"Why do they [write] for their money? Why do they [work] for short pay? They ain't getting nowhere and they're losing their share. They must have gone crazy back there." — Michael Burton (paraphrased)
Clinton, South Carolina, Wednesday, April 18, 2018, 1:45 p.m. Baseball season has begun. Tax season has ended. The Red Sox are off to the best start in team history. That’s good. My taxes are filed. That’s good, too. When the federal refund crackles across fiber-optic lines into my bank account, it will be better. A …
Continue reading Around these Parts, Things Are Roughly the Same
Clinton, South Carolina, Saturday, April 14, 2018, 1:30 p.m. Friday was incomplete on the sports front, that is, unless going to a gathering to support youth tennis counts as sports. It didn’t seem particularly sporting. The food was great. A bunch of people got together to play their guitars and sing songs. I talked with …
Continue reading This Was a Friday Night that I Ain’t Got No Money
Clinton, South Carolina, Wednesday, April 11, 2018, 9:59 a.m. The day was, in hindsight, just what I needed. I didn’t sleep well Monday night. I dreamed vividly. It was one of those long, drawn-out visions of frustration. I couldn’t shake it when I went to bed. It continued vividly through the night. Fortunately, Tuesday was …
Continue reading Kids Don’t Make Me Feel Young, but I Remember What It Was Like
Clinton, South Carolina, Friday, April 6, 2018, 10:45 a.m. This week has seemed slow. Most seem fast. Yet my life has been full of activity. First the audio version of my stock racing novel, Lightning in a Bottle, was released. The audio version is fantastic, thanks to the diligent work of narrator Jay Harper. He …
Continue reading The Names Have Been Changed to Protect the Imagination
Clinton, South Carolina, Sunday, April 1, 2018, 4:48 p.m. On Saturday morning, I left a couple small crises behind me as I drove down U.S. 76 to Newberry College, there to join my friends Brent and Sharon Sanders to watch their daughter, Hailey, play women’s lacrosse for Tusculum College against the Wolves. This was my …
Clinton, South Carolina, Sunday, April 1, 2018, 12:24 p.m. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell will make some readers angry. What doesn’t? This novel is either my best or my best mess. I did my best. I put lots of effort into it. No one is objective about oneself. The readers decide for themselves, and their verdict …
Clinton, South Carolina, Friday, March 30, 2018, 1:32 p.m. Hindsight is supposedly 20/20, though I’ve often found memories to be considerably photoshopped. For instance, it just occurred to me that I have something in common with John Steinbeck. Hint: It’s not talent. I’m not particularly modest. In fact, I’m not remotely modest. I think it’s …
Clinton, South Carolina, Saturday, March 24, 2018, 4:46 p.m. Surprise, surprise. I awakened this morning to discover that a close friend’s edit of my next novel, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, had arrived via email. Last night I arrived home from a free-lance assignment to discover that my stock car racing novel, Lightning in a Bottle, …
Clinton, South Carolina, Thursday, March 22, 2018, 11:30 a.m. Science fiction is hardly my field of expertise. I just happened to dream up this scenario overnight and felt compelled to write it all down in the form of a short story. Dagwood Brandt made a fine living preaching against preaching. The executive director of AFG …
Clinton, South Carolina, Sunday, March 18, 2018, 10:08 a.m. My favorite movie hasn’t changed since I saw it. I vaguely remember seeing it at the Broadway Theatre when I was very young. It occurred to me that I should make a decision on my top 10 movies of all-time. Most have been in place for …
Continue reading The Greatest Movies Ever by No One’s Measure but My Own
Nightrider's Lament 