Clinton, South Carolina, Friday, May 12, 2017, 9:43 a.m. Many readers – okay, at least one – have comfortable refuges and guilty pleasures. Read something heavy – a bulky bio, a literary classic, an historical tome – and then scurry back to relaxing, reliable delight. It might be a comedy – a Carl Hiaasen or …
A Nice Race Story and a Nice Review of a Racing Novel
Clinton, South Carolina, Monday, May 8, 2017, 10:15 a.m. Lots of times, when I’m watching a NASCAR race on television, I think of the early scenes of Days of Thunder, when Harry Hogge is back in North Carolina, on his tractor, while the Daytona 500 is taking place. I’m not sure what occupied Harry with …
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Little Things Mean … a Little
Clinton, South Carolina, Thursday, May 4, 2017, 9:49 a.m. The world has changed in significant ways across the span of my lifetime. Today I’ve decided to write about the insignificant ways. Significance is too intimidating for this day. No one whose cell has service needs “whatever happened to …?” stories anymore. Just yesterday I looked …
As The Salesman Says, You Can’t Afford Not To …
Clinton, South Carolina, Friday, April 28, 2017, 11:15 a.m. I spend a lot of time writing, and I spend another considerable chunk writing about how you need to read … my writing. Tell my whyyyyyy, whyyyy, why, why, why! Whyyyyyy, why should you read my boooooks? Among the reasons is I have expenses. I have …
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Sittin’ Around, Feelin’ Groovy
Clinton, South Carolina, Wednesday, April 19, 2017, 9:33 a.m. It seems as if life is back to normal. For instance, take now. This Is Spinal Tap is on TV. I switched over from The Andy Griffith Show (how’s that for contrast?). The writing of Lightning in a Bottle both strained and inspired me for three …
The Thunder Rolls, but Will the Lightning Strike?
Clinton, South Carolina, Thursday, April 13, 2017, 9:27 a.m. Lightning in a Bottle struck me. It’s my new novel. I’ve written six. Right now I’m making up mind whether to start working on seven or eight, both of which are in progress. I guess the winner gets to be seven. I’m not stuck because of …
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Invent the Track if You Must
Clinton, South Carolina, Friday, April 7, 2017, 9:45 a.m. A new novel’s out. It’s the one readers have been suggesting – hint, hint – I write for years. I’m hardheaded. I had to wait until it struck my fancy. It takes a story to write a novel, and it’s too damned hard to write one …
Around the Track in Eighty Days
Clinton, South Carolina, Monday, April 3, 2017, 9:26 a.m. What a weekend. A new novel, Lightning in a Bottle, is out. Brad Keselowski won the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (just remember, MENCS) race in Martinsville, Virginia. The University of South Carolina won the women’s basketball national championship. The Boston Red Sox open today at …
From Books to Movies, without a Hitch
Clinton, South Carolina, Saturday, April 1, 2017, 4:14 p.m. Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. Both long dead. Both masters of a genre. They wrote about crime fiction about hard-boiled detectives. Both are known more for the movies made from their novels than the novels themselves. I wanted to read Chandler and Hammett. I had for …
The Big Surprise Is Here
This blog is a news release. I'm sending it out to many people. Why am I making it available to you? Perhaps you have news to disseminate. Perhaps you have a blog. Perhaps you follow mine. Perhaps you are on social media. Perhaps you like reading. Perhaps you like fiction. Perhaps you like motorsports. …
Nightrider's Lament 