Join me on Thursday, January 15, at 6 pm at the Fayetteville Public Library for an evening of conversation and entertainment.

This will be a bit different from my previous outings at Pearl’s Books, the West Fork Public Library, the NWA Book Fest, and so on. This time, I won’t just be talking about my latest book (although there’ll be some of that), but I’ll be talking about the whole process of creating a work of fiction from nothing but a truckload of words and the desire to tell a story. For instance:

• Why write novels when the whole damn world is on fire?
• Why should anybody listen to anything I’ve got to say about writing?
• Where does your novel start? Where does it end?
• How does a story get from “Once upon a time…” all the way to “…and they lived happily ever after,” without ending up in a ditch somewhere?
• Are there any rules for writing a book, and if so, what are they, and who got to make them up?
• Is it crazy to start writing when your life is already half over?

Come out and enjoy the warmth and comfort of the Walker Community Room at the Fayetteville Public Library with me. I promise to be entertaining and energetic . . . and maybe something I tell you will trigger that creative spark you’ve been keeping hidden all this time!