My thoughts and ideas on various topics, including advice about writing and getting published.
I used to say it all the time. Why is everyone making this so complicated? It’s just common sense. I recall once whining in more or less that vein to a colleague. His response set me aback. “One person’s common sense,” he said, “is another person’s uncommon nonsense.” He drew air quotes around the word […]
A while back, I wrote that I give away some of my books because I want you to read them. Since then, many have picked up my books, both through online retailers and here, through my Reader’s Club. A great deal of these folks have gone on to enjoy my other titles. Before I go […]
Have you ever observed or participated in an argument that leaves you scratching your head? Something may have gone awry other than you getting lost, or the facts becoming too inscrutable to grasp. Chances are someone plunked a wowser of a logical fallacy. Last Monday, I touched one of the most common, the ad hominem […]
Disagree with someone’s viewpoint? Call them a Liberal pinko, or narrow-minded, or a bigot. If you really want to close the deal, boom, Nazi! That will show them, right? That will shut down their dumb ideas with some pizzazz! Well, it might make us feel good to get that off our chest, but unfortunately, it […]
In the days leading to this Fourth of July celebration, a certain presidential candidate made remarks regarding immigration and how a certain nation to our south doesn’t send us “their best.” While those remarks have gotten him in substantial hot water, perhaps because I don’t hail from said country, but one a few hundred miles […]
First things first: I do not mean with this article to belittle or ridicule those who struggle with real Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Rather, I wish to ponder why those of us blessed to not face that disease day after day would self-impose a way of living that diminishes, if not destroys, our ability to […]
Too busy with my writing, the one year mark since I indie-published my first novel, DEAD BEEF, came and went, and I failed to commemorate it. It’s been a crazy year (plus a month and a half now). I released two short story collections, and launched two series of novels and novellas. I would mention […]
Since I wrote about the Dynamics of Followship, asking what exactly we’re trying to accomplish in getting more and more followers, I’ve continued to examine this question. Today, while talking with someone about the futility of follower-hunting, a new descriptor crossed my mind. I even uttered it. We are turning into follower collectors. Maybe we […]
Watching my Tracking Jane series unfold, and noting reader reactions, both communicated in writing and via online reviews, I’ve confirmed most of what I suspected and feared as I developed the storyline. Some readers can’t stand the story. Others love it. Some have mixed feelings, and in the end, the main character and her struggle […]
I realize there’s no way I can broach this subject without getting flagged as grumpy, disconnected, or otherwise utterly clueless. I therefore feel compelled to tell you: I get social media, I’ve “engaged” in it in one form or another for years, yes, I’ve struggled to comprehend its inner-workings, and I’ve enjoyed its benefits. All […]
