50 years ago, I did the near-impossible . . .
How, at the tender age of 19, did I become the youngest person to sell a script to any of Star Trek’s twelve TV series (totaling over...
howardweinsteinbooks
howardweinsteinbooks
Latest posts
What the heck is an “Arabber”?
Have you ever come across an unusual word you’d never heard or seen before? Every so often, I’ll bump into one that enters my brain,...
A Quote Too Good to be True?
When I shifted to historical fiction after four decades writing lots of Star Trek novels and comic books, I decided to start each chapter...
Of Maps & Time Travel
OK, so why is there never a time machine handy when you need one? When authors of historical fiction try to bring the past to life for...
Find the "Easter Eggs"
So, you know the term “Easter egg,” right? Not the decorated eggs hidden by the Easter Bunny (or the Easter Beagle, for fans of Snoopy...
A Tale of Two (or Three) Covers
“Never judge a book by its cover.” We’ve all heard this familiar admonition, warning us that superficial first impressions may be...
"Man plans . . . and God laughs."
There’s an old Yiddish saying that translates to: “Man plans . . . and God laughs.” When it comes to the tale of why my new novel took me...
Anatomy of a scene (3 scenes, actually) . . .
I always enjoy behind-the-scenes or anatomy-of-a-scene features for movies and TV shows. Now that my new historical novel GALLOWAY’S...
Stuff I learned, part II: What famous people really said!
As noted in an earlier blog, historical fiction needs to be accurate, and feel truthful. That’s why historical novelists often anchor a...
Stuff I learned about...19th century baseball!
Until I started writing historical fiction, I had no idea research was so much fun. Some research was specific – I needed to know when it...
Soundtrack . . . in a book? The music of GALLOWAY'S GAMBLE
When I started writing my historical novel GALLOWAY’S GAMBLE, I wanted to weave music into the story. Music has been a natural part of...
Bring on the blurbs!
Blurbs: those short, enthusiastic quotes that appear on book covers. As defined by NPR journalist Colin Dwyer in a 2015 story, a blurb is...
History: real, "reel" & living
Fun thing about writing historical fiction: it’s the perfect excuse to visit historical places. My quest – time travel! (Or, at least, a...
Carefree Highways & Big Bug Creeks: Real names for fictional places
Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot long told the story of how he got the idea for his 1974 hit song "Carefree Highway" from the...
Thank goodness for Ken Burns!
65,000! That’s approximately how many books have been written about the Civil War. Not surprising, considering that it was, is and may...
"You can't tell a book by its cover." Wanna bet?
I believe you should absolutely be able to tell something important about a book by its cover. If you can’t, it’s a lousy cover. Back in...
Horsepower! When everyone owned a horse . . . or did they?
Before cars, horses were ubiquitous . . . or were they? Not long ago, my Minnesota friend Sally Skjaret and her husband Tom had this...
Help! I'm drowning! Or: How much detail is too much?
In fiction, details convey credibility -- but can there be TOO much detail? Personally -- as both a reader and writer -- I say yes. Not...
If You Like Science Fiction, You Might Just Like Historical Fiction
Sez who? Sez me. OK, so you’re a science fiction fan, and maybe you’re giving me the stinkeye. Maybe you never gave much thought to...
Schenectady!
When asked where his story ideas came from, the late great Harlan Ellison (the vivid, visceral master of speculative fiction with the...