Here’s another good reason to consider independent publishing: I just received my royalty check for a book I have with a traditional publisher. It has been out there a while, isn’t being promoted, and is close to the end of its run. The check was for $43 for 296 books sold. I figured out that … More Simple Arithmetic
Yesterday I had a hankering for some good old science fiction action, so I pulled the movie “The Chronicles of Riddick” out of my collection and watched it yesterday and this morning. I have seen the movie several times, but apparently I hadn’t watched this particular DVD. It was a Director’s Cut. I usually cringe … More Less Is (Usually) More
I’m in good spirits this morning. I’ve been struggling with completing articles for the Spring issue of Spirit magazine, the alumni magazine that I edit. This morning, since my wife had to get up early and go to work, I got up with her. I always think more clearly in the morning, especially when I … More Wrestling with the Titans
I haven’t been able to do any work on my book projects lately because of my other duties. I am frantically trying to complete the last few articles for my university’s alumni magazine. The articles are due Friday, and from the beginning, when I went into the Planning Committee meeting with one idea and came … More The Ugly Stepchild
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
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
