This past month has been like a "Greatest Hits" of bad takes and worse behavior in the online world of reading and writing. A common theme is people misappropriating and weaponizing the language of legitimate issues to justify misbehavior, which is not only tacky and obnoxious, it minimizes those issues…
A creative mind must be balanced by a disciplined body. Splinter Over five years ago, my sons enrolled in kenpo karate. Even though I've wanted to learn a martial art ever since the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie, an interest reinforced by Sonya Blade and later Buffy, it never…
Last month, the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl - as preordained by Soros, according to anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists anyway. And for all the complaints about excessive NFL coverage of Taylor Swift, her critics made sure she remained in headlines by accusing her of Satanism. And here I thought…
My story collection Silly Little Monsters demonstrated the growing pains as I came into my own as a writer. And yet, "everyone wants to find a place to belong, to connect" served as a mission statement. Reaching out, trying to make connections. That's what it's always been about. me, a…
"Let's talk about all the good things and the bad things that may be..." Salt 'n Peppa Not my favorite Salt 'n Peppa song (that would be "Push It") but it felt apt. Honestly, the title is probably the spiciest thing in this post so don't get too nervous and/or…
A Better Me came out two weeks ago. At one point, it was in the top 250 for New Adult and College Fantasy. That was cool, but the best part was seeing all the likes and shares from peers and others. The support of the community is so important for…
The book, that is. I'll still be the same annoying weirdo I've always been. Somehow March came and went without a post, not for lack of trying. Just increasingly dismayed by everything happening in the world. Plus I still had to work, parent, and care for other animals, and now…
Last month I was focused on A Better Me, my debut novel coming out late spring. The main character is a film student who works as a production assistant, an entry level position that demands the ability to perform any number of tasks under pressure. I have so much respect…
"Male violence is not only tolerated, but celebrated; women’s violence is not only discouraged, but stigmatized.”Mary Anne Franks I can now announce my short story "The Patriarch" will come out in next spring's Family anthology from Writing Bloc. The anthology was originally planned for fall, and I had planned to…
I've mentioned my novel won't be out until next spring. I also have a new story set to appear in an anthology that has been pushed back to next year (a common occurance 2020/2021 for traditional and independent publishers alike) - which meant 2021 was destined to pass without a…