This Year in Reading: 2023
In 2022, I posted a "This Year in Reading" blog post and it stimulated some fun conversation about books, so I thought it would be a good...
top of page
Nov 27, 20234 min
Short Story: Everything is Awful
Congratulations. You have nineteen people at your party and all of them are having a good time. It’s not every day or for that matter...
Nov 25, 20231 min
Book Review: Charlotte Dune's Acid Christmas
Charlotte Dune’s Acid Christmas is the terrifying story of a major tragedy set in the modern world. The book begins as strangers on...
Nov 5, 20231 min
Fiction Diagnostic Checklist
Remember: Talent leads, intellect polishes. If your first draft is ready to go, review the lists below and consider how their points may...
Nov 2, 20232 min
My Books So Far
My published books are listed below from newest to oldest: I.P.A. (2021): Genre: Literary Fiction/Gonzo Fiction/Southern Gothic Plot:...
Nov 2, 20233 min
On Cause and Effect
Plot may be the bones of the story, but cause and effect are the muscles and sinews. Very often new writers fundamentally misunderstand,...
Oct 29, 20233 min
The Anatomy of a Fiction Character
The first time I wrote a realistic character I thought: Where did that come from? So I set about trying to understand my characters. As...
Oct 12, 20231 min
Today I Turn Twenty Eight
This serves no purpose but documentation. I turn twenty-eight years old today. I have written three books. I am currently very in love. I...
Oct 4, 20231 min
What Type of Editor You Need
Editors are the practitioners that look over the health of your book. Like a medical practitioner, the editor will need to evaluate your...
Oct 3, 20231 min
Writing When You Don't Believe
You must proceed if you have a story to tell. Today I hit 100,000 words for the first time on a novel manuscript, and I have to say, it...
Sep 24, 20231 min
Kingdom of Heaven
To write, I need to be in a quiet, empty room, preferably at my own desk at home. It is two motorcycle-sized rectangles connected by...
Sep 2, 20231 min
A Quick Moment for Jimmy Buffett
When my grandmother, Clarice Davis, passed earlier this year I took a moment to remember a specific time when she purchased me Jimmy...
Aug 27, 20233 min
Writing for Empirical Thinkers
I am returning to the classroom after a few years away, and I’m beginning to gather my thoughts on how to approach my role. As a teacher...
May 26, 20233 min
Presidential Election Principles
If you can recall your first significant hangover, and the next morning when you swore off alcohol, and how foolish you felt the next...
Apr 23, 20231 min
Amazon KDP: Getting Started
Prepare your book: Before you start the publishing process, make sure your book is properly formatted and edited. You can hire a...
Mar 9, 20232 min
What a Letter to My Senator Taught Me About Politics
On Wednesday, Senator Lindsey Graham announced that he intends to introduce legislation allowing the United States to authorize the use...
Feb 26, 20234 min
Dreamworld: The Consequence of Aesthetic Over Analysis
All successful aesthetics in the modern United States stem from the tenants of monotheistic religions. Corporations, popular art, and...
Jan 31, 20235 min
Short Story: Lobsterhead Sees the Devil
It’s ironic that they call him that obviously, cause like, it’s radio, and how do they know what he even looks like? But they know the...
Dec 11, 20224 min
This Year in Reading: 2022
As 2022 winds to a close, I consider the reading I’ve done this year, the reading I missed out on, and the books I hope to read in the...
Oct 24, 20224 min
Content, Religion, and the End of Days
Yesterday, during a two-hour drive from Asheville to Charlotte, my car radio’s touchscreen display froze, leaving me trapped on a country...
Oct 20, 20221 min
Helpful Books for Writers
In the beginning, I would suggest writing without any sort of knowledge of what you’re doing. This will allow you to enjoy what you’re...
Oct 11, 20222 min
Amazon KDP: Hindsight Luxuries
Simply by remaining alive you gain luxury. Experience is like the dollars and cents of knowledge, it isn’t exciting to gain, but it adds...
Oct 9, 20222 min
Expanding Your Place in History
Why do you think that some voices outlast others in time? I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and it seems to me that the answer...
Oct 9, 20222 min
Ten Pages Per Day
The most challenging part of reading is feeling as though everyone already doing it has something that you don’t. “Readers,” as they...
Sep 20, 20222 min
Ten Books for People Who Don't "Get" Fiction
The consensus among the people I talk to on the topic of fiction is that they choose not to read it because it, “isn’t real,” and...
Mar 8, 20225 min
Short Story: One Cold Night
After they shot off all their bombs and turned the sky to thick ash, things went surprisingly smoothly for the better half of the year....
bottom of page