There are moments in our lives that at the time appear inconsequential, just something that happened in the course of our daily life. It may be years or even decades later before we realize how pivotal those moments were in retrospect. For example, my father passed away from a massive heart attack while fishing just two weeks before my seventh birthday. Now, don't worry, I knew at the time that was a major deal, a pivotal [...]
Yep, this is part 3 of the 100+ Blog Game. So to start, I acknowledge I've been terrible at blogging. I don't mean the content so much as the regularity, and the 100+ Blog Game has not changed that. This is why I'm writing Part 3. 100+ Blog Posts Game (Part 1) was written on Feb. 11, 2019. 100+ Blog Posts Game (Part 2)100+ BLOG POSTS GAME (PART 2) – A Breakthrough in Progress was written [...]
I recently received a nice email from an aspiring writer who complimented me on my work and then asked a few questions. I thought I'd share my responses here in case there are others struggling to find their voice. Thanks for your message. I'm happy to hear my writing has inspired you in some way. I'll do my best to answer your questions briefly in this email and I'd be happy to go more in-depth with [...]
That's right. After a successful Kickstarter Campaign to raise the funds for this project we're full speed ahead to produce a tw0-narrator audiobook of the visionary fiction political satire, The Fringe Candidate. Here is a short sample of what the audiobook will sound like provided by my two narrators, Ben Fife and Meg Price. Want to Know More about the Story? A race against evil . . . and time — Delivering a simple truth [...]
Some years after we’d completed the job of homeschooling our daughter, Amber, I asked my wife, Ann, her recollections on how we’d come to make such an important decision in our only child’s future. I learned that Ann’s recollections were almost completely different from my own. At the end of the conversation, we agreed that while our paths had been different our final destination had been the same. We realized that homeschooling Amber was consistent with [...]
For weeks we listened to the news about the devastating effects wrought on New Orleans and the Louisiana coast by Hurricane Katrina. Being a former veterinarian I was particularly sensitive to the horror stories I heard about the thousands of displaced pets. My gut would not let me rest. I felt compelled to do something but what? I remember awakening in the middle of the night with the clear message: "go help the displaced pets." I [...]
Several years ago I found my enjoyment of writing for magazines had faded. At that time, most of my writing revolved around my previous career as a small animal veterinarian, but writing about animal health issues had become boring and routine. Fortunately, I stumbled upon an idea that revitalized my love for writing. I invented a writing project, but not just any project. One of my favorite vet-related assignments had been to interview Bill Irwin and [...]
One of my fondest and clearest childhood memories is of sitting on one of the many wraparound porches so popular in the South, eating watermelon, listening to the grownups debating various topics. On such lazy summer afternoons, a favorite question often bantered back and forth was which came first? Was Charm House named after an original family whose surname was Charm, that then resulted in the family modeling the house to match its new name, or [...]
Before turning my attention to writing fiction, I spent a number of years writing for magazines and other nonfiction publications. One of my favorite that I continue to write for on occasions is the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. I consider these true stories to be visionary nonfiction in that they also have a similar intention to my visionary fiction - to entertain while also inspiring the reader and providing insights into life. So, I'm [...]
The answer to that question is simple. I live in a magical place and I want my readers to share in the magic. Really, I do. And to prove it, here are a few of the pictures I've taken of the area. First, a few pictures that have already inspired stories in the previous two books: And here are ones still waiting to be turned into stories I mean, really, chairs hanging [...]
