It seems I’ve been on a first-person kick lately. Despite the similarity in titles, Haruki Murakami’s First Person Singular is a very different collection of short stories than the last one I last read. In First Person Peculiar, the focus was strictly on speculative and science-fiction. Murakami’s stories are more…
Category: Influences
Remembering Jeff Beck [Music]
I’m embarrassed to admit, up until I was 19 or 20 years old, the only Jeff Beck song I knew was “Freeway Jam“, a great instrumental to listen to when cruising on the highway. However, I was lucky enough to stumble upon his solo album, Blow by Blow, in a…
Best Book Lists [Books]
Yes, it’s that time of year. Everyone is publishing lists of the best books of 2022. The lists include the top ten (or more), the best in various genres, best books for women, best for men, best for children, and even celebrity favorites. To me, lists like these are subjective….
We Are What We Read [Books]
We’re all familiar with the adage that we are what we eat. Especially with children, the food we intake makes us who we are, builds us, helps us grow up to be adults. I believe the same applies to what we read. The words we intake help to build us,…
Stimulating Your Creativity [Creativity]
Sometimes we can get into a rut and find it difficult to be creative. For example, I sometimes have the urge to write, but when I sit down at my keyboard I find there aren’t any words. I simply can’t get started. What I’ve learned is that I occasionally have…
People Watching [Creativity]
I’ve always enjoyed watching people in public, overhearing snatches of conversation, noticing body language and movement. It comes from being a writer and trying to learn how people act and react, how they talk and move and interact. It helps me to make my characters more real. During lockdown, I…
The Mood of the Season [Creativity]
If you weren’t aware, there’s a medical term for when people get depressed when the seasons change. It’s called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and it’s a recognized medical condition. I get a touch of it in the middle of winter. I’m not a fan of the bitter cold. Toss in…
Another Music Moment – Jeff Beck [Music]
I’ve had a busy week and didn’t have time to work on all my projects, so for today I thought it would be fun to share another musician who both entertains and inspires me. Jeff Beck has a storied history as a guitarist. He played with the Yardbirds, the Jeff…
Music Moment – Little Boy Blues [Music]
For this Music Moment, I thought I’d share an instrumental song that’s always been a favorite of mine. Well, at least since high school. The song, “Little Boy Blues”, was written and performed by the Canadian rock trio, Triumph. It was the final song on their 1984 album, Thunder Seven….
Bradbury Challenge – Update 2.1
Fueled by a bit of inspiration and a couple shot of tequila, I finished my latest draft. That’s the second one I’ve completed in the past four weeks. And yes, if feels good. Apparently, I was much closer to the finish line than I thought in my last update. I’m…