Summer Hours: Less Blogging, More Slogging
Monday, June 28th, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »I plan to slow the pace of my blogging this summer -- and I'll try not to feel guilty about it. I've learned that there's generally a downturn in readership in July and August, so it's silly for me to ...
Music Video Weekend: Mumford & Sons
Friday, June 4th, 2010 Posted in Music, Uncategorized | No Comments »" And my head told my heart, 'Let love grow.' But my heart told my head, 'This time no, This time no.' " -- Mumford & Sons, "Winter Winds." I'm 49 years old and I've been chasing the next great new band for the past ...
Fan Mail Wednesday #85
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010 Posted in Fan Mail, Six Innings, Uncategorized | No Comments »When it comes to fan mail, I've been a bad, bad boy. So let's get to work! Hello, My name is Bobbie P. and I am a fifth grade student. I read your book Six Innings and thought it was a good ...
Cyberbullying in BYSTANDER: An Excerpt
Monday, April 5th, 2010 Posted in Bystander, Uncategorized, bullying | No Comments »As I dug deeper into my research for Bystander, a bully-themed novel set in a middle school, I realized that I could write a hundred different stories on the subject. There are so many manifestations, so many different approaches to ...
Fan Mail Wednesday #78-80 (Thursday Edition)
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 Posted in Family, Fan Mail, Jigsaw Jones, Uncategorized | No Comments »My apologies -- bloggy weirdness going on with my typeface below, but I've already spent too much time trying to fix it. The truth is, I'm not good at letting these things go (I like my i's dotted and my ...
Fan Mail Wednesday #76 (Tuesday Edition)
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 Posted in Fan Mail, Uncategorized | No Comments »A few things first. 1) This is my 400th post since I started this massive distraction blog back in May 2008. Wow, that's an average of 3.67 blog posts per day! Oh, wait . . . 2) I'm heading off to Seneca ...
Fan Mail Wednesday #74-75
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 Posted in Fan Mail, Uncategorized | No Comments »I'm feeling pushed these days -- mostly in a good way -- so it's hard to get to these letters. The demands of standard mail can be time-consuming and expensive. I'll admit it: sometimes I get behind and never catch ...
Scared of Santa, Revisited
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 Posted in Around the Web, Uncategorized | No Comments »No, I don't know why good, sane, well-intentioned people do this to their children. This guy terrifies even me -- I keep thinking he should have a lit Chesterfield and a glass of bourbon in his hands, not an innocent lamb. I ...
A tribute to the dash in the poetry of Emily Dickinson — plus, yes — a reminder — it’s not too late to bake your cake for National Punctuation Day!
Friday, September 25th, 2009 Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »I'm a day late on this one, as usual. And -- oh, rats! -- just as I feared -- a dollar short. Yesterday was National Punctuation Day. Sorry if you missed it. As an author, I tend to think of ...
Hodge-Podge Books Closing Its Doors
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009 Posted in Current Events, Jigsaw Jones, Uncategorized | No Comments »My local newspaper, the Albany Times-Union, ran an article today on a local legend of sorts, Frank Hodge, who has successfully operated the independent bookstore, Hodge-Podge Books, for the past 27 years. Written by Chris Churchill, it begins: ALBANY -- By now ...