For literally decades I’ve wanted to make a film version of Macbeth, set in an early-1970s Nixonian Washington DC. I keep designing specific shots and scenes and costuming elements.

#WritersCoffeeClub 6/5. What climes and climates feature in your work? Why those? Nothing especially dramatic. Questions for the Dead takes place in a chilly Colorado springtime. My Mods mystery takes place in autumn in London.

Fun news on a Friday morning: Public library system in a neighboring county will be buying a copy of QUESTIONS FOR THE DEAD. Tip for indie authors: see if any libraries in your state have a process to let local authors notify them about new releases. It works! #book bymatthewporter.com/questions/

#ScribesAndMakers 6/5 Our next featured creator is involved in the Society for Creative Anachronism. Are you part of any communities related to your creative interests? Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and MWA (Rocky Mtn chapter). Many years ago I was SCA-adjacent, thanks to my cool older brother.

I have been writing everything in the most basic notepad apps I can find. I don’t want the suggestions to my sentence structure. I want my words to sound like they are mine and not some extruded commoditized lifeless garbage. I would rather be a terrible writer than ever use AI for help with it.

#WritersCoffeeClub 6/4: In what ways do your real-world surroundings appear in your work? Most is set in a version of the Denver area. I like using real-world details, even if it means taking something that’s now gone and pretending it still exists (like the "Jedi Memorial" at 17th & California).

At IMMP headquarters, May was all about #games from HUMONGOUS ENTERTAINMENT. Our May 18th #podcast episode dove into Freddi Fish, Spy Fox, and Backyard Baseball. And this Monday (June 1) Ian and Matthew confronted Darkness and weather calamity with PAJAMA SAM. www.immproject.com/search?term=...

I almost applied to an anthology until I read the submission page more closely and noticed wording that implied they plan to claim perpetual exclusive ownership of the work, including reuse of the comic, film and television. DO NOT sign away your rights for a few hundred bucks.

#WritersCoffeeClub 6/2: What do you hope sticks with a reader long after? I hope my characters feel like people they've met, and want to spend more time with.

A week or so ago, I was looking for a couple books by an author from 10 and 15 years ago and my library didn't have them. I requested them via a library form. Today I got a notification in Libby that they purchased both titles. Asking your library for writers' books is an amazing way to support us.

#WritersCoffeeClub 6/1: In what ways do your real-world surroundings appear in your work? Not my immediate surroundings, but apart from one novel*, most of my writing is set in real places, or fictionalized real places, here in Colorado. *My 1959 London Mods mystery. Still looking for a home!

Plans for the new office/study/studio (study-o?) are proceeding apace.

#ScribesAndMakers 5/29: Our next featured creator has done creative work with math. Does math ever feature in any way in your creative work? Nope. But I absolutely love writers like Greg Egan, who can create science fiction that's actually *about math.*

Around grade 5 I devoured the Hardy Boys books. The first series I felt I'd "discovered" myself, in the back of the library at my parochial school. They were all from the 1930s or '40s. And that was part of the magic. The past they described felt like a fantasy realm, like the Shire, or Texas.

#WritersCoffeeClub 5/28: Have you ever regretted cutting a scene? Nah. Sometimes it's painful if I think the scene contains "good writing," but removing it always improves the story as a whole.

Looking for tips from #writers on direct sales and payment processing setups -- something that will enable the sale of #books both online from an author website, and in person at book fairs and other events. Suggestions and experiences appreciated!

This Writech Clictek retractable fountain pen has been a delight. Much less costly than my Pilot Vanishing Point, and it writes like a dream. A little too fiddly to take over for the Lamy Safari as the daily workhorse, but it's close. #pens #fountainpen

I am assessing and evaluating tiny Ouija boards. This critical task is vitally connected to my work.

#WritersCoffeeClub – 5/27 Do you read outside of the genre you write? Absolutely. There's so much to enjoy and to learn across so many types of writing.

Widely underrated. I enjoyed this. One of the few post-1983 movies to make the Galaxy seem a bit larger and weirder.

#WritersCoffeeClub 5/24: What do you need in order to finish your current WIP? Time. To be honest that's almost always the thing that's needed most. Eventually there will be editors, production details, and other things, but mainly it's just the time required to finish and polish a draft.

#ScribesAndMakers 5/23 If you were going to tell a story about a cryptid, which would you choose? First thought is Mothman, but I'd be intimidated by how very good the 2002 movie is. So I might fall back to Sasquatch or Nessie.

Nonfiction: LIVING GNOSTICISM by Jordan Stratford Fiction: THE ROSE FIELD by Philip Pullman (A bit of a slog; reading mainly from a sense of completionism. Each volume of The Book of Dust has gotten a little more joyless.) Other: 2600 magazine; Black Diadem magazine

#ScribesAndMakers 20th May ~ You have $100 (or the equivalent in your currency) to spend on something to support your creativity this month. How are you spending it? Any tech I might want would cost more than $100. So I'll say coffee. A few pounds of really good coffee beans.

#WritersCoffeeClub 5/20: If not your current genre, what genre would you write? I don't settle into one genre in a single story let alone all of my writing. I don't think I've ruled out any genre, except perhaps erotica. My next two WIP are mysteries, but after that a magic-heavy suburban fantasy.

We’ve reached that part of the Colorado springtime when the rain makes the lawn grow four feet per day, prevents me from using the lawnmower, and still won’t fix our drought.

This point about accents in audiobooks leads me to ask, about an upcoming project: Can anyone recommend examples of a good, non-cartoonish #Philadelphia accent? A widely recorded public figure? Or an actor in a particular role?

GIVEAWAY for newsletter subscribers, including those who sign up during May: Download Chapter 1 of QUESTIONS FOR THE DEAD, free! Visit bymatthewporter.com to join. No charge for the download, and no charge for the newsletter. #book #mystery #reading

#WritersCoffeeClub 5/19: How would changing genre change your current WIP's plot? I suppose it could turn into a Hallmark-ish romance, as the MC meets his old flame when he returns to his home town. But there wouldn't really be much plot left. I think I'll keep writing it as a mystery.

Happy Bookday! My psychic mystery novel QUESTIONS FOR THE DEAD is now available in paperback and ebook Feast your eyes on DEAD TREES, or absorb the essence of a space age ELECTRO-BOOK, as it conveys a tale of crime and paranormal abilities! #book #mystery books2read.com/u/3G0Ler

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock & Grogu

“Oh so some fella with an Irish-sounding name has gone and desecrated The Odyssey, is that it? Homer’s own Odyssey? The absolute cheek. And tis the talk of the town, is that what I understand you to be saying to me? And people very upset altogether? Sure I never heard the like in all my born days.”

genre fiction: *makes up between 65% to 80% of all UK fiction sales, crime fiction alone outsells general and literary fiction, contributes to thriving fanfic/booktok/goodreads scene* newspaper culture sections: genre fic? never heard of her

#ScribesAndMakers 5/15 What's going well with your creative work so far this month? Sent out a newsletter to subscribers, all is ready for Tuesday's book launch, and getting back into gear on the next book.

News of the Forza Horizon 6 leak and the 8,000-year ban has me thinking about Patricia Lockwood and her cat Miette. "Oh! Oh! Ban for pirate! Ban for pirate for Eight Thousand Years!"

After a long and not 100% enjoyable trip to Chicago,* it’s good to be home. *It’s not you, Chicago, it’s me. I’m sure I’ll see you again soon and we’ll have a grand time.

On the N-teenth rereading of my book, I realized that a minor character -- a judge who appears in one scene -- was inspired by William Schallert of the Patty Duke Show and of Disney's Dexter Riley/Medfield College movies. That made me smile. Schallert always seemed to be a cool guy.

#WritersCoffeeClub 5/14: Characters, plots, ideas, settings, etc. - how much is too much? I may not be the best person to ask. I love my secondary and minor characters, and create a lot of them. 1/3

#ScribesAndMakers 5/12 Our next featured creator is a Tabletop Role Playing Game designer. Do you play, or have you played, TTRPGs? Boy howdy. Haven’t played much lately, but TTRPGs have been a BIG part of my life. Starting in grade school, back in the D&D original white box days. 1/2

#WritersCoffeeClub 5/12: If not in your current format (novel, play, music, etc.), in what format would you write? Screenplays are a natural, given my love for movies. Also I've had a couple of ideas for operas kicking around my mind for decades. Maybe some day I'll connect with a composer.

#ScribesandMakers 5/10: If your project will be part of a series, do you know that before you start? Pretty much. Writing a character-driven private eye story or a cozy mystery, I know those work best as series. That said -- the first book in a hoped-for series still needs to stand on its own.

#WritersCoffeeClub 5/10 What wisdom do you wish you could share with your younger self? Write more, write faster, get the bad stuff out of your system early.

‘Dead Man,’ the Jim Jarmusch Western that Miramax tried to toss into an unmarked grave when its uncompromising director spurned Harvey’s scissors, was released on this day in 1996. crookedmarquee.com/harveys-hell...

Ridiculously easy. The Empire Strikes Back Moonstruck The Shining A Fish Called Wanda Stand By Me Rain Man Say Anything... Raising Arizona Blade Runner THE MISSION, for crying out loud!

#WritersCoffeeClub 5/9: Share the first line of your current WIP. "Jesus, Carl, would you just give me a minute to work?"

The #DailyESPtest may be for entertainment purposes only, but that doesn’t mean it’s a joke. Every expense has been spared! Only *official* Low Cost ESP Testing Cards are good enough for my followers.

#DailyESPtest! 05/07/2026 As I type this, I have just drawn a card at random from a deck of Zener cards, and I am looking at the card I selected. Try your #ESP or #psychic ability: What card did I draw? Reply with your guess. • Red Cross • Blue wavy lines • Black square • Green star

I call this piece, "I Have a Book Coming Out"

#DailyESPtest! 05/06/2026 As I type this, I have just drawn a card at random from a deck of Zener cards, and I am looking at the card I selected. Try your #ESP or #psychic ability: What card did I draw? Reply with your guess. • Black square • Yellow circle • Red cross • Blue wavy lines