Economics of Being a Writer
In an era of generic content, I examine the high-stakes economics of professional authorship, revealing why a 30-book backlist has become the new sustainability benchmark. My research analysis move...
Blog
Posts and articles from our authors
Three Words for My 18-Year-Old Self
Everyone wants to advise their younger self. But would you have listened? I wouldn't. And that's not the problem we think it is.
The Instrument Panel We Threw Away
Why do we hate history? A young pilot's tragic VFR flight into clouds shows what happens when we lose our instruments—and our historical frame of reference.
Preflight Complete: The Year I Stopped Playing It Safe
What do you do with enough runway to change direction? You stop playing it safe. A look back at my 2025 pivot from federal service to launching the Strand alternate history series.
The Great Fruitcake
Discover the extremely factual origin myth of the Great Fruitcake; a creation story explaining why we pass around fruitcake each Christmas season.
Period of Divergence
Alternate history needs more than one change. Learn why a 'period of divergence' creates more believable timelines than the traditional single-point approach.
Author Nation 2025 Recap
Five years at Author Nation: navigating AI in publishing, the fellowship that matters, audiobook strategies, and learning new ways to build a community with readers.
White Waters and Using Artificial Intelligence.
Learn how to assess AI use in writing with a whitewater rapids framework. This rubric helps authors evaluate risk levels from grammar tools to full AI generation, including production uses like tra...
Why the Revolution Was Coming (With or Without Pontiac)
What if Pontiac's War never happened? Exploring how one leader's choice to unite tribes changed history's timeline but not its outcome. Why the American Revolution was inevitable and what that mean...
Pontiac's War and Why
Pontiac's Rebellion (1763-1766) changed British colonial policy and set the stage for the Revolutionary War, yet most Americans have never heard of it. Complex characters, moral ambiguity and polit...
How much is too much world-building?
World-building debate: Sanderson critics miss the point. How much lore do SF/F authors need? My rule: match your novel's word count in setting development.
Getting History Wrong (On Purpose)
How I research colonial America for alternative history fiction: starting with Wikipedia, reading five books per topic, using the Venn overlap method, and why narrative momentum beats historical ac...
The Shot that Changed Everything.
Exploring the fragile moment at Lexington Green 250 years ago. What if that shot had never been fired? A writer's perspective on crafting believable alternative history by understanding the tension...