John A. Heldt

The slogan, popular on motivational posters, tee shirts, and coffee mugs, has been at the forefront of my mind for weeks. "Three mont...

I rarely read books twice. There are simply too many new ones to waste time on old ones. I prefer discovery to rediscovery. On occasion, t...

As an indie author, I never tire of being recognized by those who have traveled the same road. So I was delighted to learn that London-based...

I don't play chess. I haven't in years. I haven't since the fifth grade, when I joined and briefly participated in a school ches...

In The Great Gatsby , F. Scott Fitzgerald depicted the Roaring Twenties in sharp contrasts. "The parties," he observed, "were...

The holidays are under way. No matter where you look, you can see the trappings of the season. Those of us who cannot see snow or Christmas ...

I like history. I like studying it, writing about it, and visiting it -- or at least visiting the places where it was made. For that reason,...

The first draft is the easy one. It's the rough, unpolished blob a writer pushes out in a manic frenzy. It's the tentative opening a...

The questions from readers usually begin with why. Why so many characters in your books? Why so many points of view? Why so many settings an...

Artists, it is said, are only as good as their tools. With good ones, they can soar. With bad ones, they can't leave the ground. Write...