My last blog followed the title of “Things We Don’t Talk About,” and mentioned politics and religion as those things that one doesn’t discuss in polite company. There’s a reason for that. People take sides. People get emotional. I was just on Facebook and just about every post on there took one position or another … More The Elephant/Donkey In The Room
When in polite company, the old saying goes, you don’t discuss religion or politics. That’s the way I was raised, and there was a very good reason for that. There have been many times since when I wished people would obey this rule and mind their own business about who they were voting for or … More Things We Don’t Talk About
Despite all evidence to the contrary, I am not a believer in ghosts. When my father died in 1993, my older half-brother came to the funeral and talked about having my dad come and visit him at his bedside. I had no belief that would happen to me, simply because I believe that when I … More Ghost Story
A few weeks ago, I was invited with several other faculty members from our university to an advance screening of “Hacksaw Ridge,” the sensational film about Medal of Honor winner Desmond Doss that was directed by Mel Gibson and which comes out in November. On the way there and back, I had the pleasure of … More Getting Paid, Part II
I am the faculty sponsor of the Rough Writers, the student creative writing club here at Southwestern Adventist University. We’re pretty open and loose about what people can bring to the group to be critiqued, and inevitably there is at least one or two writers in the group whose favorite genre is fantasy. Many would-be … More When Nonfiction Becomes Fiction…and Vice Versa
I’ve been talking about it ad nauseum for months, if not years, now. I’ve described it like Kipling’s legendary blind men describing the elephant. I’ve moped, complained, dreamed, whined, hoped, and all the other descriptive verbs you can think of. Now I am ready to unveil at least a little part of it. And I … More Introducing: “Tesla’s Ghost”
I want to try something different, and I need your help. I read that Andy Weir, author of The Martian, started his book off by posting it chapter by chapter on his website and looking for feedback from his readers. I would like to do the same thing. This isn’t the first time that I’ve … More The Great Adventure’s Grand Experiment
One of the bits of wisdom I share with my students in my writing classes over the years is the fact that if you’re serious about being a writer, you never stop being a student. And that’s very, very true. My students look at me as the accomplished writer, but I don’t see myself that … More Forever a Teacher, Forever a Student
People occasionally ask me how many books I have written, and my usual response is, “Written? Or published?” Because there really is a difference. Every writer has ugly stepchildren: those stories, articles, books and other projects that started off as grand ideas but never saw the light of day, and in the end, the writer … More Ugly Stepchildren and Other Beginnings
“The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” –Ecclesiastes 1:9 Another school year has started–the 19th for me as a university professor (amazing!)–and I have classrooms full of students who are eager … More Old Wine in New Wineskins
The Great Adventure 