Hagridden is FREE on Kindle this week

I’ve been posting about this on Facebook and Twitter since yesterday — and loads of kind friends and fans have been sharing the news as well — but in case you hadn’t heard: Hagridden is free! That’s right: it’s Fourth of July Week, and for this week only, my independent publisher, Columbus Press, has given everyone theContinue reading “Hagridden is FREE on Kindle this week”

Books that surprised David S. Atkinson

David S. Atkinson, whose book Bones Buried in Dirt just plain delighted me this time last year and whose preview of Hagridden this year was beautiful and so greatly appreciated, well, he’s gone and done something awesome again. Not a great believer in “top books” lists, David has instead listed some books that surprised him this pastContinue reading “Books that surprised David S. Atkinson”

A Hagridden Christmas village?

My wife called this “an odd sort of Christmas village.” Back in March 2013, when I was in Louisiana on my research trip (thanks again to the Literary Arts and the Oregon Literary Fellowship that made that possible), I spent some time touring historic villages to get a sense of the buildings and town lifeContinue reading “A Hagridden Christmas village?”

Throwback Thursday: the very first words of Hagridden

I was digging through old files looking for notes I might use in my new novel, and I stumbled upon my old three-ring binder of Hagridden notes, all those articles and ideas I’d been compiling in the few years between my first idea for the book and my first draft of it. The binder mostlyContinue reading “Throwback Thursday: the very first words of Hagridden”

Buy Hagridden and support military families

I have two dedications in my Civil War novel, Hagridden: the first is to my wife, the second is to “every civilian who ever lived through a war or is living through one now.” In public appearances, I tend to tell people that my novel is about the people that war leaves behind. Both of which areContinue reading “Buy Hagridden and support military families”

Our own worst nightmares: wrestling with violence in (my) fiction

One Tuesday this past June, I was planning to run a few errands, do a little grading, and then settle in for a long afternoon of proofreading my Civil War novel, Hagridden. At the time, it was still a couple months from publication, and I was going through the last edits in the proof copy.Continue reading “Our own worst nightmares: wrestling with violence in (my) fiction”

Book shopping for the holidays: the 2014 edition!

Earlier today, I spotted the NY Times list of “100 Notable Books of 2014,” which a friend referred to as her shopping list this holiday season. And I thought that was a great idea, so I went to check out the list. And there are a lot of fascinating-looking books on the list, many of which I’mContinue reading “Book shopping for the holidays: the 2014 edition!”

Reading at Salon Skid Row

Earlier this week, I joined a group of fun writers and poets at a bar in downtown Portland for a little drinking, a little laughter, and a lot of literature, because we were all reading as part of the Salon Skid Row series. Hosted by Josh Lubin at The Corner Bar, the series is oldContinue reading “Reading at Salon Skid Row”

The Hagridden character quiz!

You guys! This is TOO COOL! Shenice, a staff member at Columbus Press, has gone onto the quiz site PlayBuzz and made a character quiz for Hagridden! You know the drill: Which house from Harry Potter do you belong in? Which of the Avengers are you? What Game of Thrones woman are you? (Gryffindor, Thor, and Daenerys Targaryen,Continue reading “The Hagridden character quiz!”