My Blog
Sharing my thoughts and providing real life stories for my readers to think about.
Shady Salespeople 2.0
In May, I wrote about the annoying and unrelenting phone calls and texts I had been receiving from questionable salespeople supposedly representing “traditional publishers,” purportedly trying to lure me into a “contract” for “re-publishing” one of my books. At that...
Perfectionism to Mask Fear
Most people who know me would say I’m outgoing, exuding confidence in all I do. I beg to differ. Yes, I’ve developed confidence over a lifetime of various experiences, but I still think I’m naturally shy, holding my cards close to the vest, not wanting to divulge too...
There Are No Coincidences
For writing inspiration, I’ve always got my eyes and ears on high alert for new ideas, new characters, and unique plots. Often, I develop characters for my novels based on people from my past as well as from people I meet or come across during the day. But it’s the...
Connections
Staying connected with people is essential, both personally and professionally. As social beings, we need consistent personal interaction with each other to maintain our humanity. And I’m not referring to social media, but face-to-face encounters and/or phone calls....
Shady Salespeople
Over the past year, a slew of shady salespeople has been hounding me by phone and through emails, trying to lure me to accept their dubious invitations to engage in whatever organizations they represent, promising me fame and fortune if I’ll only listen to their...
Feeling Frosty
My teenage son wants to move to the snow. He’s tired of the balmy beach life where the temps rarely go below 40 degrees and where golf carts are street legal. Over the years, in his young mind, he’s determined that coastal people (read, girls) tend to be shallow and...
Learning Languages
Twice during my youth, I spent the school year in Jerusalem, Israel with my family while my high-school teacher father was on Sabbatical leave. I turned 7 the first trip and then celebrated my 15th birthday the second time. Although my father taught my younger sister...
Old Words, New Meanings
It goes without saying that I love words. I love using colorful, weighty words and I love learning new words. Not necessarily new new words—the ones that have been recently added to Merriam-Webster—but old new words. Legacy words that have been...
Annual Reflections
It’s that time of year again when we reflect on what has transpired during the past 11 months. What went right, what went wrong and what steps we’ll take to change things in the coming year. Like previous years, 2022 seemed to accelerate uncontrollably after Halloween...
The Randomness of Life
No matter what beliefs we hold, nothing prepares us for death. Even the most spiritual among us become distraught when we hear that someone close to us is dying. Whether the person is elderly, having lived a full, wonderful life, and having died of old age, we still...
Need for Speed 2.0
In my June Blog, I recounted my love of speed, my loathing of slow drivers and the consequences that come with impatience. Believe me, I learned my lesson after having an accident the month prior. I’ve become more cautious in sluggish conditions, willing to slow my...
Social Media Malaise
Lately, I’ve been disappointed with social media and its ill effects on society. Yes, social media generally has many good qualities. It’s offered us an unrivaled means with which to connect with long-lost friends, classmates, and relatives. We’ve even made new...