Back in September I asked you all to suggest a topic for my newsletter, and a reader said they wanted to know what my fears are. Well, number one on that list is a fear of my cat taking over my newsletter (and based on the number of emails I got, Guff has a lot of new...


Personal stuff
And my Halloween theme is…
It's that lovely time of year ago when thoughts turn to scaring the hell out of little kids. Halloween!For my newer subscribers, you should know I'm kinda into this holiday. I remember, when I was a little kid, there would always be that ONE HOUSE that was the crazy...
Five Years of Cat Pics
I was interviewed the other day in a writers' workshop, and the topic was newsletters. I was asked how long I've been writing mine, and I answered three years. After the workshop, I went to check. And you know what? As of this month, it's been FIVE YEARS. I was...
The Standalone Thriller
I have eight books published, and they are all standalone thrillers. By standalone, I mean none of my books is part of a series (though The New Neighbor and The Dead Husband have very direct ties to one another.) In case you haven't noticed, series...
Do Writers Socialize?
Do writers socialize? Hell yeah we do!Writing seems like such as solitary thing. There's the image of the novelist walking in the snowy woods to the single-room cabin, outfitted with only an ancient typewriter, a fireplace, an endless supply of coffee, and, of course,...
Impostor Syndrome
I’ve recorded about forty episodes of my conversation series Making It Up, and I find it fascinating how different each writer is. Rarely do any two of my interviewees share the exact same writing habits and routines, roads to publication, or approaches to style. Yet...
My 2021 To-Do List
Well, so much for hoping the flip of the calendar into 2021 would magically erase all the shit 2020 threw at the wall. COVID is worse than ever, murderous rioters descended on the US Capitol, and Netflix took The Office off its platform. Two weeks into this year and...
Holy Hell, I’m 50
A couple weeks ago I turned 50 (on Bastille Day, for all you Francophiles out there). When I turned forty I had a big party and was planning to do the same for fifty but, you know, pandemic. I'm excited to be fifty. Excited to see what the decade brings, assuming we...
This Heat is Gettin’ To Me
It's hot and I don't know what to write. I'm just sitting here with a blank screen, blurry eyes and fuzzy brain, and I suspect this shit is just gonna spill out without a lot of filter. It's hot and I'm tired, and it feels like I never fully wake up on certain days,...
Notes from Other Authors
Hello, folks. How are you? You getting through these very strange days with ease or with struggle? Likely both, I imagine. Have you been connecting more, reaching out to those you haven't talked to in awhile, just to ask them the simple question you okay? Me too. Over...
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