The Writing Life

by | Aug 24, 2017 | Uncategorized

Today I have a public service announcement for all you wonderful friends, and it’s about this whole writing business. I know many of you think that those of us who have published books are big time millionaires, which is really fun to think about, but it’s not even...

Costly Errors

by | May 24, 2017 | Uncategorized

About fifteen years ago, I made what turned out to be a costly error in judgement. Harpercollins made me a generous offer on my second novel, which I hadn’t written yet. But I was still flush with newly published writer egomania, to that point where I wasn’t quite...

Why I’m a Democrat

by | Oct 12, 2016 | Uncategorized

I have never declared myself to be a Democrat on a public forum, and part of the reason is because I get tired of the way people make broad statements about other parties, as if each and every Democrat believes and supports exactly the same things. But the fact is, I...

Bullies

by | Mar 26, 2016 | Uncategorized

Knowledge is power. That’s what they tell us. But lately, I have been experiencing an overwhelming sensation that the more I know, the more powerless I am. The more I know, the more it feels as if America is becoming a meaner place, a place where being poor and...

Miles Community College Commencement Speech

by | May 15, 2015 | Uncategorized

When I was a kid, I spent part of every summer at my grandparents’ ranch just fifteen miles north of Alzada, about a hundred and fifty miles from here. To me, the Arbuckle Ranch was the biggest playground in the world, a place full of wonder and mystery, the complete...