Although I’m retired now.

I’ve always had a strong work ethic and treat writing like a job.  I must write something every day, even if it’s substandard.  (I can always throw it away later.)  The great thing about writing is it’s very rewarding even if I don’t sell much.  There’s a reward in...

When I was a young man.

I had the good fortune to talk to one of the greats, Ray Bradbury. He was doing a series of lectures on the west coast and I caught up to him in Santa Maria at Allan Hancock College. He told in his lecture of the writing life and what...

After reading my third Bujold book.

I decided I had to see what this author looked like.  I went to her web page.  I studied her picture a long time.  I don’t know what I was expecting.  Someone who looked like a genius, perhaps, with hair in disarray like Albert Einstein.  A five time Hugo...

Now I’m a novelist.

I have an idea of where I rank in the world of authors.  In terms of earnings, I rank near the bottom.  In terms of creativity and style, I am about in the middle of the pack. I’ve written for several magazines, and I entered a short story contest...

A long time ago I was a pretty good tennis player.

I was in the Navy and I used to play against men on a military base.  I always knew exactly where I stood in the rankings.  I wanted to play the players who were worse than me so I could compile an impressive list of wins.  But I realized...

Short Story

On the day I found out I had won a short story contest sponsored by our local newspaper, Florida Today, I was thrilled! I told my wife and she said, “How much did you win?” “What do you mean?” I asked. “You know. How much money?” “There’s no money...

Blog…what’s a blog?

I resisted having a blog for a long time. When I first heard the term blog many years ago, I wondered what it was. An unbelievably large brownie? A new kind of decorative brick made of rough-hewn wood? The sound a cow pie makes when it hits the ground?...