John A. Heldt

I dislike goodbyes. I particularly dislike long, drawn-out literary goodbyes that bring five-book time-travel series to a conclusion. The...

The chapter, the third in the biblical book of Ecclesiastes , has moved writers and thinkers for centuries. Even movie makers and recording ...

The first draft, I wrote a year ago, is the easy one. It's the "rough, unpolished blob a writer pushes out in a manic frenzy."...

As characters go, they are easy to spot. Though they vary in age, vocation, temperament, and even role within a series, they all have one th...

I don't upgrade covers often. In fact, since publishing my first book in 2012, I have replaced an original image with something signific...

For the first time in more than a year, I've added an audiobook to my growing library. Thanks to talented narrator Todd Menesses, The La...

As one who often writes about the things I've done and places I've visited, I rarely let an experience go to waste. Even when I can...

To many novelists, World War II is like catnip. With endless themes, storylines, and possibilities, it is a subject they can’t resist. I k...

The book has aged well. Even four decades after its initial release, it remains the definitive work on a defining American moment. That wa...

The question is as old as fiction itself. In a novel and other works of literature, which is more important? Writing or story? Depending o...

As book venues go, Coronado, California, is one that never gets old. Brimming with beaches, boats, shops, charming houses, funky trees, and...

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...

For years, I've had a fascination with the 1920s. I don't know if it began when I read The Great Gatsby , watched people dance the C...