Author: Lynne Cantwell

Lynne Cantwell grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan. She worked as a broadcast journalist for many years; she has written for CNN, the late lamented Mutual/NBC Radio News, and a bunch of radio and TV news outlets you have probably never heard of, including a defunct wire service called Zapnews. But she began as a fantasy writer (in the second grade), and is back at it today. She currently lives near Washington, DC. Learn more about Lynne at her blog and at her Amazon author page.

Why I Write Fantasy

magic and fantasy book pixabay take-532097_640Decades ago, when I was still trying to get an agent, I received a rejection letter that particularly stunned me. In that letter, the agent passed along his reader’s comments on my epic fantasy novel. One of the comments was that the book would never sell because one scene contained material that was inappropriate for children.

Mind you, this was several years after Stephen R. Donaldson’s Lord Foul’s Bane had been published. That epic fantasy featured a rape in chapter 7. Nobody had confused it with a kids’ book, and it seemed to have found an audience just fine. Continue reading “Why I Write Fantasy”

Watch Your Language: Write Out Those Inconsistencies

inappropriate phraseOne thing that’s kind of fun, and kind of annoying, about being a writer is spotting slip-ups in traditionally published books.

I’m currently reading a well-known trad-pubbed epic fantasy. This trilogy has garnered critical acclaim. It was optioned for a movie (although the option has run out). A video game has been set in the world of this series. The author was even hired to finish another author’s fantasy series after the original author of that series died. (Bonus points if you can name both authors.)

In short, people love these books. But I’ve found inconsistencies in the story. Continue reading “Watch Your Language: Write Out Those Inconsistencies”

Heartbroken: Scribd Cuts Its Romance Inventory

bleeding ereaderLast week, authors of romance and erotica titles had more than just the Kindle Unlimited payout changes to worry about. Also, the eBook subscription service Scribd announced it would drop most of its romance titles as fast as a girl who’s offered a better prom date.

Apparently Scribd didn’t realize that romance fans read a lot of books. A lot of books. Any outfit that charges a membership fee – like a gym or, hey, a book subscription service – counts on a percentage of the members dropping out or otherwise not turning up to use the facilities. Those fees help to keep the lights on while not putting any strain on the resources. (So when you bought that two-year gym membership and then quit going after two weeks, you were actually helping other members! How altruistic of you!) Continue reading “Heartbroken: Scribd Cuts Its Romance Inventory”

How Using Compare in Microsoft Word Can Save Your Manuscript (and Sanity)

Microsoft Word LogoHas this ever happened to you? You’re about a hundred pages deep into editing your manuscript, changing a phrase here and adding a scene there – and then you run across a paragraph that you’re sure you deleted in the last go-round. And then you realize why it’s still there: you’re not working in the most recent version of your file.

You might think your options are limited at this point to: a) pulling up the correct file, setting it side-by-side with the file you’re presently working in, and spending a couple of hours manually transferring all of today’s edits into the right file; b) chucking the computer out of the nearest window, or c) sobbing. But you have another, much more appealing option: you can use Microsoft Word’s Compare function. Continue reading “How Using Compare in Microsoft Word Can Save Your Manuscript (and Sanity)”