As I have mentioned earlier in this blog, I retire at the end of this school year. I have mixed feelings about leaving teaching after 23 years in the classroom. Some things I won’t miss, such as committee meetings, office politics and dealing with students who really, really don’t want to learn or just want … More What I Will Miss: The Rough Writers
I picked up a magazine the other day and was surprised to see an article by a friend that I knew in college a long time ago. At the end of the article, the bio said that this friend was now retired after a successful career as a professor and had recently published a book … More Wrestling with the Green Monster
Don’t get me wrong. I believe National Novel Writing Month–lovingly referred to as NaNoWriMo by the tens of thousands of its participants–is a great thing. I have participated seven times and have completed writing the required 50,000-word novel during the month of November five of those times. In fact, the first time I participated, I … More Why I Won’t Be at #NaNoWriMo This Year
There’s a term I picked up in my writing career–I’m not sure if it comes out of creative writing or newswriting. We refer to a writer “covering the waterfront” when he or she tries to write about too much at the same time. It’s a bad habit that many beginning writers–including myself–have to learn to … More Looking through that One Inch Window
I write a lot of books. And many of those are indie published. And indie books don’t have the best reputation when it comes to editing. So I try to do a lot of research on my books. The book I just finished–Never Say Die–involved a lot (a lot) of historical research having to do … More Hey, I’m not perfect. (But I try to be.)
I just sent in an email. It was addressed to our person in charge of HR, our university president, our academic dean, and my department chair. In it, I officially announced my retirement as of June 30, 2021. I know it’s still early, but I hate leaving things unresolved. And the indecision has been driving … More The E-mail
May, 1996, Nampa, Idaho: Randy Maxwell and I, co-editors watch as the first issue of ParentTalk magazine rolls off the webpress at Pacific Press Publishing Association. The glee and awe is apparent in Randy’s eyes, but I have been here before. It’s our baby, and we are seeing it being born. “Enjoy it,” I tell … More A Writer’s Favorite Moment
First of all, I’m pretty smart, but I don’t assume that I’m smarter than my readers. I don’t want to give that impression. Well, actually, I DO want to give that impression. That’s the point of writing books. You know something that the reader doesn’t know. They come to you for your knowledge and you … More How To Know More Than Your Readers
Yesterday we had the first day of Colloquium, our official meetings to signal the beginning of the school year for our university. And I started my 23rd year of teaching at Southwestern Adventist University in Keene, Texas. It will also, for all intents and purposes, be my last year of teaching. Unless the unforeseen happens, … More The Last Year
Like a lot of you, I’ve been cooped up in my house, wishing I was at the beach, in the mountains, or visiting family. Instead, Netflix has become my closest friend. But that doesn’t mean that I haven’t taken advantage of these days of isolation. I told Celeste Perrino, my friend and co-author of Salome’s … More The Remnants of a Fruitful Summer
