A month ago, the catalytic converter was hacked out of my daughter’s car as it was parked on a street in Chicago. Apparently, thieves troll at night for older cars with catalytic converters because the precious metals inside--palladium, rhodium, and platinum—now fetch...
Elon Musk hardly needs an introduction these days, but here goes. He’s the richest man in the world, has a droll sense of humor, is a naturalized US citizen (born in South Africa) and has 7 children. Founder of blazing-into-the-future companies Tesla and SpaceX, on 30...
Chris Reed, deputy editorial and opinion editor for the San Diego Union-Tribune, recently wrote a piece entitled “Add Mexico to Afghanistan, Iraq to list of nations U.S. has severely wronged.” I was surprised to find that the article centered on the views of Don...
I was recently asked if the coronavirus pandemic had changed what readers want from mystery authors. Maybe. Right now, I think readers appreciate a good tale of overcoming the odds. That’s why polar history resonates with me right now. The early exploration of...
“Women and glass are always in danger.” – Mexican proverb Imagine if Portland, Maine, or Greenville, South Carolina went missing, simply ebbing away like shadows in sunlight over the course of 14 years. The official count of people missing in Mexico since 2006 is...
I spent 30 years with the CIA. My official resume says things like “distinguished record of solutions-driven leadership across multiple mission areas,” and “led program responsible for collection, translation, and analysis of breaking events,” and “oversaw work of...
Fall is here. Our New Year’s resolutions petered out long ago and the holidays, with overspending and family drama, loom on the horizon. In this season between what-might-have-been and what-will-overwhelm-us-soon, dive into one of these life-changing books. You'll get...
Priests in Mexico appear to be wearing targets as well as their vestments. Father Richard was the first My pastor in Mexico City was an Oblate missionary, Father Ricard Junius, who was murdered in 2007. I wrote about his death in this blog post and...
I was on Facebook recently (who among us can’t start a sentence that way?) and someone in a writers group asked what was our biggest concern. My answer was “Playing small.” Does anybody else feel like this? Although I’ve been a published author for 5 years, I can’t...
Exhausted by the run-up to the US presidential elections on 8 November 2016? Exchange those robo calls and campaign ads for some election thrills of the literary variety with 5 presidential election thrillers These novels are a definite improvement over the real...
Are bookstores facing a "survival of the fittest" era? If so, what can make a bookstore "fit?" In the case study letter below, the key is creativity and willing to do something wholly different. Last week I wrapped up my Bookstores of the Future project,...
Will bookstores survive? Must they innovate in order to stay relevant and solvent in the era of ebooks and ecommerce? Simply out of curiosity, I began posing this question to authors, book bloggers, publishers, and store owners. This led to a series of articles on...
Can publishing insiders predict the future of bookstores? What will stores look like in 10 years as they face competition from ebooks and ecommerce? Over the past 6 months I've asked more than 800 people this question, including fellow authors, as well as...
The Friday Fiesta is stuff worth celebrating from the past week. This week it’s how to focus on a goal, the quest for discoverability, and a book sale in defiance of the trolls. The margaritas are on me. Focus What with one thing and another, I'm having some trouble...
The Friday Fiesta is stuff worth celebrating from the past week. This week it’s water and web design. Plus a bonus courtesy of omnimystery.com. Water In March, the Writing for Water Team was comprised of Jerry Last, Norm Hamilton, and Sharon Lee Johnson, plus, yours...
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