Only one can prevail — And then there were two. We started three weeks ago with 16 albums, and some legends have fallen along the way. There were some surprising upsets, some razor-thin margins of victory, and more than a few blowouts, not unlike the actual NCAA Tournament (at least from the little I see…

A writing challenge — Just like Doctor Who will never be able to resist a fez, I can never resist a writing prompt, especially a music-related one. This time, however, it did not originate with notorious instigator Buddy Gott, but with the typically-respectable Terry Barr and Anthony Overs. The challenge is simple yet complex…

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the bookstore… — Inspired by Simon Dillon, over next five weeks I’m sharing the first chapters of my novel, Writer in Residence. A new installment will appear here on the Fictions publication each Monday. I hope you enjoy it. Previous Chapters: Chapter One: The Church of The Last Word Chapter Two: Three Guys…

It’s something all writers ponder at some point — For as long as people have been writing, some authors have chosen to use a pseudonym, more commonly called a pen name. The list of famous authors who wrote under a pen name is long and distinguished; in many cases you know the pen name better than the real name…

I am…I think — March 27th marks the two-year anniversary of the publication of my first Medium article. In some ways, it doesn’t feel nearly that long; in others, it feels like decades (I think the pandemic has skewed my concept of time forever, so that’s not a commentary on Medium…except when it is). …

It’s long past time for this one to end — “Monuments to the Lost Cause will prove monuments of folly.” — Frederick Douglass Of all the myths that some Americans have stubbornly clung to, none has been more damaging over the past 150 years than the myth of the “Lost Cause.” Put in its simplest terms, the Lost Cause views…

Yes, they really are books — My love of printed books is well known to anyone who has read my bookish articles, so, it may come as a surprise that I also love audiobooks. I know there are some hardcore bibliophiles out there who continue to argue that audiobooks aren’t really books, but that’s nonsense; of…

Now it’s really serious — The results from the Elite Eight round of the Rate-An-Album March Madness series are in, and this one was even more back-and-forth than the Sweet Sixteen round. The matchups become excruciatingly difficult this round, and when you see them some of you will surely hate me even more than you…

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the bookstore… — Inspired by Simon Dillon, over next five weeks I’m sharing the first chapters of my novel, Writer in Residence. A new installment will appear here on the Fictions publication each Monday. I hope you enjoy it. Previous Chapters: Chapter One: The Church of The Last Word Chapter Two: Three Guys…