I inherited the painting from my mother thirty-two years ago. It was one of many by an accomplished artist named James Carlin. But this one differed from the rest. I’ll get to that in a minute. My mother and James ‘Jimmy’ Carlin struck up a friendship in the 1950s. She was the first female stockbroker…

[Author’s Note: Today, sample a chapter from my upcoming thriller STILL NOT GONE, the 5th book in the NOT SO DEAD Series wherein Evan meets Evan.] Frank tries to match the circadian rhythms of the real world in this virtual world we inhabit. So, when it’s dark back home where I used to live with…

A familiar phrase popped into my head recently and it got me thinking… Do you remember hearing “Same Time, Same Station?” I heard it often as a kid when one of my favorite TV shows, like Superman or Carol Burnett or Andy Griffith signed off for the week. My parents heard the same phrase as…

Do you ever have trouble falling asleep because thoughts are whirling around in your head? Happens to me a lot. Maybe more so lately as my company, the Munn Avenue Press, is going through a growth spurt. And I’m thinking about tomorrow’s long to-do list. Ever happen to you? Now I wouldn’t say I’m an…

[Note; today I’m pleased to share a guest post by Carol Bluestein, author of the Amazon #1 Bestselling SEDUCTION Series] Here’s Carol… Writing, for me, is a Brain Game. How to get from here to there, efficiently without leaving out the details, practically without over/under explaining, and safely so my reader is buckled in for…

[Note: Today I share a short essay by one of my favorite writers, Bob Katz. He agreed to let me share it here publicly for the first time. Bob got me thinking. He inspired me to share a personal story of my own in the Postscript. Enjoy!] My novel Third and Long is the story…

[Publisher’s Note: I’m pleased to share here with the permission of the author, Bob Katz, this charming, serendipitous, and true account of the story-behind-the-story that led to Elaine’s Circle: A Teacher, a Student, a Classroom, and One Unforgettable Year by Bob Katz–available on Amazon. I am also honored to have the publishing company I started–the…

A personal essay about all the books I haven’t read and some I have.. How many books have you started reading but never finished? That’s a question I asked myself recently now that I have many more unread books than ones I’ve finished. And I read a lot. I won’t even talk much here about…

I played poker as a teenager, but I took it up more seriously twenty years ago. The intrigue and intricacies of the game found me when I needed the comfort and distraction of a high-level intellectual challenge. It feels funny writing that last phrase, as most people think of poker as a game played in…

I’ve always had it in the back of my mind to write a children’s book, but I wasn’t sure where to start. I wanted an idea that inspired me yet appealed to children from six to ten years of age—maybe because my twin grandsons are seven years old. To appeal to children, my children’s book…