Another Draft Bites the Dust
A month ago, I finished the third draft of what I’m calling my “teen epic.” Between December 2023 and the end of April 2024, I…
The Nuclear Submarine U.S.S. Bodacious Resurfaces After Six Months of “Deep and Silent”
About five months ago, I bought a countdown clock that sits directly below my computer monitor, and for 157 days it’s been ticking down. It’s…
Livin’ the Dream
A couple weeks ago, I finished the second draft of the third episode (or volume) of the epic-length novel I’ve been writing for seven years.…
One Decision that Changed My Life for the Better
Last weekend, I attended a surprise party for my younger sister’s 50th birthday. The party, hosted by her husband and best friend, was a great…
Aloneness
Lately, more than ever, I’ve been thinking about a quote by the late, great playwright Sam Shepard: “Aloneness is a condition of writing. You look…
F‑ck Fifty-one
This morning, to celebrate my birthday and the fact that I’m probably in the best shape of my life since I was 17, I went…
The Social Distancing Champion Thrives in the Pandemic
I have a T‑shirt with a quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald on it. The quote reads, “You don’t write because you want to say something.…
"Hard Times" by Hubert von Herkomer.
Hard(ish) Times
Back in March, I wrote a cheeky blog entry about how COVID-19 wouldn’t change my work as a writer a single bit. Turns out, I…
The Inspiration of New Places and New Spaces for a Novelist
For a novelist, sometimes a minuscule change in routine, place or living situation can produce a massive shift in perspective that opens the floodgates of…
Backstory: The Story Behind A Truth Stranger Than Fiction
WARNING: This entry contains spoilers about the novel A Truth Stranger Than Fiction. Continue reading at your own risk! Most of my mystery novels, and…
On the Virtues of Being Able to Write Anywhere
Compared to other novelists I know or have read about, I’m something of an anomaly: I’m a novelist who can write just about anywhere. While…
Backstory: The Story Behind the Second Dakota Stevens mystery, The Rich Are Different — Part 1
The novel that became The Rich Are Different was written during the winter of 2001-02, over a year before I even conceived of the Dakota…
Writing in Asian Restaurants
I’m writing this blog entry in one of my favorite Asian restaurants: Momiji in Rhinebeck, NY. I’m not exactly sure why, but I’ve been writing…
Backstory: The Story Behind the First Dakota Stevens Mystery, A Real Piece of Work
A Real Piece of Work and the entire Dakota Stevens Mystery Series might never have happened were it not for a bad office chair. During…
My Prodigiously Convoluted Yet Miraculously Productive Low-Tech Writing Process — Part 2 — With a Few Modest Writing Secrets
In the first installment of this piece, I described the first half of my writing process: Writing the first draft in longhand or on a…
My Prodigiously Convoluted Yet Miraculously Productive Low-Tech Writing Process — Part 1
I’m writing this blog entry on my latest piece of low-tech equipment, an Olivetti Lettera 32 typewriter. All told, I now have six typewriters: •…
Backstory: The Story Behind Perpetuating Trouble
The opening sentence of Perpetuating Trouble is absolutely true: “I was told to write this book by a pair of alien girls.” That incident with…
Being a Novelist Isn’t a Job, It’s a Lifestyle
Back in December, after having completed the first draft of a 550,000-word, 1,600-page novel, I took a nearly month-long vacation (my first in years). For…
Perpetuating Trouble: I’m Livin’ the Dream! Or Am I?
I’m pleased to announce the release of my personal memoir about the writing life, Perpetuating Trouble. I’ve been working on this book on and off since…
Procrastination as a Rarefied Art Form
A brief excerpt from my new humorous memoir, coming out this fall: I can’t speak for all blocked writers, but when I’m blocked, I seek…
The Role of Scaffolding in Writing a Long Novel
I’m currently 250,000 words into a novel that looks like it will go to 300,000 words. It could go as long as one of my…
WANTED: A 21st Century Author Promoter
I love writing. I love sitting down with half a dozen fresh Blackwing 602 pencils, sharpening them to a razor edge and filling up pages…
Print book cover for THE RONALD AND OTHER PLAYS.
The Ronald And Other Plays: A Political Satire of How Trump Won the Presidency
Today I’m pleased to announce the release of The Ronald And Other Plays, a collection that includes five short plays and my first full-length play, The Ronald.…
New Year, New Work
Back in December I released the latest installment in the Dakota Stevens Mystery Series, The Perfect Triple Threat. I spent most of December and part of…
The Writer with the Master Number Clears the Deck
Two years ago, when I released the 3rd Dakota Stevens installment, I read one of those rare books that gave me a much-needed kick in…
Only Have Time for Essentials
“At 46 one must be a miser; only have time for essentials.” — Virginia Woolf, diary, 3/22/1928 I stumbled upon this quotation earlier this week.…
Why This 2016 Writer is Going to the Woods
When Henry David Thoreau went to the woods by Walden Pond in Concord, Mass. in 1845, he had his own, somewhat convoluted, reasons for doing…
Chris signing a copy of 100 MILES for a reader at the Junior League of Poughkeepsie Authors' Luncheon.
A Lovely Authors’ Luncheon with the Junior League of Poughkeepsie
Today I attended an Authors’ Luncheon hosted by the Junior League of Poughkeepsie. The luncheon was a benefit to raise money for a JLP–Dutchess Community…
Out with the Old, In with the New
A New Year demands new writing projects and a new workspace. And since I’m a writer who is deeply inspired or discouraged by his environment,…
Orcutt Books Holiday Sale!
Since October, I’ve been back at work on a few new projects, including new Dakota Stevens adventures, and to celebrate how well the writing has…
The Novelist Heals
Forget any romantic images you might have of novel-writing: that it’s nothing but staring out big picture windows at the sea and autographing copies of…
Me and My Montblanc
This is the very short story of a man and his pen. Around 1988, when I went to college to study philosophy, my forward-thinking uncle,…
To All So-Called Authors: Stop Doing This; You Look Like Idiots
Maybe I shouldn’t be giving away my writing secrets. Maybe I should be like Ernest Hemingway, who, with the exception of a couple of Paris…
Thank You, Anne Bernay, Wherever You Are—A Writing Romance
“Chris, whatever you do, just keep writing.” —Anne Bernay, 5/1994 Twenty years ago this month, I had no idea what I was doing with my life. I…
A Written Interview with Authors in the Spotlight with Lucie Dunn
In my blog post yesterday, I mentioned my upcoming internet radio interview with Pam Stack, host of Authors on the Air, on Wed., April 30…