Novel Genesis

I’ve written a biography and three novels, and each has come to me or started in a different way. A conversation with my former boss at Judy Taylor’s funeral turned the light bulb on over my head to tell Judy’s mind-boggling story, to begin my long, long research and writing journey. For my first novel,…

Scary Writing Goals

“Now listen, you who say, ’Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ ’Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (NIV James…

Winning NaNoWriMo 2011

I won NaNoWriMo!!! Phew. Winning National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) means I wrote 50,000 words of a novel in one month, the month of November. What it doesn’t mean is I’m finished. I wish! Nope, not finished. Sigh. I took a break Monday from writing once I had completed my novel (which is officially 65,637…

Good Friday Sacrifice

It’s Good Friday When the hordes Demanded blood Not theirs but another’s For the sin of uttering words They didn’t want to hear For not uttering the words They wanted to hear Words that rang, that sang, that clanged In their heads Of a Reality that doesn’t exist. It’s Good Friday When the people Demanded…

From Paper to Pixels

This is from a talk I gave to my fraternity on their Career Day. We are in an age of transition. Like those who went from calligraphy to the Gutenberg press, so we are going from pen and print books to tablet computers and ebooks. Up until early last century, manuscripts were written by hand.…