A Big Blog Post. Personal. 911 words. Hhhmmmm… I want to thank Eva Pohler for inviting me to join the first annual Book Lover’s Unite for World Suicide Prevention Day programming as part of World Suicide Prevention Day, Tuesday, September 10. She is hosting a FaceBook Live Event here. Mental Health. What did you just think when you read those two words? Those people… Crazy… Manic Depressive… Almost always somebody else. Until it becomes yourself. I’ve worked with lots of students who have had mental health issues. I’ve had a phone call when I talked to a former student who was consideri ..read more

11,111 new words in the last 11 days On NO MAN’S LAND and THE VOYAGE OF THE DECAMERON This one goes to 11. This is an update of my 11/12/21 post titled “This Left Turn Feels Write. 21 months ago, on 2/11/20, (1 month B.C. {Before Covid}), I started writing a project I’d been thinking about writing for nearly 4 years. By 4/4/20, I had written 22 section (approximately 2,222 words each), finishing 1 nearly every 2 days. After that I only finished 2 more parts out of the eleventy-leven total over the next two months.  After Covid19 had been declared a pandemic I had more and more difficu ..read more

← Voyage of the Decameron: This Left Turn Feels Write Inspiration from the blog of Kristine Katherine Rusch I just read an awesome blog post from one of my mentor/authors. It’s about challenging yourself and getting out of our Comfort Zones. As I start into this next crazy project, a challenge I think she and Dean would appreciate, I realize how much I’ve let things that aren’t go well, take away from my time to be creative. I’ve literally had this idea rolling around in my head for four years (i can verify that as I found the FB, Blog Posts, and notes on Googledocs), but I haven’t let ..read more

One of my goals for 2020 (and there are many, more really SMART [Specific, Manageable, Achievable, Rigorous, Time-based.] ones, too) is to post daily tips to #savetheplanet and #saveyoumoney. Every 11 or so days, I will do a wrap up blog post with links and extra suggestions. The idea is to have a bunch of things that are easy to do that will save you money and help the planet. They likely won’t save you time, but them may give you a sense of accomplishment and the feeling that you are actually making a difference. Here are the first 11.25 ideas with some explanations, links and pictures. Go ..read more

As I work to cut NO MAN’S LAND from 115,599 words down to below 99,999 words, I’m finding scenes that don’t move the plot forward. Or at least not much. After I released ALL IS SILENCE in 2014, I posted some cut scenes. Available here: 1st Beginning and the 1st and 2nd endings. All these will be released as an ebooks Boxed Set of all short fiction written pre-2022 (at least 1 unpublished that’s only been read by about 11 people), as well as a non-canon story where I meet Lizzie, plus some making of and Covid comparisons. I also found one from STRAIGHT INTO DARKNESS: Zach and Nev’s Wedding ..read more

Why not‽ “But, Rob, I’ve been waiting 5 years on a cliffhanger for book III, and I want it now, now, now!” What I mean is don’t buy my books YET. Don’t despair, I have several solutions I’ll mention at the bottom of this post. You can jump there right away, but I’d really like you to understand why, and how you can help me best, if you so desire. In order to become a successful as an author, I need to grow my audience. Obviously, if you’re reading this you’re a part of that audience already. Thanks. It’s an honor to have folks who care about what I write. And what I’m writing for, primarily, i ..read more

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS for 2022? Not resolutions, not dreams! But Goals. I went to a Writer’s Conference called 20 Books to 50K several weeks ago. Unlike many writer’s conferences, the primary focus is on helping authors with the business side of writing. There are presentations on the craft of writing, but primarily it’s about marketing, networking, and business planning. Yes, treat your writing career as if it were a business, even if it’s only part time. In my career as a high school teacher, I often taught the S.M.A.R.T. goal strategy and I’ve used it extensively myself. I’ve found that even ..read more

For her birthday I got my partner, Elena, and I cheap red and blue shirts and added the emblems. I posted this to Facebook on Sunday. Hilariously enough, I had a lose your skates [socks and shoes] dream last night. ⁠ Gord Downie on one of my favorite Tragically Hip songs, “It’s a Good Life If You Don’t Weaken, sings about a “forget-yer-skates dream.” ⁠ I often dream of getting to school in only my sock feet. ⁠ I’m gonna call this one “The Red Shirts Bad Dream.” ⁠ The post Lose your Boots Dream first appeared on Deserted Lands Apocalyptic Books ..read more

4444+ words in the last 4 days on my “novel” writing project. THE VOYAGE OF THE DECAMERON Robert L. Slater 10 tales and a teaser told on a quarantined cruiseship for 10 nights and a day. Times 10+1! This one goes to 11. Back in March of 2016, [New updates below.] I did a Facebook promotion called “Murder in March” with a bunch of other authors. The idea was that each of us would give away the right for a reader to become a character who would be murdered in a future book/story. Along with that I did a series of posts about what else I wanted to write in the Deserted Lands Universe. So, by ..read more

Random weird authoring idea #777. Who? You. Deserted Lands fans who are waiting for Book III. What? I would like to offer to let you watch me novel. I need to finish. Which? No Man’s Land. Keep an eye on me as a loyal supporter and cheerleader. How? Send me a picture. Everyone who sends me a picture will become part of a collage that is watching me write Book III. Include a handwritten note in the photo if you wish. Maybe when somebody decides to make this into a movie I can use it on the set where Lizzie keeps track of the missing folks! Why? I need some accountability. This story is hard to ..read more