Is gluten-free cat litter a thing? While browsing the Chewy.com website to read cat litter reviews—not something I normally do when bored, you understand—I saw this entry in the “ask questions” section. After a few muttered words of derision and … Continue reading
It’s THAT time of year, so I’m combining two of my loves: writing and baseball to reprise this post from several years ago with some additional thoughts. The title phrase of this post is from one of my three most … Continue reading
The idea of using fans as a semaphore system is instant story fodder for a lot of storytellers. For me as a young writer it certainly was, but not until decades later, when I invented more complicated social histories that … Continue reading
Sigh. I really need to take a news break. More and more, I switch the radio from NPR to the local college station, which plays everything from alternative rock to reggae to jazz to prestissimo electric—at night when students need … Continue reading
There are many, many things for the prudent author to consider when naming a character. I’ve blogged about some of them before. I’m writing a long series of novels (the first one will be out this month!!) and have been … Continue reading
Since everyone seemed to have fun with the last vocabulary quiz I posted, I’ve brought you another. So sharpen your pencils (or your quill pens!) and get ready to tell me which of the following words, expressions, or exclamations were … Continue reading
I love reading up on odd words and phrases used at different times in the 19th century; my copy of The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue is battered and dog-eared, as are several other similar reference books in my … Continue reading
So, you may have noticed that I just, JUST, had a new novel come out – “The Second Star“, now doing the rounds in paperback, ebook and audio editions and garnering reader responses and reviews that are making me very … Continue reading
Over the course of doing research on 19th century vocabulary, I ran across a fascinating fact about one of the most common casual expressions in use in modern times—“okay”. Or should I say “OK”? If I want to be 19th … Continue reading
