Image by Amy Art-Dreams from Pixabay I don’t know about anybody else, but it seems I have been working on this story forever. I originally expected to publish in January, but various delays, not the least of which is my own laziness, have slowed me to a crawl. Every time I get going, something happens to pull me away from the computer. Once I start writing, I had better not quit, because I know the chances of returning to the manuscript that day…
I know I have spoken of the outlining process before, but I have recently had an experience with outlining that I feel it is worth discussing. As I have said before, outlining can be the most fickle part of the writing process. There are times when I outline like a demon, going through an entire novel’s planning in the space of a few days, while other times I can look at an outline for hours and not put a single…
Today is the forty-eight anniversary of my marriage. My wife and I are at the stage of our union where we are both retired and satisfied with our lives. I am, at least, and I believe she is also. That’s not to say that we’re content to sit on our duffs and let the world go by. We still have hopes and dreams that won’t come to pass by themselves. She’s given me four beautiful children, who have graced us with…
Feature Photo by JJ Jordan on Unsplash A little over two months ago, I announced that my next work would be a new version of “Hidden Desires”, a novel I published early in my writing career. I made the announcement under the mistaken belief that I could tweak and adjust in short order, intending to reissue the improved version in the first week of the new year (in my younger, formative years, I was judged immature and naive, traits that still seem…
Hey folks! I know I’m a little late on this one, but I have some good news for you. If you haven’t listened to The Mistress of Longbourn on audio yet, it’s being offered now for 75% off until the New Year! Just follow the link and enjoy! https://www.audiobooks.com/promotions/promotedBook/595034/mistress-of-longbourn?refId=111992
Image by Joshua Woroniecki from Pixabay In a previous post, I discussed the history of the printed word and the boon Mr. Gutenberg’s invention was to mankind. Today’s article is about computers and how they’ve changed the world. Did you know that the abacus is considered the first example of a computer? There is evidence of its existence and use in Mesopotamia as early as 2700 BC., where they used it to assist in calculations for their sexagesimal numbering system, which was based…
November has arrived. Summer is a distant memory and Halloween is blessedly in the rear view mirror. So what comes next? If your house is anything like mine when I was a child, the arrival of November meant the start of the Christmas baking season for our mother. I fondly recall the heavenly aroma of fresh baked bread, the wonderful smell of cinnamon as the rolls turned golden brown in the oven, and the sight of pies cooling on the…
I’ve seen lots of movies about AI run amuck. The Terminator was an early one, and those movies were good for about the first three, then there was The Matrix, where the first was good while the rest (haven’t seen the fourth) were pretty much abominations. I tend to like dystopian, disaster, thriller movies, as they tell stories about the human spirit and people rising to the challenge, even if the scripts are not often the best and some of…
As tempting as it is to compose a maudlin, sorrowful essay, I am instead celebrating my mother’s life. She passed away on Sunday morning, one month to the day before her 97th birthday. I loved my mother deeply. She was a kind, thoughtful woman who I think deserves to be lauded for putting up with me, her oldest and always rebellious son. She and my father did their best to raise me to be a righteous, Christian man. Unfortunately, until…
There was a variety of fodder for today’s post (I recently went on a trip with my friends, I am having some foot issues, and so on), but I thought I would just briefly address the recent sinking of the Titan submersible. As some of you probably already know, the Titanic, which was hailed as an unsinkable ship, was named after the Titans of Greek mythology. However, the novella Futility, which was written by Morgan Robertson before the Titanic was created,…