I'm working abnormally fast. It took me less than three days to get a full outline and I'm already writing the story. Killer Pete took forever to outline and even longer to write. This one is flowing. I've learned to be happy for small, good things like having a story flow. Once again, I have… Continue reading Madmen Prefer Blondes Scene One
I previously said 1. I was going to take a break. 2. I was going to read. 3. My next story was going to be more intimate with fewer characters. So, what did I do? I outlined the second story of my new book. It's got 12 characters and is complicated as hell. And my… Continue reading 2nd Story Update
I've had a few stuffy reads lately. Well regarded, well written, well mannered—well, well, well. And then, I read this pulpy, wild tale. It's freeing. The novel teems with coincidences and improbable turns, yet they never feel arbitrary. Within Markham’s feverish style, these chance encounters take on the rhythm of a nightmare—events emerging and dissolving… Continue reading The Devil Drives (1932)
It took longer than expected, but I finally finished a solid draft of Killer Pete. I'm going to take a month-long break. I'm going to read, exercise, meditate...anything but write. Whenever an idea comes to me, I'll make a note of it. The next story will have a smaller cast and more action. Pete is… Continue reading October update
In the summer of 1924, reclusive inventor Horace Cobb is found dead inside his fortress-like workshop. The door was locked from the inside, the windows sealed with iron, and no one could have entered or left. Yet Cobb lies shot through the heart—his killer apparently a six-foot automaton dressed as a cowboy, revolver still smoking… Continue reading Killer Pete
James Scott Byrnside 