"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, Tuesday, May 30, 2017, 12:05 p.m. I’m not at Charlotte Motor Speedway. I’m not on a four-lane highway. Hell, Memorial Day is even over. If you’re tired, is it a mild coma? Are there degrees of comatosity? Is comatosity a word? It is momentarily. Charlotte for the NASCAR races was only four …
Continue reading Oh, I’m Looking at the World from a Press Box … Again
Clinton, South Carolina, Wednesday, May 17, 2017, 8:54 a.m. Middle of the week. Last night traded one kind of music for another. A trip to Charlotte to see my favorite band, Reckless Kelly, fell through, but I visited my nephew’s lovely children – held them, made faces, sound effects, tossed the older lightly in the …
Continue reading I’ve Still Got My Guitar and the Red Sox Going for Me
Clinton, South Carolina, Monday, May 15, 2017, 9:36 a.m. In the slug above, originally the time was 7:48. Then 8:39. Then 9:07. I used to write blogs as a means of working my way into a mood conducive to writing fiction. Now I go straight to fiction (as opposed to video) because I can’t come up with …
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 …
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 …
Continue reading A Nice Race Story and a Nice Review of a Racing Novel
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 …
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 …
Continue reading As The Salesman Says, You Can’t Afford Not To …
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 …
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 …
Continue reading The Thunder Rolls, but Will the Lightning Strike?
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 …
Nightrider's Lament 