BooksofJobe.com

Coastal Transmissions From an Oregon Transplant

books

  • We Make Plans and God Laughs

    I’ve always liked that quote. It can be read many ways, but I always got a sense of nihilism from it—you can do all the preparation and planning you want, but you never know when a monkey wrench can get thrown in that renders it all meaningless. I’m not here to get all philosophical, though.… Read more

  • Bovine Vagina Muscle Relaxant

    I bet that got your attention. After learning one of my favorite writers, Lou Berney, was a staff writer on the FX show The Lowdown, I shuffled my watchlist priorities and watched the Ethan Hawke led neo-noir comedy over the course of a week and a half or so. The verdict? Even better than I… Read more

  • Crooks: A Novel About Crime and Family, by Lou Berney

    It’s not often that I read a book that makes me stop and think, “I don’t think I’ve seen a story told quite this way before.” Crooks marks the second time I’ve thought that about a book written by Lou Berney. The book spans six decades, telling the story of the Mercurios. We learn about… Read more

  • A Follow Up About Querying

    Do you ever go back to something you hadn’t done in a while, and then after doing it again for a bit remember there’s an easier way? That happens to me every so often (maybe he’s born with it—maybe it’s ADHD), and I finally recalled some tips about querying agents I thought I’d pass along… Read more

  • The Comforting Reassurance of a 90 Minute Rejection

    I queried the old version of my novel to maybe 40 or 50 agents before taking a break. I had found a handful of tweaks I wanted to make to the manuscript (mostly minor, some more significant), and after sending my query letter to dozens of agents without so much as a nibble of interest… Read more

  • Overthinking? Try Unpacking the Suitcase

    In my last post, I mentioned a writers workshop I went to on the coast. One of the presenters was a horror writer/director named Duncan Birmingham. His movie Who Invited Them? is on Hulu, and definitely worth a watch if you’re into unsettling, off putting stories. Duncan’s presentation involved what he called “unpacking the suitcase.”… Read more

  • Let’s Start at the (New) Beginning

    Looking at a couple examples of great book openings. Read more

  • Where Do You Find Inspiration?

    Inspiration for writers can sometimes be hard to come by. We’re all out there, grinding as best we can, but sometimes that doesn’t cut it. Sometimes it feels like being a writer is nothing but a huge exercise in futility. You write, you submit, you get rejected, rinse, repeat. After a while you can start… Read more

  • Unsolicited Advice From an Unqualified Source

    Well, I don’t know if I’d call myself *completely* unqualified. Partly qualified? Sure, let’s go with that. I just thought the title was catchy and went with it. What I’d like to do is offer a little advice/encouragement to writers at nearly every stage of their journey. And what gives me, a largely unpublished writer… Read more

  • Proof of Life Post

    I’ve never liked it when I read someone’s blog and the first thing the blogger says is “Sorry I haven’t posted in so long.” I always think, Don’t apologize! Life happens, it can be a lot. Post when you can. So I won’t apologize, but…It’s been a hot minute since I’ve posted anything, so I… Read more