Other Writing
NON-FICTION
2026
“Creating ‘Glass Beach’,” Trace Evidence, January 2, 2026
2025
“All About Anthologies: Crime Fiction Collections on the Rise,” The Third Degree, June/July 2025
“Writing Your Bio for Publication,” The Third Degree, April 2025
“Introduction,” Before Baker Street: Adventures of Young Sherlock Holmes by A. L. Sirois, March 2025
“Best Practices for Cover Letters for Short-Story Submissions,” The Third Degree, February 2025
“An Accidental Series,” Trace Evidence, January 16, 2025
2024
“Bad Writing Advice,” Writers and Publishers Network, August 1, 2024
“Introduction,” Malice Domestic 18: Mystery Most Devious, May 2024
“ShortCon,” Something is Going to Happen, March 28, 2024
2023
“Got Milk?” Trace Evidence, November 17, 2023
2019
“Welcome to Texas,” Keynote Speech from the 2019 Shamus Awards Banquet, Dallas, Texas, The New Thrilling Detective, November 2019; Mystery Readers Journal, Fall 2021
“Lifecycle of a Fanzine Fan,” Portable Storage #2, Autumn 2019
2018
“One Last Job,” Trace Evidence, March 20, 2018
“Poster Child,” Something Is Going To Happen, February 14, 2018
2017
“The First Two Pages: ‘Dixie Quickies’,” ArtTaylorWriter.com, December 19, 2017
2016
“Michael’s Asparagus,” Texas Gardener, May/June 2016
“The Unacceptance Letter,” Rejectomancy, March 7, 2016
2015
“Good Writing, In Short,” First Draft, July 2015
“High on Gardening,” Texas Gardener, March/April 2015
2014
“Eat Fresh,” Texas Gardener, May/June 2014
2011
“Don’t They Come in Pairs?” Wait A Minute, I Have To Take Off My Bra (Inkspotter Publishing; Betty Dobson, editor), 2011
“I Write Short Stories” Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction (Headline Books; Michael A. Arnzen and Heidi Ruby Miller, editors), 2011; Named #5 in 10 of This Year’s Terrific Writing Books by The Writer Magazine (2011); Finalist Eric Hoffer Awards Best Self-Help; FINALIST Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year–Writing; WINNER Best Non-Fiction London Book Festival; USA Book News Best Book Award Finalist–Business: Writing & Publishing; WINNER Best Educational/Academic Next Generation Indie Book Awards; WINNER International Book Awards Best Business: Writing & Publishing
2010
“Sky Island Gardening,” Texas Gardener, November/December 2010
“Hunt Youth Discover Gardening!” Texas Gardener, March/April 2010
2009
“30 Great Towns to Retire in Texas,” Senior News, December 2009
“Anybody Seen My Shorts?” Sleuths’ Ink, September 24, 2009; Spawnews, September 2011
“Short Fiction is My Life,” Gila Queen’s Guide to Markets, May 2009
“Sin, Suffer, Cash the Checks,” Seekerville, January 7, 2009
2008
“Writing Dialog,” Gila Queen’s Guide to Markets, November 2008; The Write Ingredients, February 2009; Writerstalk, January 2016
2007
“From Small Ideas, Big Projects Grow: Victoria Educational Gardens,” Texas Gardener, November/December 2007
“Water Foul,” Seeds, August 15, 2007
“Feeding the World One Garden at a Time,” Texas Gardener, July/August 2007
“Love Letter,” True Romance, July 2007
“Weatherization Provided at No Cost to Low-Income Homeowners,” Senior News, June 2007
“Organizing For Anthology Success,” Gila Queen’s Guide to Markets, May 2007
“Dandelion Whine,” Seeds, April 11, 2007
“Write What You Know,” Teacher Miracles: Inspirational True Stories From The Classroom (Adams Media; Brian Thornton, editor), 2007
“Types Of Community Gardens,” Seeds, January 3, 2007
“Urban Harvest: Improving Houston From the Ground Up,” Texas Gardener, January/February 2007
2006
“Learning Life’s Lessons,” Senior News, December 2006
“Manspeak: Giving Thanks,” True Confessions, December 2006
“Gnome On The Range,” Seeds, November 8, 2006
“Trees for Texas,” Texas Gardener, November/December 2006
“Manspeak: Where Evil Lurks,” True Confessions, November 2006
“Manspeak: Is That a Book in My Pocket?” True Confessions, October 2006
“Making That Time with Your Man Special,” Jive, September 2006
“Why My Face is Red But My Tomatoes Aren’t,” Seeds, September 20, 2006
“Man-to-Man On Mother’s Day,” Jive, July 2006
“Under the Crying Tree,” Seeds, July 19, 2006
“Money for Nothing and Burnt Fingers for Free,” Senior News, June 2006
“Surviving Disasters,” The Writer (online edition), April 2006
“Manspeak: Cultural Pride,” True Confessions, April 2006
“My Wife’s Ghost,” True Romance, March 2006
2005
“Gardening Rocks,” Senior News, October 2005; Seeds, August 23, 2006
“Sundays with My Grandmother,” Senior News, September 2005
“Take Dead Aim at Mysteries,” The Writer, August 2005
“We’re Not Who You Think We Are,” Gila Queen’s Guide To Markets, June 2005
“College in the 40s,” Inside Higher Ed, June 13, 2005
“By The Seat Of My Pants,” Senior News, May 2005
“Job Application,” Inside Higher Ed, May 2, 2005
“Fashionable Gardeners Say Pink is the New Green,” Texas Gardener, March/April 2005; Seeds, August 2, 2006
“Cost-Effective Market Research,” Funds For Writers, January 30, 2005
2004
“Travel Fun in the Big Easy” with Sharon J. Bracken, Senior News, September 2004
“Bullet-Proof Your Short Mysteries: Editors Tell You How!” Writing-World.com, April 2004; The Purloined Newsletter, March 2006
“Writing Erotic Mysteries,” Writing-World.com, April 2004
2003
“It’s Not Just What You Say,” MAMM, November/December 2003
“Writing For Mystery Anthologies,” Gila Queen’s Guide To Markets, November 2003; Sleuth Sayer, May 2004
“Surviving Submissions Beginning To End,” Sleuth Sayer, September 2003
“That’s Not The Way My Mother Did It,” Senior News, August 2003 (as Pat Myers)
“Markets About Which We Only Whisper,” Reflections In A Private Eye, Summer, 2003; Gila Queen’s Guide To Markets, January 2004; Sleuth Sayer, February 2004
“Corpus Christi Author Knocks ’Em Dead,” Senior News, June 2003
“Hope Springs Eternal,” Senior News, May 2003
“Writing Short Fiction for Today’s Markets,” Author’s Venue Network News #39, January 2003
2001
“Things Yet To Do,” Phoenix, 2001
“Surfing the Mean Streets,” Mystery Scene #73, 2001
“Searching for All White Girls,” Mystery Scene #73, 2001
“Introduction,” Fedora: Private Eyes and Tough Guys (Wildside Press), 2001
“Waco Reads,” The Official Newsletter of the Horror Writers Association, June 2001
“Dan Fox and Deadly Campaign,” Mystery Scene #71, 2001
“When Bylines Collide,” The Official Newsletter of the Horror Writers Association, April 2001
“Writer’s Block: A Definition By Example,” Absolute Write, April 2001; SFWA Website, 2001
1999
“The Soothing Garden,” Texas Gardener, July/August 1999
1998
“We Have Ways Of Making You Talk,” Atlanta Parent, July 1998
“Long-Distance Daddy,” Fathering, July 1998
1993
“Writing and Selling Confessions,” Gila Queen’s Guide To Markets, October 1993; Word Museum, 1999; From The Heart, January & February 2000; Absolute Write, February 2001; SFWA Website, 2001
1992
“Blind Alleys: Too Many Genres,” SFWA Bulletin, Winter, 1992
1991
“Mother’s Warning,” Columbus Single Scene, November/December 1991
“Why Don’t You Ask Us to Dance?” Columbus Single Scene, July/August 1991
“Patience,” Clues, March 1991; The Third Degree, June 1991; Gotta Write, Winter, 1991
1990
“One Way to Self-Motivate,” Clues, October 1990; Gotta Write, Winter, 1991
1989
“The Vegetable War,” Parent To Parent, April 1989
“Collecting Memories,” Parent To Parent, January 1989
1988
“We’ve Been Typecast,” Flicks of the Tale, March 1988
1987
“Changes,” Flicks of the Tale, June 1987
1986
“Writers and Readers,” Flicks of the Tale, September 1986
“Making Homework Pay,” Flicks of the Tale, June 1986
“Learning Through Experience,” Mothering, Winter, 1986; The Wet-Set Gazette, October 1987; The Messenger, March 1991; Fathering, November 1999
1983
“In Short,” The Newsletter, March 1983
1982
“When Dark Descends,” The Newsletter, September 1982
1981
“Grant Carrington: More Than Amazing,” Night Voyages, Fall, 1981
“The Monteleone Connection,” Night Voyages, Spring, 1981
1979
“Charles L. Grant: In the Shadows,” Night Voyages, Fall, 1979
“More Than A Footnote,” Knights, March 1979
1977
“Budget (buj’ it),” Scene Magazine, May 13, 1977
“When The Pittance of a Paycheck is Spent, What’s Left for Leisure?” Scene Magazine, May 13, 1977
