Parents of Divorced Couples
I ran into an interesting issue today with one of the characters of From the Ashes of Courage. In brief, Gail and George divorced years ago, and they haven’t seen each other since. Now, she’s part of his life again, as a friend. George’s father seems genuinely happy to see her and treats her with […]
She’s a headstrong businesswoman…
She’s a headstrong, driven, single-minded businesswoman, a successful independent professional at only 29 years old. But she still feels empty. He’s a fun-loving real-estate agent who made a mint in the boom market, now fast running out of money. And their friends set them up on a blind date, unaware that many years ago, they […]
How to Grow Flowers
The Little One was commissioned by one of her friends to draw pictures for a book about how to grow flowers. My first question was, of course, “How can you draw pictures for a book that hasn’t been written yet?” That was the Little One’s question, too. But she drew the pictures, and explained each […]
Anybody Go to BU? (and NaNoWriMo Update)
According to my writing spreadsheet, I’m on track to finish NaNoWriMo, but I’ll need to come up with more scenes in the novel. I’m averaging 616 words per scene, which is around half what I had originally estimated. Not a problem, because I have a number of additional, unplanned scenes already on the back burner, […]
Finding the Answer to the Meaning of Life
I’ve been absent here, because I’m working on a new novel. After collecting mounds of marketing data, I’ve discovered that I absolutely must write Confessions of a Veteran Software Developer— That’s not a novel, but a true story of my years as a professional software developer. However, I have to find a new title. (Apparently, […]
YA Audio-novel Giveaway
Just a quick note: Laura Whitcomb is giving away a prize each month on her blog throughout the school year. The first giveaway is a CD audio-novel, A Certain Slant of Light. I myself read the paperback some time ago—see my A Certain Slant of Light review. The one-line version: “When the dead-unresolved meet the […]
I’ve Been Married 16 Years: Do You Believe It?
As of this afternoon, I will have been married for 16 years. I’m not quite sure what happened to that time. When we first got married, we crammed ourselves into a tiny, attic apartment on High Street. We used to go grocery shopping together, every week. And we brought our laundry, together, across town to […]
Looking Forward to 9/11
I’m about to do something in extremely poor taste; and I’m going to explain to you the reason why; and I’m not going to apologize. And you’re going to understand. And more than that, you’re also going to support me. You see, while 9/11 for most other people holds memories of dread and of grief, […]
This is Peace!
I wasn’t going to put up another blog post today, but this little tidbit about friendships blew me away. And so I had to post it, and I had to post it now, and this is the right place to post it, so here it is. Even if you’re not religious, I hope you find […]
Gilmores, Blocks, and Judging a Book by Its Cover
Recently, a friend commented on her little one’s first day of school. Must have been preschool. The little tyke was so excited, she was up and ready by 8:15 in the morning. For me, though, this week, the Missus is on staycation (except 2 mornings she needs to go in and catch up on work—she’s […]