Old horror writer back from the dead…
Personal musings, random observations, and honest reflections from a 77-year-old writer who’s still figuring things out. This is where I park the thoughts that don’t fit neatly into publishing categories but feel too good to keep to myself. Think of it as the literary equivalent of that drawer where you keep batteries, rubber bands, and other useful stuff that doesn’t belong anywhere else.
So there I was last week, deep in research for a crazy bestseller quest I keep fantasizing about at 77, when I stumbled across some indie author income numbers that made me put down my coffee and stare at the screen for a good five minutes. Not because the numbers were encouraging–hell no. Because they … Read more
So there I was yesterday, deep in the weeds of website optimization for CasaDay Press, when I stumbled across an Amazon royalty calculator that made me stop and think. Not about header images or color schemes this time–I’ve had enough WordPress wrestling matches for one week–but about something more fundamental: the math behind this whole … Read more
Posted June 25, 2025 | The Bestseller Quest Most people think a 77-year-old trying to resurrect a writing career is either inspiring or completely delusional. I’m betting it’s both–and that’s exactly why it might work. See, here’s the thing about conventional wisdom: it’s usually neither conventional nor particularly wise. It’s just what most folks believe … Read more
Published: [Date] | Chet’s Corner So here’s a question for you: What do you get when a 77-year-old thriller writer teams up with artificial intelligence to solve one of America’s greatest literary mysteries? The October Testimonies: Being the Final Narratives of Edgar Allan Poe. And I’ll be darned if it isn’t the most authentic piece … Read more