Weekly Tales: The Fish in the Bucket

I sat at a round table, a lovely white silken tablecloth draped over it, and on top of that, centered perfectly a glass lazy susan with a myriad of colorful dishes ranging from some strange purple yam to chicken feet to soft green plants that tasted strangely like licorice.  We had ordered some time ago,

5 Reasons Why the Self Publishing Industry Will Last

I read an article yesterday entitled “The Self-ePublishing Bubble” on The Guardian.  Ewan Morrison writes that according to basic economics, the ePublishing bubble is indeed a “bubble” like the housing “bubble” and the internet “bubble” and will soon burst so we can all stop being silly and realize that traditional publishing is tried and true

How To Write A Persuasive Essay: 10 Steps To Student Success

I have taught AP Comp classes for over 10 years.  In that time, I have picked up some handy tips to teaching students how to write a solid, well constructed and well written essay. Here are the steps: 1. Stick to the Prompt – The prompt may be on an essay test or it may

Weekly Tales: The Terra Cotta Warrior

I stood inside of a massive structure the size of four football fields laying side by side in a quad.  Crowds of Chinese people meandered about speaking Mandarin, and I leaned against the cool metal railing and looked down on a sea of terra cotta men. My eyes stared a line to the gaze of

In Sickness and In Health: A Test of Determination

I have spent the entire school year in the Christmassy atmosphere of good health, watching all others around me come down with some type of bug and wringing my hands ‘neath the cool comfort of the GermX dispenser.  At last I have succumbed to one of the dangers of teaching teens: getting sick. Today is

Weekly Tales: The Grey Grocer (Part 3)

And now, the third and final installment of “The Grey Grocer”.  Hang on to your hat.   Mr. Greg’s eyes rolled around in their wet sockets and eventually locked in on Phil.  Phil sucked in a deep breath and managed to stand up just as Mr. Greg’s mouth formed the word “Dogs!” “Dogs in the

What Could Have Been: When One of Your Ideas Ends Up On Screen

I have been writing since the age of 14.  I began writing because I took a high school creative writing class and found that my peers at the time thought I had a knack for it and also I loved doing it.  I loved the process, the meticulous nature of it, and the joy I

Weekly Tales: The Grey Grocer (Part 2)

As promised, here is part 2 of “The Gray Grocer”.  You may find part one here.  Tune in next week for the conclusion of this story. Phil stood still for just a moment, thinking about the person that leg and boot might belong to.  He shrugged, his mind whirling, and turned to go get the

Pulling Back on the Reigns

I’ve never really ridden in a horse drawn carriage much in life, (but if these gas prices keep going up I may soon do so) but I think of the horse drawn carriage as a perfect metaphor for my writing process. Think of the horse as the wild animal of my imagination, the carriage as the finished product,

To Be Verb or Not To Be Verb

In the fall of 1990 (gosh that dates me) I attended one of my first college creative writing courses.  I had graduated from high school in ’89, and was known as a writer of horror fiction in my small rural school.  Suddenly I found myself in a bigger pond with bigger fish and felt completely