Category Archives: Uncategorized

The scowling fellow above is, as the inscription tells you, an ancient philosopher named Epictetus. Eppy, as his friends called him (well, maybe not), was a slave in a Roman household who was very wise and very learned. He developed rules for living which is a philosophy now known as Stoicism. Stoicism comes down toContinue reading “The Stoic Life”

“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, Once more. Or we’ll fill their holes With our English dead.” Shakespeare, Henry V I was so proud of myself for finishing the first Minerva novel, “Minerva James and the God of War.” It all hung together. There were a few flaws, but overall I thought the bookContinue reading “Once More Unto the Breach”

Well, my friends, I have made the grade. I will be eternally famous so long as Wikipedia is online. I decided to look up the Black Orchid Novella Award, which is my only claim to fame. There, on the Wikipedia page, is my name as the winner of the 2018 BONA. So now my nameContinue reading “Eternal Fame in Wikipedia”

Ok, now I’m going to share something very personal and somewhat uncomfortable. If you don’t like such things, fast forward to the next funny entry. Since I was a boy I have suffered from a diagnosed mild to moderate depression. It’s been with me since I was seven, when my parents split up. It wasContinue reading “The Sadness”

If there is one rule for blogging–and I suspect there are more rules than just one–it is: Make it exciting. Sorry. I am not an exciting person. I am a dull and stupid man, as one of my now-defunct (MySpace!) blogs was called. Really. Look over the topics on this site. Does anything excite You?Continue reading “Make It Dull”

I suppose it was inevitable. After writing four book-length manuscripts last year, I’ve spent January in the Fallow time. For those of you who are not farmers, when one grows crops it is usually a good idea to leave one of your fields untilled each year so that the ground can recover its nutrients. ThisContinue reading “Fallow Time”

Yesterday I sent one of my new SF stories to a small internet magazine. Within 8 hours it had been rejected with a nice form letter which stated that somewhere there was a stupid magazine that would run my story, but not here, buddy. Reader(s) of this blog know that I am no stranger toContinue reading “Why Do You Write?”

Back in 2007 I worked as the head of the Alternate Conflicts Counsel in Humboldt County. I worked long hours and dealt with all kinds of crazy problems. One day in May I was called in to my supervisor’s office unexpectedly. I thought I was doing a pretty good job as Alt Counsel. Evidently, IContinue reading “Write It Anyway”

When the book is written, before the first revision, comes the most tedious, most irritating, yet in many ways the most important task for the writer: The synopsis. In a synopsis you encapsulate the book into a few short paragraphs. It’s supposed to be a brief telling of the plot so that an agent–and aContinue reading “In Synopsis Hell”

Turns out, it was a good thing I put the new blog website on the Facebook page. My ever curious relative, who does not like to be identified in this blog, went to the website page and found a blank “this ain’t here” message. Fortunately, the message also had a link to the blog, soContinue reading “A Revoltin’ Development”