Touring the Golden Gate Park Commission Vault
What I saw when I visited what must be the smallest museum on the West Coast.
Jim Nelson
Author of Chandler & West: A Story of Los Angeles and A Man Named Baskerville
Latest posts
“In My Memory Locked” for $1.99
Available for only a few weeks.
We fix phone
With apologies to Gwendolyn Brooks.
The Tonga castaways don’t disprove “Lord of the Flies”
What the Tongan teenagers did was remarkable. Their success doesn't prove William Golding was wrong.
“Chandler & West” Goodreads giveaway
Fifty Kindle editions are up for grabs.
Three early audio stories
I recently discovered old recordings of three of my early short stories. They're now available for listening.
San Francisco street names project
A little side-project I've been working on.
Outliving your obituarist: Robert Duvall
The writer of Robert Duvall's obituary died twelve years before Duvall's obituary was published. That fascinates me.
“Chandler & West” released
It's finally available.
Growing up a Scholastic Books kid
I was raised in a house brimming with books.
“Chandler & West” pre-order now available
Reserve a copy of my latest novel, a Hollywood crime novel set in 1939.
The big secret of “Chinatown”
The film sets us up to expect one kind of story, but by the end, we're watching something quite different.
Take a peek at a proof copy of “Chandler & West”
Photos of the upcoming paperback edition.
Read a sample chapter of “Chandler & West”
A preview is now available.
Coming soon: “Chandler & West”
Announcing my upcoming book, "Chandler West: A Story of Los Angeles," a new crime novel about two of Los Angeles' greatest writers, set in the Golden Age of Hollywood.
The twelve types of indie writers on X/Twitter
Collect them all.
“According to Cain” named the scariest winter game of them all
It placed #1 on Winter is Coming's "The 10 scariest free interactive fiction games to enjoy this winter."
Maintaining a regular writing schedule
How to find the right writing schedule.
“Take care of your backlist, and your backlist takes care of you”
A piece of writing advice worth remembering.
“A Man Named Baskerville” audiobook available at Apple Books
The audiobook of "A Man Named Baskerville" is now available at Apple Books, as well as Audible and Amazon.
No, they won’t get permission first
"Is it only considered piracy if the people who do it lack resources and respectability?" Apparently so.
Entire Bridge Daughter series now available on Kobo
The final two books in the Bridge Daughter Cycle, Hagar's Mother and Stranger Son, are now on Kobo.
Audiobook’s first month & an update on the hardcover edition
Update on the audiobook of "A Man Named Baskerville," and the hardcover edition is about to be released.
More books now available on Kobo
"Bridge Daughter" and "In My Memory Locked" now on Kobo.
“A Man Named Baskerville” audiobook now available
The audiobook dropped this week on Audible.
Going wide
Why I'm publishing my back catalog to Kobo, and why I've put off doing it for so long.
Kobo & me
I'm beginning to add more of my back catalog to Kobo, starting with "Edward Teller Dreams of Barbecuing People." More titles will follow.
Pre-order “A Man Named Baskerville: Special Edition”
Pre-orders for the special hardcover edition of A Man Named Baskerville are now available.
Ten years of blogging: Waiting for Neuro
What if someone simply made their own version of Neuromancer? Not a movie trailer, but the movie itself?
Secret Agenda: Watergate, Deep Throat and the CIA by Jim Hougan
Originally written for a book review contest, here's my take on a revisionist Watergate history that offers wild and fascinating theories on the reasons for the break-in that changed American history.
“A Man Named Baskerville: Special Edition” Kickstarter crosses the finish line
And that s a wrap—MX Publishing s Kickstarter for A Man Named Baskerville closed earlier today with 81 backers pledging £1,842 (USD$2,241) toward the upcoming Special Edition hardback. Learn more about A Man Named Baskerville on my web site. I should have more information soon on the hardback edition, as well as an upcoming audiobook. Thanks, everyone! [ ]
Kickstarter update: “A Man Named Baskerville: Special Edition”
The Kickstarter for "A Man Named Baskerville: Special Edition" has raised nearly $1,700 in two weeks, and great donor rewards are still available.
Ten years of blogging: A unique manifesto
B. R. Myers asked an emperor-has-no-clothes question: Instead of rewarding authors by who they are or who they know, why not judge their books by story, language, themes, and meanings?
A year ago: “A Charlie Brown Christmas”
Wherein I contemplate a prior post on the significance of "A Charlie Brown Christmas."
“A Man Named Baskerville: Special Edition” Kickstarter starts now
MX Publishing's Kickstarter fundraiser is underway to launch a special hardcover edition of A Man Named Baskerville and an audiobook. Donors can receive rewards like signed copies and exclusive megapacks. Contributions will cover production costs. Please share the campaign!
Coming soon – A MAN NAMED BASKERVILLE: Special Edition & audiobook
Some time in early 2025, you should expect to see a new hardcover and audiobook of Baskerville. I'm especially excited about the audiobook, as this will be the first one produced for my novels.
Character-driven fiction, plot-driven fiction
Last year I wrote about dysfunctional narratives, a type of story that Charles Baxter first identified in the 1990s and which now seems overly prevalent today. He quoted a description of them by poet Marilynne Robinson, who also identified this type of narrative. She called it a mean little myth : One is born and in [ ]
Ten years of blogging: Flaubertian three-dimensionalism
Previously: Writer s blockNext: A unique manifesto The year that was 2020 will most likely go down as one of the most turbulent years of my life: The COVID-19 pandemic, lock-downs and masking, the murder of George Floyd and the ensuing riots, all leading up to the most contentious presidential election in memory that some still [ ]
“Under the Cognomen of Edgar Allan Poe” reviewed at The Final Arc
My Interactive Fiction Competition entry Under the Cognomen of Edgar Allan Poe was reviewed by Justin Kim at The Final Arc. Highlights: On one hand, it s a game about dealing with the duality of superficial popularity vs meaningful respect as a career writer. On another hand, it s a mystery about the last days of famed [ ]
IF Comp 2024: Under the Cognomen of Edgar Allan Poe
Today is the start of the Interactive Fiction (IF) Competition 2024, which includes my latest IF title, Under the Cognomen of Edgar Allan Poe. Over 67 titles are entered in the competition this year. The great thing about IF Comp is that anyone can play and be a judge. If you re interested, you ll need to [ ]
Ten years of blogging: Writer’s block
Previously: An all-too-familiar utopiaNext: Flaubertian three-dimensionalism From a novel-writing perspective, 2018 and 2019 was a creative interregnum. After publishing Hagar s Mother in late 2017, I found myself juggling energy between two books. One was the third installment of the Bridge Daughter series, the other a futuristic detective novel where society has essentially become a giant [ ]
Summer sale: Four books available for 99¢
With the dog days of summer upon us, four of my novels are now available on Amazon for the low price of 99¢. Follow the links below to view sample chapters or purchase: All are available in the Kindle Unlimited program, meaning KU members may read them for free. And, remember that Man in the [ ]
Exploring the Best Games: According to Cain
On the Interactive Fiction Community Forum, author Brian Rushton has been at work completing his series reviewing every game to win the XYZZY and IF Comp awards. He recently posted his review of According to Cain, the most recent game to win the XYZZY: Your game, the player’s, while fraught with occasional physical danger, is [ ]
Ten years of blogging: An all-too-familiar utopia
Previously: A literary eulogyNext: Writer s block Earlier when I ve paged through my past blog posts to locate my favorite for a particular year, one usually jumped out at me. For 2018, I find myself torn between two favorites. The tiebreaker in a case like this is: Do I have anything more to say on the [ ]
Rethinking realism
Not rethinking realism as in rethinking a single objective reality, hard as rocks and nails. I mean rethinking realism in the sense of questioning the elevation of literary realism over the many other forms of storytelling. Realism has long been the go-to form in literature for telling a story a certain way. An entire literary [ ]
Q&A on According to Cain
Forgot to mention it here—a couple weeks back, I was interviewed by otistdog ( Mad Scientist ) at the Interactive Fiction Community Forum about According to Cain. Sample from the Q A: Q: What was it about the Cain and Abel story that attracted you as a subject?JN: Two brothers fighting over the affection of their parents and [ ]
Ten years of blogging: A literary eulogy
Previously: Portable dreamweaversNext: An all-too-familiar utopia Blogging in 2017 was again marked by another foray into the world of Kindle Scout, this time for my Bridge Daughter sequel Hagar s Mother. That year I also ran a three-part series discussing the crossover between writing fiction and writing code, and some short entries on how I use [ ]
Those who forget the past are doomed to blog about it
When I started this blog years ago, I made a private agreement with myself: I would avoid writing topical political content. Substack, social media, and the blogosphere is saturated with political commentary, providing lots of heat but little light. I don t like trafficking in outrage, which is the fast-track to success in political blogging. However, [ ]
Ten years of blogging: Portable dreamweavers
Previously: An unusual parableNext: A literary eulogy 2016 was a busy year for blogging. Amazon accepted Bridge Daughter for their Kindle Scout program, which entailed a month-long nomination process before they agreed to publish it. It was the start of a fairly intense roller coaster ride, most of which I captured in blog posts along [ ]
“A Man Named Baskerville” reviewed at Melisende’s Library
This slipped by me in February, but today I learned A Man Named Baskerville is reviewed positively at Melisende s Library: This is the much needed backstory of the character of Stapleton from Conan Doyle s Hound of the Baskervilles . It is exceedingly well done and in keeping with Conan Doyle s original story. … Heartily recommended for [ ]