From Chuck Wendig’s blog. He’s a best selling horror author who lives somewhere near Doylestown, PA.

“It’s never precisely easy to be a writer – professional or otherwise. I mean, it’s easy in the sense of, hey, anybody can open a word processor and start (fiercely or methodically) putting a story down on the page, one mad word at a time. But it’s also quite hard: you have to reckon with a difficult industry, a lack of respect and recognition from the non-writers in your life, a schedule that surely isn’t conducive, a dearth of proper places to actually sit down and make the words happen, and so forth. Writing always, always feels like an act that vacillates wildly between the Herculean and the Sisyphean – always difficult, sometimes triumphant, sometimes you’re pancaked by the boulder you’ve been shoving up the hill for days, weeks, months, years …

I want you to tell those stories. Your stories. The ones that matter most to you — not the ones that feed machines, not the ones that feed companies, but the ones that feed you, and by proxy, the audience beyond you.”

Chuck Wendig

Two years of workshops, one solid book

This has been a goal of mine for the last six months, and it’s out for 2026. You can get the ebook on Amazon ($8.95), various other online retaliers, or directly from me for a $2 discount ($6.96 – epub and PDF).

The paperback edition is available on Amazon,  coming soon on IngramSpark, and will be available to bookstores and retailers everywhere.

About ‘Blank Page to Bookshelf’

Blank Page to Book Shelf: From First Sentence to First Sale: Fiction Writing, Character Creation, and Self-Publishing Basics brings together the core lessons from author and workshop instructor Mark McNease’s writing workshops, distilled into a single, accessible volume for aspiring and emerging writers.

Guiding readers from initial idea through character creation, plotting, revision, and self-publishing, the book emphasizes practical steps and realistic expectations. It demystifies both the creative process and the mechanics of self-publishing, helping writers move from concept to completed book.

Suitable for individual writers, writing groups, and creative workshops, this how-to guide blends craft instruction with actionable publishing guidance.

A clear, encouraging roadmap for turning a blank page into a finished book.

Start the year with new thrills in this BookFunnel giveaway featuring mystery maestros Marshall Thornton, Garrett Hutson, Victor Dain, Delilah Knight and more. This giveaway runs from January 1 – 15 only, so surf over and download these chillers packed with secrets, suspense, and bold voices you’ll want to hear again and again.

TAKE THE SURVEY HERE

Which Resolutions, If Any, Fit You for 2026? Multiple Answers Allowed

• No more news/politics than I need to stay informed
• Simplify everything: fewer commitments, less clutter, real and imagined
• Say yes to joy, fun, laughter and creativity
• Take better care of myself, mentally and physically
• Stay open to new experiences, projects, trips, habits and perspective
• I don’t make resolutions
• Name your own in the comments
• What other resolution(s) would you make for 2026?

I was so happy to help author Stacey Meadows publish Pine Melody: A Memoir, a masterfully written account of her son Jonah’s death in a car accident and her coming to terms with it that culminated in this extraordinary book.

The photos are from Stacey’s book reading, held in Lambertville, New Jersey.

Visit the website for Pine Melody

About Pine Melody

Swerving to avoid a deer on a dark Wisconsin highway in early summer, 22-year old Gabe lost control of the car. His 29 year- old brother, Jonah, singing along with him as he drove, absorbed the full force of the impact with an oncoming pick-up truck driven by the Chief of a First Nation. The crash left Jonah with severe traumatic brain injury, Gabe with a broken femur, and soil samples, meticulously gathered for Jonah’s graduate research project on agroforestry, strewn across the highway.

As general counsel for a Philadelphia medical center, I was competent enough to interact with my sons’ care teams, but lost all semblance of professionalism when neither my legal expertise, search for a medical miracle, nor tenacity of my love was able to bring benefit to Jonah, who lingered in a coma for three months, before dying in hospice. I was left to find a way to carry on for the sake of Jonah’s brothers while handling my own grief and helplessness.

Immersing myself in Jonah’s journals, and memories of his extraordinary, spirit-filled life, my pillars materialized—meditation, yoga, prayer and sailing. With Jonah as my spirit guide, in the bardo and beyond, I navigated pathways between terror and beauty that Jonah had spent his life seeking. Pine Melody is the result of my journey.

Pine Melody on IngramSpark
Pine Melody on Amazon

I started MadeMark Media over 15 years ago. It stepped into the background with my MadeMark Publishing imprint, but they’re both coming back full force in 2026. So exciting!