If you are working on — or worse, thinking about starting work on — a spec screenplay, stop right now. Continue reading “Still Struggling With Your Spec Screenplay? Stop Right Now.”
Category: Writers
The Improbable Journey of Berta Benz: The Movie
Okay, here’s a simple question: Who invented the automobile? Bet most of you, if you’re in the U.S., said Henry Ford who invented the Model T. If you did, you’re wrong. Look, my headline (and the photo here) is a bit of a clue, okay?
In fact, Wikipedia will tell you that a German named Karl Benz invented the first gasoline-powered automobile in 1885. (Ford developed the first mass-produced (assembly line) automobile, the Model T in 1896.)
Wikipedia is a little bit off the mark. It ignores the role played by Benz’s wife, Berta. Karl used Berta’s dowry for his various ventures including the invention of the horseless carriage, but he applied for the patent for his horseless carriage in his own name since back then married women could not apply for patents. Continue reading “The Improbable Journey of Berta Benz: The Movie”
Book Launch Party For “An Untidy Life” Serves Up Golden Memories & Nostalgia
Years and years ago, when Les Hinton, author of An Untidy Life was on the second (maybe, third) rung of the ladder he eventually climbed to the very top of Rupert Murdoch’s global media empire, we joked about writing our memoirs. Back then, Les, as president of Murdoch Magazines, had just returned from Paris where he’d met with multi-millionaire Daniel Filipacchi, of Hachette Filipacchi, Murdoch’s French publishing partner.
Les returned with some interesting stories, one of which involved a trip to Filipacchi’s powder room where a small Picasso hung “low on the wall.” It had amused –and worried– Les that the valuable piece of art hung “easily within splashing distance.”
“If I ever write a memoir,” he’d added, “the title will have to be Pissing With Picasso.” Continue reading “Book Launch Party For “An Untidy Life” Serves Up Golden Memories & Nostalgia”
Why Did I Ever Get The (Insane) Idea To Write Another Novel?
There comes a point for many authors — published or aspiring — when you pause to wonder why you ever got the (insane) idea to write a novel in the first place? It may take a while to reach that point. Continue reading “Why Did I Ever Get The (Insane) Idea To Write Another Novel?”
How Author J.D.Barker Nails The Rules For Writing Suspense
Serial-killer thriller author, J.D. Barker is the latest writer to become a James Patterson co-author. Evidently, working with the world’s #1 bestselling author is rubbing off on him. J.D. has become a writing machine this year.
The Fifth To Die, the second offering in the Fourth Monkey (4MK) trilogy was published this summer. Dracul, the prequel to the Dracula series which J.D. was commissioned to write by Bram Stoker’s family is to be released on October 2, 2018. The novel was inspired by notes kept by Bram Stoker, the author of the original, classic novel, Dracula. It is co-authored by Dacre Stoker, Bram’s great grand-nephew. Continue reading “How Author J.D.Barker Nails The Rules For Writing Suspense”