The Author's Desk

Book cover for 'Friend or Foe' by Arthur Mills, featuring a black background with distressed white text, a broken acorn illustration, and a blue feather.

Friend or Foe: Writing a Political Fable Without a Winner

Most political fiction decides who's right before the first page. Friend or Foe runs three trails to three endings, one for the chipmunks, one for...

Arthur Mills
Stack of new paperback copies of The Empty Lot Next Door by Arthur Mills on a sunlit wooden desk near a window.

Why Strangers, Not Friends, Build an Author's Career

I ordered 500 copies of my first book and split them between media outlets and the people I knew personally. One-half built my career. The...

Arthur Mills
Mara Flores in her café apron, wiping the counter of the lobby café in a fifty-story office tower.

How I Write Characters Who Think Like an Analyst

Three of my books follow characters who think like intelligence analysts. None of them have the training. All of them work the same instinct that...

Arthur Mills
The Author's Desk logo: an open leather journal, fountain pen, and magnifying glass on a wooden desk.

Why I Rebuilt The Author's Desk and Where It's Headed Now

Candle Face Chronicles outgrew its place on the Branching Plot Books website and earned its own home at candleface.com. That move freed up The Author's...

Arthur Mills