writer, photographer, web person from Washington, DC.
My book, Murder in Ocean Hall, is now available on Amazon! My book is a mystery, set in DC, about the murder of the world’s most famous explorer. He’s killed in Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian, when the replica of a whale falls from the ceiling, crushing him to death. The book was inspired by the three years I spent working for NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration.
You can now order my book, Murder in Ocean Hall. My book is a mystery, set in DC, about the murder of the world’s most famous explorer. He’s killed in the Smithsonian, when the replica of a whale falls on top of him. It’s up to a cynical Washington detective to solve the case.
Murder in Ocean Hall is based in fact, drawn from my experience living in dysfunctional DC, and from working in the field of ocean exploration.
Get this new mystery today, now available in print and Kindle editions.
Murder in Ocean Hall – Print Edition
Murder in Ocean Hall – Kindle Edition
Every last page of my award-winning screenplay, Mount Pleasant, is now available online. This script won the Film DC Screenplay Competition. It is a feature-length script, inspired by true events, about gentrification and urban politics in Washington, DC.
Read the whole thing.
Check out the great cover that my friend Dave Newman designed. I love it!
So, what’s going on with my book, Murder in Ocean Hall? In this murder mystery, a famous explorer is killed in Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Suspects are many and it’s up to a cynical DC detective to solve the case. The book was inspired by the three years I spent working for the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Nobody was murdered while I worked there but a lot of the science and the background in the book comes from my time with NOAA.
I’m represented by a literary agent and we’ve been following the traditional publishing route. However, the book publishing world, upended by recession and technological change, is in turmoil so it’s very difficult for a new author to get a book deal.
My contract with my agent ends March 1.
After then, Plan B goes into effect – I’ll publish the book through Lulu (using the awesome cover above) and sell print and e-copies online.
One way or another, Murder in Ocean Hall will be published.
It’s the end of the year, and the end of a decade. What were my favorite projects of 2009? What did I have the most fun working on?
I can’t help myself, I like to write fiction. People have asked me how I could leave my job and then spend countless hours alone, in a coffee shop, writing a novel. I’ve offered advice on setting a schedule and being committed, but the truth is that writing a book is a huge sacrifice and something that you must really, really want to do. And something that you must enjoy doing more then anything else. Continue reading “2009 Highlights”
I’m going to be writing for the Pink Line Project. What’s Pink Line? Describing itself as “a catalyst for the culturally curious”, the site is a guide to DC’s art and cultural scene. If you’re looking to attend fun art parties in Washington, and learn more about the arts, it’s a great site to check out.
From watching rollergirls arm-wrestle to dodging skateboarders at a photo exhibit, I’ve enjoyed the Pink Line events immensely. It’s an unexpected side of stuffy Washington that’s much more interesting than some boring Capitol Hill cocktail party. Continue reading “Writing About Creativity for the Pink Line Project”
With the advent of the Barnes and Noble Nook e-reader and the growing acceptance of e-books among readers and writers, it’s safe to say that we’ve reached what I’d call the Disintermediation Moment. This is the time when industries collapse, driven by changes in consumer behavior and expectations. Technology offers new solutions, eagerly adopted by ordinary people, but resisted by middlemen and gatekeepers who want to retain their status, control and income. Continue reading “The Disintermediation Moment”
Now in it’s sixth year, DC Shorts has been named by MovieMaker Magazine as “one of the nation’s leading short film festivals.” The festival features 100 films from across the country and around the world. What’s unique about DC Shorts is its focus on the filmmaker, many of whom will be in attendance this year.
I’ve been involved in DC Shorts almost since the beginning. I volunteered with Jon Gann, founder of the festival, and was a film judge for a couple years. Me and other volunteers watched and rated the hundreds of submissions that came in. We used a clever online system to do so. One key trait about DC Shorts is how professional and well organized it is, from top to bottom. Continue reading “Behind the Scenes at a Screenplay Reading”
My short-short story, “Drinking Starbucks. Hating Life.” has been published in BURST, a new online journal designed especially for mobile devices. It’s an unhappy little story, as you could guess from the title, but is perfect for iPhone reading. 😉
Since I finished writing Murder in Ocean Hall, I’ve gotten questions from friends and family regarding the book. Creating something from nothing seems enough of a magical act to inspire some questioning. The question I’ve gotten most is:
Where’d you get the idea from?
I originally planned to write a much different book, something much more serious and literary. It’s a manuscript that I’ve worked on for three or four years and exists on my laptop as a mix of disparate scenes and ideas that have never quite come together. The novel that I had in mind was a much grimmer story, about DC during the summer before 9/11. The book is about people chasing success, unaware that their world is about to be undone.
Finishing that big serious book was my plan. It’s why I decided to leave my government contractor job. Continue reading “Murder in Ocean Hall – Where'd the Idea Come From?”