It's hard to read the work of another writer without comparing it to one's own. Being in Amazon's KindleScout program has had the somewhat unexpected consequence of being joined, mainly via Facebook, with other writers whose novels have been published in the program. One effect has been pride. We help one another. We read one …
Tag: writing
The Possibilities Are Endless
Olivia Vetrano's Neverland is about an intelligent young girl who, wracked by the scars of tragedy, retreats into an irresistible world of both fantasy and self-destruction. It is a world Hayley inexplicably finds comfortable, and neither a devoted boyfriend nor a best friend who knows her all too well seems to be capable of …
At Least See if It’s too Hot for You to Handle
Why should you read my novel, Crazy of Natural Causes? Maybe you follow me. Maybe you’ve read one or both of my other novels, The Audacity of Dope (2011) and The Intangibles (2013). Maybe you’ve read my non-fiction books. Maybe you’ve read my newspaper columns, blogs and stories over the past 35 years. Maybe you …
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Watch Out When the Ants Scatter on Jim Jackson’s Farm
James M. Jackson came in handy. I needed his novel Ant Farm. It leads to more. I can't wait to get around to them. Ant Farm reminds me of the mysteries of the late Dick Francis. Jim's Seamus McCree is an American. Francis mainly wrote about Englishmen. Ant Farm reminds me of a Francis mystery …
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I Didn’t Know Where I Was Going, but I’m Glad I Went
I'm envious. Writers are an envious tribe. I try not to succumb to envy, because my style is what has developed and evolved throughout my life. I bear the scars and achievements of my existence to this point. In a song, Guy Clark once quoted the rodeo cowboy Larry Mahan thusly: “Mistakes are only horses …
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They Walk In but Never Out, and as Far as this Novel Is Concerned, Neither Will You
I felt as if Linda Sands was something of a kindred spirit while reading her offbeat crime novel, 3 Women Walk into a Bar. It's been out just a little longer than my novel, Crazy of Natural Causes, and most every character in Linda's story is crazy, or, at least, eccentric. Mine's not a …
Continue reading They Walk In but Never Out, and as Far as this Novel Is Concerned, Neither Will You
Comforts of the Distant Past
Nothing was a surprise, but everything was awful. A man gets a sinking feeling, knowing he's doomed, that he's making too much, and his age makes him cost too much, and the company gets to where it makes his life miserable for a while, hoping to run him off, and then it finally just lays …
From Me to You on My Crazy Novel
Friends, countrymen and countrywomen, city folks, cowboys and Indians, readers frequent and infrequent, As you know, I've written another novel. It's good because, right out of Amazon (the retailer, not the river, but the two could be related by marriage), and into my portable devices, I read it. It took just slightly over one day, …
It’s Sooner Than Later Now
I'm tumbling down the stretch. On Tuesday, Crazy of Natural Causes becomes available for download at amazon.com. It has been available for advance order since July 14. I assume the advance price of $3.49 will be in place through Monday. I don’t know anything else. It’s up to Amazon. It’s my seller, and it’s also …
Whatever Will Be
The old man knew something was amiss. He'd had a nice run. He didn't feel that badly. He was seventy-six. He didn't ever really feel well anymore. Life was a process of diminishing expectations. He could still make it out to the mailbox and back. He could cut grass if it wasn't too hot. Sure, …
Nightrider's Lament 