Once again, I sit looking out over Colvos Passage, tears dripping onto my keyboard, blood dripping off the knife. Once again, I killed them, the darlings in my new book. Just like in all previous books, they had to go. I think William Falkner is given credit for the term, “kill your darlings,” advising writers to […]
I had such fears, none of them justified. Susan said my snoring blew the tiles off the ceiling. I said, meh. She said I stopped breathing off and on all night long. I said. I’m still here. She dealt with my lackadaisical attitude by buying a noise machine that masked my snoring and other wretched […]
Shouldn’t this guy look happier? Please, having a moment. Saying good-bye to my trusty ten year old Macbook. Another moment, please. Okay, better. When I ordered it over the phone from my local Mac store in Seattle, the woman dutifully asked many qualifying questions. “No, just the MacBook Pro, the 1099.00 one, please.” “Sir, you […]
Yesterday was my last day of one-day-a-week subbing on the island this school year. Grade six, six periods, hot outside, no air conditioning, blue sky, only two weeks left. Thought I had skills, but with not much control of expectations or consequences, sometimes skills don’t count for jack. Sixth and final period, fingernails digging deeper […]
Like all authors I have received more than my fair share of rejection letters. I’m not sure if others who have been rejected multiple times–being illustrators, musicians, or anyone who creates and starts out tender but develops a tough skin–have kept their rejection notices as faithfully as I have. Only now has my librarian/pack rat […]
Two and a half years after ChinAlive was published, Imposter is finally ready to go. With the generous and talented help of former students, colleagues, and cold hearted, blood thirsty (but invaluable) editors , the book is ready for its marketing phase. Book bloggers and review agenices are being lined up, virtual blog tour arranged, a space for the launch(s) readied, […]
Went fishin’ once. Didn’t catch nuthin’. Now we live fifteen feet in front of Colvos Passage, a body of water that’s part of Puget Sound. It’s like living in front of a stocked pond–sea lions, Orcas, seagulls, blue herons, and fish fish fish.So I bought me a fishin’ outfit. Last night one fish after another […]
During the ten years Susan was dreaming about her perfect car, no one told her that the convertible would be a dead and dying model by the time she started cruising the island of Vashon. After seeing one of those Yahoo news lists—Ten Things American Aren’t Buying Anymore, I did a search of similar articles concerning […]
Dropped Susan off on one our first rainy mornings and headed for home. At a stop sign a few blocks from her school, out of the blue, the car behind me pulls up along side and a back window slides down. A tiny voice inquires about the reptile in my back window.” Is that a […]
