Author Archives: mcbruce56

A Ship Named Sheila Mark Bruce DETAILS ASIN:B098VZ4Z2N This story is on Kindle Vella, a new thing they’re trying with stories told in small chunks. like the old serial stories. If you click the ASIN link above you can read the first three chapters (1000 words each) for free. Then you have to start expendingContinue reading “Serial Writer”

Some things become apparent to me as I get older: That I am never going to be rich. That I am never going to be famous. That I am never going to date a beautiful Korean girl pop singer with an innocent face and lithe body. That I am never going to be invited toContinue reading “What I Know So Far”

As the famous troubadour pictured above once sang, it seems the nearer your destination, the more you’re slip slidin’ away. (That’s Paul Simon for you youngsters who don’t recognize anyone holding one of those old-fashioned things called “guitars.”) I am 64, to be 65 in November. My mom died at 83, my dad at 88.Continue reading “Slip Slidin’ Away”

Albert Einstein once noted that the only two limitless things in existence were the Universe and Human Stupidity. And he had his doubts about the Universe. In my day job as attorney to the stars–but only the minor ones, like Rigel 5 or Mandamus 13–I run across stupidity often. Sometimes the clients. Sometimes the DAs.Continue reading “People Are Stupid”

The video above show me reading an excerpt from Minerva James and the God of Strangers, a short story recently published in the anthology The Secrets We Keep, published by Dandelion Revolution Press. These women put out great books and I am proud yet humbled to be a part of their revolution. Viva Le Dandelion!Continue reading “Minerva James and the God of Strangers”

I am not a robot. I am not your huckleberry. I am not a crook. I am not, nor have I ever been a member of the Communist Party. I am not afraid. I am not your boss. I am not your momma. I am not interested. I am not dead yet. I am notContinue reading “I Am Not a Robot”

That peculiar-looking item in the photo, dear children, is an old-fashioned contraption called a “typewriter.” When your correspondent was a young man, it was all the rage among writers. If you didn’t have a typewriter, you couldn’t submit stories. (Though if one looked through the Writer’s Market of the day, sometimes you’d see a placeContinue reading “A Little News”

One day as I strolled along the sidewalk toward the San Bernardino Family Law Court, I saw the scene above. Evidently someone has vanished, leaving only their shoes atop what looks like an electrical gizmo. I feel like this a lot in my life as a lawyer. I feel like I could disappear any minute.Continue reading “Born This Way”

Those of you who have read my Minerva James stories might think that she is the only detective I ever write about. Those of you who have been brave enough to look at my writing page (on this website) know that I have other characters. There’s Staff Sergeant Jackson James of the OSI in theContinue reading “My Little Mermaid”

I just happened to stumble upon an old Adam 12 episode on television the other night. In it, a “good kid” got busted for shoplifting and his father came to bail him out. The father tried to be understanding and supportive and the kid said “Dad, get mad at me!” The father said, “I’m notContinue reading “The Cruelty of Time”