SALLY ROONEY’S RACISM MASQUERADING AS PRINCIPLE: ANOTHER BDS-HOLE EXPOSED

Irish author Sally Rooney refuses to allow her most recent novel to be published in Hebrew. She recently clarified that her refusal was not based on antipathy to the Hebrew language, but rather on her antipathy to the Jewish people who speak it in the world’s only Jewish state. Not surprising, as Ms. Rooney is […]

FREEDOM FOR WRITERS UNDER SIEGE IN FLORIDA

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is at it again. There’s no bastion of freedom of thought and expression he isn’t prepared to assault. Our anti-science governor found time to take on such non-existent problems like transgender girls in sports (never a single problem case in Florida), sanctuary cities (we don’t have any), critical race theory (not […]

A SIMPLE TWIST (A Provocative Tale of Hate)

Photo courtesy of Zach Vessels, Unsplash.                                             A SIMPLE TWIST OF HATE  By Stephen Shaiken  ( c ) 2021  This is a work of fiction and creative imagination. Any similarity to actual people or events […]

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 […]

Updates: BLM Protests,Exposing Jordan Peterson, Works Of Historical Fiction

LOOKING BACK & UPDATING SOME PAST POSTS It hasn’t been all that long ago since I posted my support for BLM protests, and my concern that even the most diligent safety precautions might not prevent a spread of the virus, which none of the protesters wanted. (See MY HEART IS WITH THE PROTESTERS AND I […]

WHAT MAKES WRITING “HISTORICAL FICTION” ?

Left to right: Salida, Colorado, once a booming mining town;  Tutankhamen Exhibit, Paris, France; Sign where the Berlin Wall stood. (Photos by author). I recently submitted a short story to my writing group. It was fairly well received, with some very constructive critiques, the kind that make a story even better. What surprised me was […]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AS AN AMERICAN Our Heritage and Gift to the World THE BILL OF RIGHTS Amendment I : Freedom of religion, speech, and the press; rights of assembly and petition Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of […]

BANGKOK SHADOWS-FREE E BOOK THIS WEEK

DOWNLOAD BANGKOK SHADOWS FREE FOR THE NEXT FIVE DAYS! My debut novel, Bangkok Shadows, was released ten weeks ago. I am  told I’m doing better than most other independent authors. I  greatly appreciate every sale, all downloads on Kindle Unlimited, each review and  message.  But it’s not enough feedback for me. I wrote this novel for […]