• “Coming To Life”

    If you are a writer of fiction [and I’ll state here for the record that what I have to say doesn’t really apply to poetry or nonfiction], do your characters come to life on the page for you?  Two of mine did just recently. By “coming to life” I mean more than just seeing them…

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  • A Few Random Thoughts of Dubious Importance

    My mind tends to ramble a bit.  Actually, a lot.  Here’s a few examples of random thoughts about the American variant of the English language that have occurred to me recently. With all the golf tournaments going on lately, I came to realize that in one particular way, how we talk about golf differs from…

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  • What Can “The Music Man” Tell Us About Writing?

    Have you ever seen the musical comedy “The Music Man”?  Either the stage production or the movie?  At least one movie channel on DirectTV, a TV provider through the internet, has been showing the original movie recently, and I’ve seen it again after I-don’t-know-how-many years.  I’ve always liked it for its catchy music, well-done comedic…

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  • Choosing a New Book

    How do you go about choosing a new book to read?  Do you go to a bookstore?  Borrow one from a friend?  (And never give it back?)  Check one out from the library?  (And never return it?)  Order one online?  I must confess I’ve done all of those things except not returning a book I’ve…

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  • A Review of the Book “Inner Space” by Jakub Szamalek

    This is a review of the book, “Inner Space,” by Jakub Szamalek, with the translation from Polish to English by Kasia Beresford.  The book takes place largely on the International Space Station and involves a United States crew and a Russian crew.  But Earth-bound personnel also play a role, especially those in the upper echelons…

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  • The Logic of Other Worlds

    As I was watching on television a few days ago one of the first three Star Wars films to be made (they’re now numbered 4, 5, and 6) I kind of became aware of just how much the film*—although ostensibly taking place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away—was using so many…

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  • A Few Questions

    As a scientist and a virologist of absolutely no repute whatsoever, I have an inordinate tendency to ask questions about science, virology, science fiction and perhaps a few other phases of life in general, in particular physics, outer space, space flight, and any of several other topics that enter my interest field about who we…

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  • EXPLORER Now Avaliable

    My first book, a science fiction novel about several explorers who travel to a beautiful new world which they’ve nicknamed the “Blue Planet” because of its color, has been available for a couple of weeks now.  You can get it through the link on the “EXPLORER” page on this website, or through a bookstore (which…

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  • EXPLORER Now Available

    Now!  My first book, my first novel, and my first science-fiction novel—EXPLORER : The First Book in The Anthanian Imperative Trilogy—is now available for purchase.  You should be able to order it through any bookstore (most bookstores at this time won’t have it in stock), or order it through this website—just click on the “EXPLORER”…

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  • Book Review: Eyes on the Horizon, by Carrie Lynn Fazzolari

    I met Carrie Lynn Fazzolari at the Wildacres Writer’s Conference in 2010, and we have been friends on Facebook for most of the time after that.  Her book, Eyes on the Horizon, is Carrie’s first novel, and we both worked on our respective first novels at the conference in between other activities.  So when she…

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  • Tools of a Writer

    I’ve seen a few comments on social media in the past few weeks concerning writing and what makes a good writer and good written copy.  Most of what I’ve read is very general in content, and ranges from the A to Z of the instruction on good writing.  I can’t comment on all of that,…

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  • The Adventure Story

    I just finished re-reading The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, the precursor to the well-known Lord of the Rings trilogy.  The Hobbit is an interesting book, filled with elves, goblins, trolls, dwarves, eagles, one huge dragon named Smaug, and of course, the hero of the story, the one and only hobbit, Mr. Bilbo Baggins.  It is…

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