Author: Rick Shaw

Hey folks, I’ve decided to use Substack as my email platform. Completely accessible. Platform responsive. And, it’s reasonably easy to use. You can check out my first posting here. And sign up for future postings via a link in the middle of the page. And if you’re going to be in the Las Vegas area on November 10th, you have to come see me at RAVE 2023. Check out the post above for details!

A couple of weeks back, I was asked to participate in a panel on the future of art and artificial intelligence. J Daniel Sawyer, Joe Vasicek, and little old me, along with the host JR Handley. To borrow from JR’s intro… “We wandered all around the topic before we reached the final destination. We ended at a solid MEH as our group opinion while clutching our pearls and telling everyone that the sky was falling!”…

Blades and Blasters is three Vets sitting around hashing through reading, writing, and pop culture – in this case, two vets. A week or so ago, I had the pleasure of sitting in with JR Handley (one of the three), for a chat about my book (The Tunguska Deception) and writing in general. As it turns out, a whole lot of other things. JR and I share a similar academic background, personal interest in history,…

I’ve been a long time listener of the Dead Robots Society – through several of its incarnations. I was thrilled to be invited to sit in to discuss writing in general and my recently published debut novel, The Tunguska Deception. Please take a listen. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as i did. And, no, i have no idea why Paul chose to pick time mark with my eyes closed.

It has taken a little getting used to… the request by readers to sign a copy of my book. And even more than that, folks requesting to buy signed copies on line. I’ve had to come to grips with something I knew, intellectually. This is a business, and I need to look at these requests not only as support from my wider community, but also customers/readers/fans who genuinely want to support me in my storytelling…

To borrow a phrase – Oh My! I am in Santa Barbara this week. Renewing old friendships at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. It is the 50th Anniversary of the conference, and a renewal after four years post pandemic. There’s a comfort in being among your tribe. So many faces I’ve only seen in Brady Bunch squares, or on Facebook, for far too long. If you saw my previous post, you know my first novel,…

I did a thing that I’ve been working toward, despite a few life interruptions, since 2005. My first novel, The Tunguska Deception, is available on Amazon in both print and kindle versions. And I’m at a loss for words. There are four other novels, in various states, sitting in folders, unfinished. You learn from each effort. A couple of them may find their way back to life. All will need a page one rewrite. I…

– a guest posting to SBWC’s Blog There is something magical in validation from peers. For most of us, our lives are a quest, in some form, for exactly that. Validation that our efforts, beliefs, values, talents, friendships, are not in vain. If we’re lucky we find our tribe, and within that larger group, a select collection of lunatics that will invest in us for that journey. Here’s the result of one such quest: I…

The following was a guest blog posting for the Santa Barbara Writers Conference (sbwriters.com) Writers come in all shapes and sizes, physically and metaphorically. Weaving simple words into verse of such striking beauty to bring a tear, or dark imagery leaving you unable to sleep without a light on for weeks at a time. For some, stringing words and conjuring images comes easy, like breathing. For others each word, phrase, sentence, paragraph is a struggle…

Just a brief post. Looking for an update on The Lost Fedora? The Santa Barbara Literary Journal’s anthology The Fifth Fedora dropped on September 14th. You can find it at the SB Literary Journal’s online Bookstore, or on Amazon. I’m truly humbled to be included among this community of authors to honor our friend, Stephen T. Vessels. Life provides us two families, the one you’re born into, and the one you gather along the way.…