Neil Siemers

Neil Siemers grew up in Derby, Kansas, a comparatively small town south of Wichita. He moved to Lawrence to attend the University of Kansas, and hasn't left since. Neil likes to pretend that he is a big shot full time writer, although it's probably closer to a hobby. Either way, it's funded by a full-time job in the insurance industry, where he happily works as a cog in the machine for The Man so that bills can be paid.

The Lackluster Finish

I was really hoping to be able to make a sizeable dent in the bonus round this year.  That’s what I call any amount of words over 50,000.  I’ve never been able to write more than a few hundred words in the bonus round, which is a bit disappointing to me.  Heck, I even looked […]

NaNo Rebellion

I didn’t mean to end up as a rebel this year.  It just kinda… happened.  My first novel concept completely fell through, none of my backup ideas had enough substance to become a novel, and even my idea to write a mini-anthology of related short stories fell through.  I had to do something. So I […]

And Life Goes On

This has not been a good month for me.  Which is very frustrating, because normally this is my favorite time of year.  I want to start over, but I can’t.  Neither life nor the universe work that way.  I’m going to have to wait an entire year to get another shot at it.  It’s frustrating, […]

 

Something Something NaNo Season

It never fails.  No matter how much I try to prepare for my NaNo novel, I always find myself making up a ton of stuff at the last minute.  I always forget something.  Yesterday was no exception. Now, part of the problem is that I’m a pantser for life.  If I start outlining my novel, […]

 

The Sleeping Strategy

“Well, the sign confirms it,” Bolero said, walking back over to where Nerek was standing. “It’s the old puzzle where one door is certain death, and one door is the treasure. One guard only lies, and one guard only tells the truth. You only get one question.” Nerek let out a deep sigh. When he’d […]