What Are You Afraid Of? I was reading a thriller book a while back and there were a few scenes dealing with snakes that made my skin crawl. No, not in the creepy crawly way you’re thinking of, but in shock that a writer would put such nonsense in a book. All it would have […]
Another Day in Paradise I was working at my computer, doing what writers are supposed to do, when the phone rang. Caller ID showed it was from my daughter-in-law. I grabbed the phone, a little panicked, wondering why she’d be calling during the day while she was teaching. “Someone stole Joey’s phone,” she said. “What? […]
Here’s the scenario—you’re stuck on a desert island and you get to pick one person to be with you, so the question is… Who Would You Pick? Who Would I Want to be Stuck on a Desert Island With? After much consideration, I select—my wife. Your wife! Yes, my wife. I know what you guys […]
Why I Quit Drinking Coffee I love coffee. I like coffee even more than wine. So imagine my distress when several of my doctors ganged up on me and warned me off of coffee, or at least the vast amount that I consume. I used to drink about 1/5–1/4 of a pound per day, which […]
I have been swamped with work as I prepare to launch my next book (March 4), so my lovely daughter agreed to let me post one of her articles on genealogy. Aliza is a syndicated columnist and feature writer for Italian American publications across the US. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the post. This article was originally published […]
Coffee Dog I had no idea what I was going to write about this week, then, as I was going through my morning ritual of fixing coffee, it suddenly hit me. I was going to write about Gracie, one of our less-demanding animals. I realized I had never even thought of doing a blog on […]
Conflicting Characters I write crime novels, mysteries, thrillers, fantasy…no matter what you call them, they’re fiction books. But just because they’re fiction doesn’t mean they’re not real. What the hell does that mean? Some readers have written to me and asked how I make my characters seem so real. I thought about that and then […]
The Wisdom of Parents There are a lot of things we never thank our parents for. I’m not talking about the money it took to raise us, or the time we took from their lives, or even the love they gave, or the sacrifices they made. I’m talking about the wisdom they imparted. In particular, […]
Stereotypical Characters I was reading a book the other night and the author—in order to elicit sympathy for the hero—painted the mother-in-law as an extremely annoying…bitch. No other way to say it. It got me thinking about mother-in-laws and how they always seem to draw the short straw. You can’t argue it. Mothers-in-law get a […]
What is Thanksgiving? We celebrate a lot on Thanksgiving. I thought about all I had to be thankful for and decided that every now and then I’d dedicate my blog to someone special on my list of those who need to be thanked. My wife is always at the top of the list, and my […]
