Sorry

Busy at work all week, with a jacked-up back. As a result, I haven’t been on the computer at all, really. Hope to catch up with all of you soon. Foss and Jeanne will have to keep waiting.

Struggling Through It, Part 3

I am writing a character-driven book. I’ve been saying that to myself all day. It’s as much a surprise to me as to anyone, even though by now, it should have been obvious. I’ve always tried to be pretty in-depth about characters, but until now, all my stories have been plot driven. And yes, I…

Struggling Through It, Part 2

One thing that hasn’t changed in my writing process is how I inject new minor characters, whether human or some dim, imagined part of my consciousness. (My process for major characters is substantially different and involved. I’ve written about it here, here, and here.) Being largely visual (though Maria argues that I am as auditory…

Struggling Through It, Part 1

I’ve been struggling with my latest work-in-progress, the suspense novel Jeanne Dark, despite the fact that I know and like the characters and have plotted the entire book. Indeed, as I told Maria tonight, I feel like my characters have become impatient with me, egging me on to write the damned book already. So, I’m…

Soldiers in Jah Army

i naw suffer fi da sound ‘cau him give me wha’ me need fight him war here wi’ mi words naw gon’ smokin’ up him weed ’cause we live in babylon think they know just what we are i can walk inna garage it won’t make me pretty car soldiers in Jah army

Photographer’s Psalm

I lift my camera unto thee for thou to bless that I might see I take the shot; I shall not dread but shoot o’er Bill’s giant head I look to thee, as he records the majesty my kit affords And by your light I get the shot Hot damn! This gear is really hot!…

Sometimes

Here is a poem I started in 1986 and never finished after getting feedback from the editor of a poetry journal. She was right, of course, but until now, I didn’t know how to finish it. Works-in-progress often take that — progress not in the work, but in the poet. On one level, it feels…

Good Morning Is an Oxymoron – Conclusion

Here’s the conclusion to chapter one of The Changeling, which is my rewrite of my first book, Discovery. You can find part 1 here. A small boy wandered directly under his window but did not look up, even when Charlie called a concerned, “Are you okay?” A hooded shepherd turned in Charlie’s direction and snarled,…

Hello from the Potomac River

Just a quick “hello” video from Maria and me at the C&O Canal on the Potomac River in Maryland, USA. This doesn’t approach the clarity from how it looks raw on my Mac, but it’ll give you an idea. Taken with my little Fujifilm X-20 in High Definition. Ta