Allen Kent, in The Wager, has fashioned a yarn based on a bet gone awry. Two giants of the mass media bet they are powerful enough to get a man of their choice elected president. Predictably, one is a liberal, the other conservative. The clash of egos lurks in the background as events unfold. A …
Tag: writing
Such an Unlikely Venue for a Descent into Hell
Woe be unto those unfortunate souls who live on Honeysuckle Lane. It appears to be like any other middle-class neighborhood, this one located outside Dublin. The people there have secrets, most of which are just those that might appear familiar to you and me. A man is hiding a gambling addiction. A woman is bored with …
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Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf, or, for that Matter, Virginia Woolf?
The Behrg. He's too dark for me. I admire him, though. He is what I'm not, but I revel in his skill. It's a pen name. A nom de plume. He writes horror. I'm not fond of horror, but I'm fond of The Behrg's style, not to mention his literary honesty and his dedication to …
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The Great Known
Mickey got up, drank some coffee, fixed breakfast, and rejoiced in the honor of being the last person on earth whose mother had the good sense to name her son Mickey, and he thought about the glory of Mickey Mantle, Mickey Stanley, Mickey Spillane, and Mickey Montgomery. Okay, the last one he made up. Then …
No One Escapes Undamaged
I'm a fan of Joseph Souza. I enjoyed Unpaved Surfaces, a very different novel from his latest, Need to Find You. The former is a mystery. This one is crime. Is it ever. Undoubtedly, my enjoyment of Need to Find You is enhanced by my latest effort, Forgive Us Our Trespasses. My crime novel is …
The Unbearable Lightness of Royalties
In lieu of some burning issue that eludes me now, here are some random statements, opinions, wishes, wants, needs, etc., that, as this blog runs its course, will emerge into something coherent, or that's the plan. Forgive Us Our Trespasses is my fourth novel. Early sales have been encouraging. For more than a week, it …
Songs Sung Longer
Friends, I didn't always write these novels. For the better part of thirty-five years, I was known for eighteen-inch stories in newspapers, and for the final twenty, they generally consisted of tales of race cars running wide-ass open around and around. I still rely on such tales for spending money. If journalism still ran on …
A Readers’ Guide to What and How I Write
If you have read any of my previous novels, you probably know how I write. I try to be realistic. I create characters, and they don't ring true in my mind if they don't talk and act as I imagine them doing. I don't much care about writing about the exalted classes, having never spent …
Stuck in a Rut, but with a Plan Now
Some of my songs have gotten longer. I've got some big news. A volume of short stories, Longer Songs, will soon be available. In fact, apparently it's available now, through the CreateSpace store, as a Kindle book. The print version will be available on Amazon and, perhaps in a bookstore here and there, soon. Writing …
The Drudgery and the Damage Done
Drudgery. I'm fighting it. I'm writing this blog to relieve drudgery. When I finish it, I shall return, like unto MacArthur to the Philippines. On Friday, I was at home all day and most of the time right here, sitting behind my rolling desk. At long last and overdue, I am producing a print version …
Nightrider's Lament 