I got an email from a reader named Dana the other day, asking a question about whether I “see” my stories in my head as I write them. I wasn’t sure at first. It took some thinking. Because yes, I sort of see them … but not in the same way I saw this in my living room at the time: Rico thinks he's a lot smaller than he actually is. I told Dana that it’s actually both ways for me. Which was intriguing, because I’d never thought about it before — and because it doesn’t make much sense that I...
about 14 hours ago • 2 min read
I’m doing something completely new for me in about a month … and this comes after doing about a billion OTHER new-for-me things over the past year and a half. You’d think there wouldn’t be any new things left, but it turns out they just keep coming. My current new thing is: I’m attending a Comic Con to sell my books. It’s both exciting and intimidating. I sell live all the time, but this will be my first convention … and cons have different rules — and require different setup equipment — than...
6 days ago • 2 min read
A friend and avid reader (Hi, Rachel!) asked me a curious question the other day ... one I'm not asked very often. It was: Do you [meaning me: Johnny] read other books? Or does it burn you out after writing your own books all day long? It's a fair question ... and a loaded one for me, because one of my favorite for-authors books is Stephen King's On Writing, and in that book King says that writers absolutely must read. He's pretty clear about how he feels. In his mind, people who don't read...
15 days ago • 3 min read
The other day I got an email from a reader named Greg, who asked about the kind of thing we authors never expect but absolutely love. He said: "For the very first time, I discovered I could buy your books directly from you ... Henceforth, that will be my process for your stuff." (He then went on to say how much he hates the word "henceforth." But I digress.) I was super pleased by Greg's email -- not only because he'd bought a book (which is always great) or because he'd bought it directly...
29 days ago • 4 min read
Hey everyone! I'm just now getting my wits back about me. Last weekend I set up a booth at the Pecan Street Festival here in Austin, and it was both exhausting and exhilarating. But more about that in a second. You're readers, so although I'm sure you're super interested in my comings and goings (or possibly not at all), you're more interested in books. So first, an update on that. My new trilogy I mentioned a few weeks ago that Sean Platt and I have started writing together again after a...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Hey there, Austin peeps! I wanted to let you know that I'll be at the Pecan Street Festival this weekend (May 3rd and 4th). It's a cool affair with live music, rides, all sorts of activities, and of course tons of local craftspeople like me. If you'd like to get out of the house for some awesome festival fun, I hope you'll come out and see me again! This year, they're holding the Festival at the Hill Country Galleria in Bee Cave rather than its traditional location on 6th Street, formerly...
2 months ago • 2 min read
One interesting thing about meeting readers face-to-face like I've been doing lately is the instant, two-way nature of our interactions. It's a different experience than the asynchronous, often-one-way street of email that I'm used to. I don't just "broadcast and wait" like I do when I send these newsletters. Nope -- live people actually tend to talk right back at me. Go figure. They react to my books. They show interest. More often than not, they tell me that they like to read "all sorts of...
2 months ago • 4 min read
Hey all! Every once in a while, a reader will email me and say that although they love my books, they can't afford them. There are all sorts of reasons, unique to and personal to the reader, but in all cases the upshot is the same: They say they're going to have to stop reading my books because they don't fit into their budget. I always reply the same way: No worries ... You can get my books (ebooks and paperbacks) for free at the library! People tend to forget about libraries. I'm here to...
3 months ago • 2 min read
I have some good news for you audiophiles out there! (Or at least the kind of audiophiles who are into audiobooks.) I finally got tired of being asked "Are your books available in audio?" and decided to do something about it. For a long time, I've had to lower my head and admit, "Um, only Fat Vampire is available in audio. Sorry." Now, though, I've done two audiobook-related things that I think you'll like: FIRST, I've put all of the great audiobooks I've had from the past up on my direct...
3 months ago • 3 min read
Last month, I sent you something called "Why most of my books have two authors." It was all about my creative relationship with my constant co-author, Sean Platt. I got a lot of responses to that one. (Something I encourage, by the way. I don't get a lot of replies to these, so sometimes I wonder if anyone is reading.) I must never have explained the way Sean and I co-author to a lot of you ... or maybe I just didn't go into as much detail. Readers seemed to think it was interesting, hearing...
4 months ago • 9 min read