Be Aware: Fraud Coming to a Neighborhood Near You Recently we had a check stolen from a mailed envelope, fraudulently altered, and deposited to the thief’s account. Seems it happens regularly where I live in Santa Barbara. My next-door neighbor had his cable bill payment...
Book Review: Best Book of the Year The best book I’ve read this year, and maybe the past few years, centers around hockey in a small, Scandinavian town. Beartown, written by the author of A Man Called Ove, William Backman, begins with fanatical coaches, obsessive...
I lost a friend and mentor to cancer last month. I’d known Nancy Anderson since the late 1980s and she was one of those people in my life that had a huge impact—in my career, my happiness,...
Gittin’ Back on the Horse The old blurry photo is the first known photograph of me on a horse. I’m the one in the middle, about two years old. The other photo is the last known photo of me on a horse, taken four...
Last month, as research for a novel I’m writing, I asked for your opinions and ideas about ABORTION. In snippets, here are a few replies: People do not talk about how excruciating it can be for women to make this choice when they want the...
I need your help with my next book. That novel (working title: Anything But Love) will focus on a woman and a man on different sides of the political spectrum. One will be running for office (I think the woman; I think for President of the US)...
A friend of mine called me last week and began the conversation with: “Just wanted to say how much I loved you book.” He gushed about Anyone But Me. I was thrilled. Then he asked, “Would you be interested in all the typos I found?” ...
Book Banning Booms “It was a pleasure to burn.” The opening line of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury*. Maybe you’ve been reading the same disturbing news I have. About book banning. It’s back with a vengeance. The ALA (American Library Association) has fielded almost 1700 requests through...
Challenging Myself In my fiction, I’ve always used a third person voice to describe the story. An unseen narrator. That technique gives the author more freedom to develop different points of view, often giving each character in the story a special perspective. In the novel...
Prayer Request Next week I’m having my arthritic left hip replaced. When I tell people that, I get responses that range from “I’m sorry to hear that” to “you don’t even limp” and “is it that bad?” The first response is fine with me, but...