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Those clouds you see above resemble the state of my creative mind these days. Only a few wispy things to entertain me, not much of substance. Yes, friends, I am once again fallow. I am letting my creativity lie open to the elements, hoping that the nutrients the soil needs will arrive and the landContinue reading “Up and Down”

Some years ago I went through a rough financial period and had to compromise my debts. One place came to an agreement with me that I would pay $250 per month for a few years and get about $3000 forgiven from my debt. Over the years things have improved for me. But the payments toContinue reading “Sometimes It’s Good to Be a Lawyer”

If you are a diligent writer, you sit down every day (or night) at a particular time and write at least 1000 words. So says the great Ray Bradbury, who followed this practice to great success. Great advice. If you’re the great Ray Bradbury. Or Isaac Asimov, who wrote 500 books in his 72 yearsContinue reading “How It Works. Or Not.”

When I first came back to San Bernardino in 2018 after a disastrous job in Placer, I returned to the church where I had played for the 4 p.m. Saturday Mass. No, the singer said. I don’t need more guitar players. Check the 8 o’clock mass. They need musicians. I showed up at 8 theContinue reading “Moving On”

I went to the Greater L.A. Writer’s Conference this weekend. I went so that I could have a one-on-one conference with a real agent. The gig was that I would send the first 20 pages of my book, “Minerva James and the Trial of Mars.” He or she would look it over and tell meContinue reading “A Happy Moment”

There’s a song from the 90s whose lyric goes: And I miss you Like the Deserts miss the rain… Writers know what that means to the nth power. I have before talked about how the stretches between writing feels like an eternity, even if it’s only a few weeks. When one is a writer, oneContinue reading “Like the Deserts Miss the Rain”

I sometimes ask myself, am I a lawyer who wants to be a writer, or a writer who has to be a lawyer. It’s a bit like the Chinese philosopher who had a dream about butterflies, then woke wondering if he was a philosopher dreaming he was a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming he wasContinue reading “The Day Gig”

Back when I was a callow youth of 35, I was invited to speak at a meeting of Sisters In Crime. This is an organization of women mystery writers, a national group with various local chapters. I spoke on legal procedure. The title was, “What you’re doing wrong in your courtroom scenes.” (Which will makeContinue reading “My Date with Gidget”

Every night when my grandfather came home from his job at Continental Can Company in East L.A., he’d lay his lunchpail on the kitchen table. “Hello, Lloyd,” Grandma would say. “Hello, battleaxe,” he’d reply. They were married until death, more than 30 years. When I was in the Air Force and temporarily stationed at Chicksands,Continue reading “Love, Sideways”

Mystery publishers hate sex. That’s what I’ve been told, at least. I once wrote a funny little mystery novel, “Naked Lies,” in which a stripper causes trouble for the main character’s client. Hilarious hijinks ensue. At one point it is very important for the stripper and the main character to have sex. It is equallyContinue reading “Sex and the Single Publisher”