We had a discussion in Rough Writers a couple of weeks ago about whether some stories shouldn’t be written. Most of my short stories come to me as dreams. I have several stories in the back of my mind that border on horror, but since I don’t actually read horror, I haven’t written them down. … More “A Mirror Darkly”
I was listening to NPR this morning while I was in pursuit of a rumor of free firewood (a story for another time). They were talking about research on happiness. The question came up: does having children REALLY make you happier? Research showed that the acts involved in taking care of children actually ranked pretty … More Happiness Is a Warm Keyboard
I spent two years in research and then development of a national magazine that only lived a year. It was a traumatic ending of two of the hardest, best years of my life. The magazine was, I still believe, one of the best to ever come out of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. But like a … More When Bad Things Happen to Good Stories
I often find myself caught between two worlds, coming from a background of traditional Christian publishing and struggling to find myself in a cutthroat world of secular publishing. I therefore have a soft place in my heart when I find an author who can successfully navigate both worlds. Christian publishing–and music to a lesser degree–has … More Review: “Winter” by Kevin Newsome
In the movie “Rocky III,” the fighter Rocky Balboa loses his title of Heavyweight Champion of the World to Clubber Lang, played by Mr. T. To get it back, Rocky Balboa agrees to be trained by Apollo Creed, his former rival. Creed takes Balboa to Los Angeles, back to the streets where he grew up. … More The One Essential Ingredient to Your Success as a Writer
It’s been 20 years since my father passed away, but I still dream about him. I can read all kinds of Freudian interpretation into that fact, such as my mind seeing his image as a manifestation of my own manhood. But the fact still remains that he is still in my thoughts. My relationship with … More Those Who Went Before
One of the big reasons I wrote last week about multitasking and its effect on the creative spark as well as one’s relationship with God is because I, along with most of these United States, am caught up in the turnstiles of progress. I currently am coming up on midterm exams, which I still have … More Chasing My Tail
I’ve been keeping a low digital footprint the past few days. In fact, as I think about it, I am not sure I told you much about the fun we had at our photo shoot a couple of weeks ago. So let’s start with that. Spring semester is continuing to occupy every loose brain cell … More On Dumps, Dry Ice and Deadlines
What I am sharing here is the new prologue for my Christian suspense series The Champion Trilogy, which came out in May. THE DEVIL’S PLAN It might have been the boardroom of any modern high rise, complete with a walnut table, swivel chairs, and an impressive view of the cityscape. But it wasn’t located in … More “The Devil’s Plan”
In 1996, I was one of two editors responsible for the launch of a national magazine directed at Christian parents called ParentTalk. It was a labor of love, a lot of work, and our pride and joy. But from the beginning we knew that there were no guarantees. The publishing house invested $250,000 into its … More Rule #1: Have Fun
