Author Archives: mcbruce56

I have been thinking more about the last blog, in which I complained that a writing group of which I am a member is having a pitch day to a major publisher which is “only” for “underrepresented” writers. “Underrepresented” meaning persons who are not “traditionally” the targets of publishers. (Technically, according to their definition, IContinue reading “Pendulum, Part II”

I am a part of a writer’s group which will remain nameless for this blog. Today I looked at their site and was delighted to see that a major book publisher was going to have a day in which members of this group could submit their book for digital publishing without an agent. Hooray! Oh,Continue reading “The Pendulum Swings Again”

When I was in Law School at dear old Boalt, I made the mistake of complaining to my Contracts teacher about the hundreds of pages of homework he assigned after each class. “I can’t wait until I’m practicing and no longer a student,” I said. “And homework will be a thing of the past!” HeContinue reading “The Eternal Student”

Like the engineer in the train pictured above, I have often made some wrong turns in life, love, literature and the law. Hey! Alliteration! This blog, for instance, was to have been named “The Gospel According to Mark.” I thought it a cute idea, as my name actually is Mark. It was pointed out toContinue reading “Bad Ideas, Inc.”

So we’re in court on a Domestic Violence Restraining Order. My client has testified in detail to the abuse he’s suffered from the Petitioner. The opposing lawyer is now cross examining him on a childhood injury he suffered with caused him to lose memories of his childhood. My client is now in his thirties. TheContinue reading “Sorry, I Didn’t Hear You”

I am sitting in my Victorville Office getting ready to do some tasks. I plan to leave at noon. After all, I’m on vacation. Originally I hoped to spend a week somewhere else, reading, writing, eating, napping. When I was a Public Defender in Orange County I used to do just that–I’d rent a motelContinue reading “A Lawyer’s Vacation”

She sits on the couch watching her murder shows. Her favorite is “Snapped,” in which women who kill their mates are profiled lovingly. By the end of the show you’re usually rooting for the murderer to get away. Some do. I ask her why she watches these shows. “To get tips,” she says. My wife.Continue reading “The Dragon on the Couch”

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”