Every writer has one, the metaphoric trunk, the place where we hide all of the projects that didn’t work out, the ones we think will never see the light of day. At least, we hope. When I first started writing (I think I was 8) I was obsessed with Raiders of the Lost Ark and I wrote a story about Indiana Jones fighting a mummy in the middle of a […]
There’s a meme going around asking writers to explain where they get their ideas, and some of the responses have been illuminating. Also, I was talking to one of my friends at the library about my books, and she asked me that question and I wanted to come up with a thoughtful answer but my initial response was: Fuck if I know! I mean, that’s not really true. I can
It’s been a year since I started writing at least 1000 words a day, every day. I can honestly say the habit kind of kicked my butt and changed my life at the same time. I wrote every day from May of last year through October. After that, I started taking Sundays off. I still take one day off a week, but a couple of months ago a friend and
Things I learned writing (almost) every day for the past year. Read More »
OK, I admit it, I royally screwed up on my taxes. I used turbo tax, but I didn’t realize I had separate federal and state forms for my health insurance information, so put the wrong numbers in. So, I got a letter from the IRS the other day asking me to resubmit my information, at which point I discovered the mistake. No problem. All I have to do is resubmit
I’m just trying to stay out of tax jail, I swear Read More »
Real talk time. I first came out to my parents about a year and a half ago. And I am so grateful for how they reacted. The first thing my mom did was tell me she loved me, and my dad just shrugged and said it was fine. Coming out to my children, wasn’t as hard, but they reacted well too, and I have never been closer to these, the
A late-night rant I will probably regret posting in the morning Read More »
I put librarian in my tag line mostly as a joke. I do not have a degree in library science, but I do work at a library, and do most of the things librarians do. And I spend a lot of time in libraries even when I’m not working. At least three days a week I go to the big library in nearby Redding, CA to write my daily 1000
Two years ago, I blew up my life. My wife and I were having a fight about something stupid. She left, angry, and said when I solved the problem she would come back. I was defensive. She was over-reacting. But something fundamental had changed. We hadn’t really been getting along for several years at that point. Most of that wasn’t her fault. But that day, I knew it was over.
The stairs that led to the top deck were unguarded, which was a good sign. He was tired of being stuck indoors. The door opened on a wide expanse of deck, with low benches built into the railing around the edge. There was a bar at the forward end, but no one was manning it. Three rangers patrolled the deck, watching for any signs of trouble. This made him feel
An excerpt from All the Promised Stars Read More »