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Update: What I’ve Been Up To Recently

First of all, a hearty hello to all my subscribers! I want to update everyone on what has transpired since I last published a blog post.  I have been hard at work the last several years on a new fiction project — a book series that fits in the historical fiction/fantasy genre. The epic story […]

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The Other Stories podcast, episode 20

A writer friend of mine convinced me to do this podcast called The Other Stories. Yeah, I know… a friend convinces you to do something… but this turned out quite well. I was interviewed by Ilana Masad, the podcast host, and our discussion veered from the peculiar habits of writers, to the dangers of surfing, […]

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Letters From the J. Crew Dude, Part 3 — The Conclusion

To those readers who have not read Part 1 and Part 2 of Letters From the J. Crew Dude, I strongly urge you to do so before you read Part 3. You will understand the overall flow and have a greater sense of the psychology of the Dude and why it ends the way it […]

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On Sunsets and the Importance of Hanging Around

I have a thing about dusk, my favorite time of day, and sunsets. I think sunsets are nature’s most exquisite art. They never fail to put me in a relaxed state of awe. They are never the same, even second by second during the same sunset. The clouds, the color, the intensity…they keep shifting. It’s […]

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The Terrible Burden of Having Stuff

Moving is hell, as the saying goes, and my recent move to California, in the tiresome way of all major moves, has been hellish. The main driver of misery is the Stuff to be moved. There is the back breaking, ass-kicking difficulty of dealing with the mother-lode bulk of it: the furniture, the boxes and […]

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Greatest 80s Music Videos – the Digest: “Come on Eileen” Dexys Midnight Runners

The music video for “Come On Eileen,” a lethally infectious single by Dexys Midnight Runners, hit MTV in 1982 and that zippy violin melody and images of shirtless hillbillies have been burning in our brains ever since. 80s videos were beloved because they combined storytelling with music and few did it better than “Come on […]

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Emoticons: Where They Come From & Why I Use Them

Anyone who has communicated on a social network or done some texting knows about emoticons, those clever smiley-faced :) and frowny-faced :( symbols. I count myself as a heavy user because I am an emotional and sensitive guy, a writer and an Aquarian, who enjoys adding emotional accent to what otherwise might be a droll […]

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What Writers Need to Know About Book Cover Design: An Interview with Artist Lee Libro

Effective cover art has always been an important part of publishing a book. In this dawning age of self-publishing and indie writers a good cover artist is an important member of every author’s publishing team. I was lucky to come across the talented Lee Libro who created the cover art for my novel, The Pursuit […]

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Prometheus: A Review of the new Ridley Scott Movie

I have long been a fan of Ray Bradbury’s science fiction (think, R is For Rocket) and Ridley Scott’s sci-fi movies because I like the way mixing humans with robotic and alien life forms seems to bring out the best and worst of humanity. “Prometheus” is an engaging and wondrous movie, and a worthy addition […]

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The Pursuit of Cool is Officially Launched and on sale

When I started out writing The Pursuit of Cool years ago, I had a vague idea that someday I would finish it and then someday and somehow it would be released into the world. When I started writing seriously in the mid-nineties I knew that I wanted to write this novel. I don’t know how many […]