don't mind telling you that this one was sent from a hotel room in Houston. I'm being a workaholic while my wife watches the Kentucky Derby and my son draws on his iPad. We're at one of my daughter's volleyball tournaments on a long-ass break. And BTW, I'm queuing this up to send on Sunday, so nobody be a wiseass and point out that the Kentucky Derby was on Saturday and conclude...
5 months ago • 6 min read