Assaph Mehr is a software product manager who moonlights as an urban fantasy novelist. Here is everything Mehr learned on the path to becoming an author -- from the actual writing to publishing and marketing the finished work. If you think you have a novel buried inside you, this guide will help you get it out.

Last night, A Game Of Thrones author George R.R. Martin took to the stage at the Sydney Opera House to discuss his popular fantasy series, the spin-off HBO TV show and his craft as a writer. Below are ten kernels of wisdom that could help budding authors write their own fantasy saga. (Surprisingly, 'take your time' isn't one of them.)

Philipp Lenssen, author of the oft-linked Google Blogoscoped blog, has put together an entire book of Google Apps Hacks, covering Gmail, Calendar, Docs, and beyond, and his publisher is offering a sample chapter as a free PDF download. The sample delves into Google Presentations and how the PowerPoint-like app can be extended pretty far with style sheet tweaks, theme changes, and a little creative use of photos. Hit the link below to grab the free 19-page excerpt. Google Apps Hacks

People get pretty attached to their favourite books, but an over-abundance of just-can't-toss tomes can overwhelm your shelves and leave you with useless, seriously heavy boxes. The Unclutterer blog offers some tough love for book lovers, but this tip in particular stands out for college grads:Get rid of any book you've read, don't plan on reading or referencing again, is in the public domain, and can be found in its entirety online. That's right, I'm talking about ditching your Dover copy of The Scarlet Letter.Looking at my own shelves, I can see more than a handful of candidates that meet that criteria. The idea is, presumably, that if I really want to yank a copy down and reference it, it's actually easier to do with an online copy. While you're de-booking, read a few suggestions on re-organising your bookshelf.Photo by Stewart. Bringing your bookshelves back to order

Want a free ebook copy of a Kurt Vonnegut novel? Free ebook site Wowio has five of them, along with lots of other copyrighted fiction, literature, comics, and other works. The site offers the wares through sponsorships, and only limits your downloads to three books per day, 30 per month. The two caveats are a somewhat limited selection (as you might expect) and that the site's U.S.-only due to licensing restrictions. Otherwise, it's not a bad place to check for fresh content for your PDA, cell phone or computer screen. For more free page-turners, try the top ten sites for free books and the 100 best free Project Gutenberg books.