“Never Say Die” The ballroom at the Top of the Mark was filled with the romantic sound of Artie Shaw and his big band playing “Begin the Beguine.” It was pretty busy for a Thursday night, and the manager watched as waiters were kept busy filling and refilling drinks among all the tables. Next week … More “Never Say Die”
I never really thought I was crazy. That’s despite the fact that a panel of three psychiatrists, a judge and jury of my peers, and an ongoing evaluation by a state-certified mental institution said that I was. Three years in the Hillsboro Institute for the Criminally Insane was like thirty years anywhere else. Screaming at … More “Crazy Man”
Almost 30 years ago, I had the idea for my first book. It was a how-to book for Seventh-day Adventists entitled “Fifty-two Things to Do on Sabbath.” I was just short of 30 years old, and very unsure of myself as a writer. I sent out a letter to three publishing houses outlining my idea, … More Five of Seventy-two
Ok kids, if you didn’t get involved with this last summer, now’s your chance to get in on the fun. Here’s the deal: 1. The trick is to write 1,500 words a day for 30 days for a combined total of 45,000 words. 2. You don’t have to work on one item during that time. … More Announcing the 2011 30-day Summer Writing Challenge
A few days ago I was sitting in faculty meeting, where our University President Eric Anderson was talking about a session that he attended at the World Headquarters of Seventh-day Adventists in Silver Spring, Maryland. One of the items under discussion at that meeting in Maryland was a proposal to print 50 million copies of … More When Books Won’t Work
Funny how people can get emotional about New Year’s Resolutions. I asked friends on Facebook if they had thought about New Year’s Resolutions for 2011, and I got several responses, almost all of them negative. “Don’t do it,” one said. “They never work.” I beg to differ. A New Year is marked because it signals … More A Writer’s Resolution for 2011
This is my third NaNoWriMo…or at least it’s supposed to be. I’m having second thoughts. I really want to do it; I really need to do it. I have encouraged others to do it. But I don’t know what I would write. And there’s the other small problem of being overwhelmed at work. Oh, sure, … More Three days…and I haven’t a clue
I am just about as busy as I have ever been. Teaching two classes, editing an online newspaper and an alumni magazine, serving as University webmaster, and now expected to conduct writing workshops at academies as recruitment trips. I long for the days when all I had to do was teach four classes. Was there … More Not for the faint of heart? More like, not for the sane.
I am finishing up the last few chapters of a three-book, four-year series entitled “The Champion.” My protagonist is a pastor who is called by God to accuse a corporation of wrong doing and thwart their efforts. In the process, he is tried and sentenced to prison as a terrorist, not once but twice. In … More Should he live? Should he die?
You might have noticed that I haven’t posted for a few days. I have been busy working on my latest writing project, entitled “Elijah.” I am involved in a variation of National Novel Writing Month. Every November, several hundred thousand people pledge and encourage each other to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. I … More Five days left
The Great Adventure 