Like most of you, I am ambivalent about social media. Most of the time it’s a love/hate relationship with both sides swinging wildly to the extremes. At its worst, social media can be an abyss of vile hatred perpetrated by ideologs of all stripes and aimed at complete...
The 18th anniversary of my father’s passing occurred last week, bringing up a lot of memories. Happy, sad and humorous. My dad was highly intelligent, sensitive, creative as well as extremely funny. Deadpan funny at times. Irreverently funny. Like the time he called...
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...
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...
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...
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....