I Learned (Again) How Much I Love My Beta Readers
This month, I learned that Beta Readers are my heroes, Rosé wines should not be so sweet, and the pistachio industry is full with wonderful people and that their product is amazing.
Fiction as art and the tapestry of life
When I was in fifth grade, I fell in love with reading. I fell in love with reading because a teacher took me to the library. He took me to the library because he thought I would enjoy a particular genre. In that genre, he thought I should begin with a particular book. That book led me to many others of the same ilk, and theen beyond. It led me to write.
Tragedy, Natural Disasters, and Writing
It’s been a difficult month here in southern California. I had joined the international writing community National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) as a way to get the majority of a new novel written. I’ve done this every year for the past three. I was just finishing week one when death and destruction hit my community: the Borderline Bar & Grill Shooting, Officer Ron Helus death, and the Woolsey and Hill Fires.
Chaos and the meaning of life
As I continue working on a collection of short stories, I explore my love of placing characters into chaotic elements. My antagonists are not other humans, but the universe, reality, God, Satan—the antagonist is life itself.
Writing and Bleeding
Unlike the musician, but perhaps more like the painter, writing begins and proceeds in solitude. That doesn’t mean that others aren’t involved at points in the process: concept discussions, editing, beta readers, and so on. But writing is primarily a single-person endeavor. Yet quality writing requires knowledge and experience of the human condition. How can these two live together?
Where Do Short Stories Come From?
As I inhabit a week-long sabbatical to get a jump start on a collection of short stories, I considered three general places where to get ideas. “Write what scares you” is good, but common. “Write what you know”—same thing. But finding the unique in the common is the task of writing. So here we go…
Rosé Wine Should Not Be So Sweet
A review of a visit to the Eberle Winery in Post Robles, California, and their Côtes-du-Rôbles Rosé. By Markus McDowell
Onesimus: A Novel of Christianity in the Roman Empire
“…a fresh look at the Christian faith at its inception, through the eyes of a pagan slave… a fascinating story of love and betrayal, deception and revelation, and the search for integrity in a world of self-aggrandizement.”
—John Sparks, Historical Fiction Review
Exclusive excerpt from forthcoming novel, Onesimus: A Novel of Ancient Christianity
An excerpt from chapter one of my forthcoming novel, Onesimus: A Novel of Ancient Christianity. “…based on a true story, Onesimus is a Roman slave who is willing to do questionable acts for freedom of body and soul. But he finds himself on a journey that will test his courage, challenge his view of society, and force him to decide what ‘freedom’ really means.” (Jon Sparks, Historical Fiction Review).
Sneak Peek – Onesimus: A Novel of Ancient Christianity by Markus McDowell
An excerpt of the historical fiction novel, Onesimus, by Markus McDowell. During the Roman Empire of the first century AD, a runaway slave finds more than he bargained for.