Category: The Arts

I met a lot of interesting people last weekend, and Tim’s one of ’em. From his website:

Tim Chapman is a former forensic scientist for the Chicago police department who currently teaches English composition and Chinese martial arts. He holds a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from Northwestern University.

His fiction has been published in The Southeast Review, the Chicago Reader, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and the anthology, The Rich and the Dead. His first novel, Bright and Yellow, Hard and Cold, has just been published by Allium Press.

In his spare time he paints pretty pictures and makes an annoying noise with his saxophone that he claims is music. He lives in Chicago with his lovely and patient wife, Ellen and Mia, the squirrel-chasingest dog in town.

Tim’s a fascinating guy. If you like crime stories, you need to get his book! Check out his website—you can also find it in the Links section at the right.

November is National Novel Writing Month. So take that musty old manuscript out of the shoebox in the closet and get to work!

When I tell someone what I do with my time, they usually get a suspicious look on their face and then ask:

“You wrote a book?”

“Yup.”

Then there are one of two responses:

“Ya know, I always wanted to write a book…”

or

“My sister wrote a book.”

One thing I’ve learned since The Good Thief came out, is that everyone has written a book or is thinking about writing a book. It really ain’t that big a deal anymore—if it ever was. Now, the landscape of publishing is changing. Traditional publishers are in the decline along with bookstores. The ones still alive and kicking are shrinking their catalogs, while simultaneously reducing support for new authors.

Meanwhile, self-publishing/distribution options are proliferating and the ubiquitous e-book is changing how people buy and read books. This is both a blessing and a curse for writers and readers alike, but that’s a different post.

Anyway, it’s time to release your inner-Faulkner. You too can join the ranks of the published. Just like the very literary folk of Iceland!