General and Concise Thoughts, Comments, and Updates from the Author.
Two years ago Clare Hollingworth, one of the toughest, most determined, and inexhaustible war correspondents who ever lived passed away in her Hong Kong home. I posted on her passing at the time, but because she was such a unique and iconic journalist, I feel compelled to post my story … Read more…
Along with a few hundred other authors, I attended the 2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards Conference which took place April 26-28 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Washington. As with some 275 other authors from around the world, I was a semi-finalist in one of 16 divisions from which … Read more…
(Periodically, I post stories I wrote while working as a foreign correspondent. Following is a story I wrote about Bangkok’s network of canals (klong). Many have already disappeared under concrete roads, but life goes on along those that remain.) Some 150 years ago, when Anna Leonowens, the prim English governess who has … Read more…
I’m sharing a little good news today. ‘The Lost Years of Billy Battles‘ has been named an “Official Selection” in the HISTORICAL FICTION category of the Fifth Annual New Apple Literary Awards. The Lost Years of Billy Battles is the final book in the award-winning Finding Billy Battles Trilogy. It was published … Read more…
Today, I am reposting a recent article by author and actor Michael Knowles, who also hosts the Daily Wire’s The Michael Knowles Show. In his article, Knowles discusses how sadly ill-informed American Millennials are when it comes to such critical topics as economics, socialism, capitalism, and America’s system of representative … Read more…
The link below will take you to a podcast/radio interview I did a while back with C. P. Lesley of the New Books Network about writing historical fiction. Ms. Lesley is herself the author of six historical fiction novels set in 16th Century Russia during the reign of Ivan the … Read more…
At least once every year I find it useful to take a look at the late Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing. It is sage advice from a master. Every writer should read these rules and remember them. I’m doing my part by posting them here at the beginning of … Read more…
With all of the intense scrutiny Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s high school yearbook received from the Senate Judicial Committee last week; I just had to take a look at my old high school yearbook to see what kind of reproachful and censorious information it contained about me. After looking at it … Read more…
Join me tomorrow for the 2nd annual San Diego Festival of Books where I, along with other authors will be signing books, talking about writing, and generally schmoozing with readers, (and one another). Most of all, browse the author booths in Authors’ Alley, attend the book and author sessions, visit … Read more…
Last week, the Chicago Tribune moved or should I say, vacated, the iconic Gothic landmark at 435 N. Michigan Avenue, known since 1925 as “Tribune Tower.” I am one of an ever-dwindling cadre of former Chicago Tribune reporters, photographers, and editors who actually toiled in the “old” Tribune newsroom. I … Read more…