Check Out My Book of Short Stories

Check out my volume of fantasy short stories centered on the eerie town, Ridgewood, available in electronic and paperback formats. Get the ebook here: Night of the Hell Hounds and Other Stories from the Ridgewood Chronicles. Get the paperback here: Night of the Hell Hounds and Other Stories from the Ridgewood Chronicles. You can read … Continue reading Check Out My Book of Short Stories

Ridgewood Places

Last week, I celebrated my dad’s 90th birthday with him at his cozy one-bedroom apartment. We talked about current and past events, which led us to comparing now to then. He lives in the town he and I grew up in, so we talked a lot about the town’s scenic changes. The question “Do you … Continue reading Ridgewood Places

Ridgewood Beginnings

I was 13 when I created a fictional rural town that became Ridgewood, Pennsylvania. I was an eighth-grade high school student who owned a portable Remington typewriter. That instrument and my imagination allowed me to escape from the ordinary world. I’m not saying my life was boring or difficult, but like the child who turns … Continue reading Ridgewood Beginnings

Hell Hound Cover Update

Earlier this month I shared with you the new cover for my ebook Night of the Hell Hounds and Other Stories from the Ridgewood Chronicles, available at Amazon.com. I wrote that the illustration is quite dark and that dark illustrations don’t copy well via Amazon KDP’s POD paperback book market. (I have a couple failed … Continue reading Hell Hound Cover Update

Loving the New

I’ve been a creative for as long as I can remember. I drew, painted, wrote, built things—and still do … always from my imagination, and always doing over and over to see new results. My wife calls me a perfectionist, but it’s never perfection I look for. It’s the “new” that I endeavor—the different, the … Continue reading Loving the New

My Early Years

I recall when Nike introduced their Just Do It slogan. It caught on like wildfire with my friends and me—most of us educators. Another saying from around that time was the Latin Carpe Diem, which translates to “Seize the Day” and was a reminder for us to live each day to the fullest and appreciate … Continue reading My Early Years

Criticism

Over the years I’ve learned that there are some commonalities between being an artist who paints landscapes and wildlife, and an author who self-publishes his books. First, obviously, is that I “self”-publish my art as well as my books. But more importantly, both my art and my books go into the world and are judged. … Continue reading Criticism

That's the best attitude to have. We never know when the book gods may favor us. :)

Thanks for that, Joseph. I'm hoping to get some new readers with the promotion. But if I don't, it won't…

Happy Valentine's day and best of luck with your book promotion.

The main character is based on some authors I know. Some are full of self-importance; some aren't. Some just write…

Healing implies an end, but writing Hadestown was more like learning to walk with a limp. You don’t fix the damage, you…

Thanks, purplegoatee, glad you're enjoying this.

I make comments as I read. Lines I particularly like. For example, "Mark would’ve called that “too on the nose,”…

Great observations, Joseph, and sadly, so true about writers. The writing group I presided over for many years ended up…

I used to attend a writer's critique group and I always tried to frame comments in a positive manner and…

Thanks Joseph. Wishing you a wonderful 2026.