Almost any writer can tell you that the moment she comes out as a “writer,” she will drown in a deluge of conflicting advice. Most of this is unwanted, or at least not requested.

Some of the “advice” I received included “always write about what you know.” I can tell you, that would be incredibly boring. I never followed this maxim. I followed David Baldacci’s advice to write about what you want to know. Do your research. Steep yourself in the topic. Become as much of an expert as necessarily to produce a compelling, interesting story.

Grammar is too often a bone of contention. (Yup, that’s a cliche.) Whether it’s the Oxford comma (I’m in favor), or kill off your adverbs, or never string more than two adjectives together, you’ll have to make up your mind how to handle these. I really do favor the Oxford comma. I do try to kill off adverbs. I usually search for -ly words as part of my final edits. I was horrified with such a search in my first novel. 1278 adverbs? Impossible. Then, I realized that one of my characters was named Emily. Of course, the -ly search turned up her name. Thank goodness for search-and-replace, so Emily became Emilie. I don’t like reading lists of adjectives so I’m careful to use as few as necessary. I break the rule only when it’s important to the plot, to a character’s development, or when I’m tired and lazy.

I don’t like to write in any kind of dialect. If a character speaks with an accent, I mention it in conjunction with the character’s introduction and forget about trying to write dialect. I’d never get it right, and I’d probably screw it up. The passive voice can drag down the narrative and weaken the pacing. Shifting points of view or POVs confuse the reader. You never know who the narrator is, or why the shift is necessary. Too often this leads to confusion in the reader’s mind. Not good. And lastly (yes, an adverb), dialogue tags. For non-writers, a dialogue tag is said, asked, etc. I try to avoid them and use a narrative statement instead.

And this brings us to taboos in marketing. Granted, norms have changed over the years. What held true 15 years ago may no longer work. It’s fair game to compare yourself with another writer, especially with sentiments of “If you like

So, now it can be told. I have a new book coming out in October. It’s a compendium of poems, essays, and short stories. (Note the use of the Oxford comma.) Many have previously been published, mostly in limited runs for local arts councils. And since many of my favorite readers aren’t members of such councils, I compiled my favorites into this collection.

I bet not all of you have read all six of my novels. To tempt you into expanding your To-Be-Read list, I’ve included first-chapter teasers from my six published novels as well as my current work-in-progress, Grandpa’s Keys.

The title itself breaks the norm. It’s Please Buy My Book. Not supposed to say it, but that’s what I hope you will do.

Get ready to laugh, weep, and think!