THE COVERS OF MY FOUR NOVELS (A NEW NJA CLUB NOVEL COMING NEXT MONTH!)
Click here to visit the Amazon series page.
BAGELNOSE GOES TO COLLEGE : A Short Story About Life In Queens
This short story was posted about a year ago. Several readers have told me how much they liked it, so I decided to repost it at the top of the blog. I really like the characters Max Flugel, aka The Weasel, and Kenny Pelko, aka Bagelnose. I used then in a […]
SOUND ADVICE FROM SYLVIA PLATH
Courtesy of Inquiring Quotes
MY CITRUS TREES HAVE FLOWERED
Taking a break from writing to admire the beautiful flowers on my citrus trees in Tampa, Florida. I’ll be a better writer for it. (Clockwise from upper left: orange, Persian Lime, Kalamandi, calamansi.)
2021 To Be A Big Year For My Writing
My cat, Curious, who keeps me company as I struggle to create. A welcome goodbye to 2020. We have just bid farewell to the worst year America has endured over my lifetime, and I was born during the second Truman Administration. 2020 ended with numerous new historical records we’d hope to never see: a raging, […]
Read My Latest Short Story:”A Well-Dressed Man”
Why does a short story, whose title suggests a sartorial theme, start with a picture of a smiling crocodile? You’ll have to read it to find out! After publishing the second novel in my Bangkok-based NJA Club series ( Click here to visit Bangkok Shadows page, and Click here to visit Bangkok Whispers page) I […]
WRITERS AND REJECTION-DON’T LET IT BRING YOU DOWN
Dear XXXXXX: Thank you for the opportunity to read “XXXXXX.” Unfortunately, your story isn’t quite what we’re looking for right now. In the past, we’ve provided detailed feedback on our rejections, but I’m afraid that due to time considerations, we’re no longer able to offer that service. I appreciate your interest in XXXXX Magazine […]
Ten Good Bits of Advice for Fiction Writers
I am not big on self-help books or article on “how to write.” I am of the school holding that “the only rule is that there are no rules.” I’m with Hemingway; if the writer is honest and the story is well-told, it will come through to the reader. Raymond Chandler is not the same […]
WRITING ABOUT SUICIDE IN FICTION
America has been rocked by the sudden deaths by their own hands of two celebrities, Anthony Bourdin and Kate Spade. Neither seemed a likely candidate for suicide. Both were accomplished, talented professionals who appeared be enjoying life to its fullest. These tragedies came a little less than four years after that of Robin Williams, a […]
LIFE, DEATH, AND BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
After finishing the final draft of Bangkok Shadows, my weeks were filled with proofing, formatting, downloading, uploading, side-loading and promoting, I missed sitting down and writing. So I took a break from the drudgery and wrote this little story in one sitting, something I rarely do. It’s a mere thirteen hundred words; I can produce […]