Although Scotch is my preferred drink, I have been sampling many of the Tennessee whiskeys since moving to East Tennessee. They are pretty good. I was experimenting with some cocktail recipes and I came up with this: Add all ingredients into a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously (never stir, you […]
Us writers face criticism on all levels. Style, subject matter, relevance, character development, plot, narrative: all these things are fair game for the critic to explore and criticize or praise. But the bottom line, the one thing that determines the basic success of any story is this: does it have […]
I grew up in San Diego, CA. In the 1980’s, I met the mayor of Imperial Beach, Brian Bilbray who at the time was battling an unbelievable ecological disaster to no avail. He did me a favor once I will never forget, but I’ll touch on that another time. But […]
From time to time desperate men ask me for relationship advice. Happy to give it. Here’s a tip I learned long ago that never fails to make a woman fall in love with you all over again. First, find the keys to the vacuum cleaner and pull that baby out […]
I have been drinking whiskey for years. It is a wonderful spirit, and as complicated to learn about as wine. You can spend a lifetime enjoying the nuances. In my novel, “A Line Intersected,” the hero develops a taste for Jameson’s whiskey. That happened to be what I was drinking […]
I don’t know. A house lit up that announces it’s here, to me, is something to see. Some may disagree.
I think most writers are builders at heart. They like to create. I decided, for no particular reason, that I needed to build a staircase up along the side of my house. It was originally supposed to be simple: carved out of the ground, lined with timbers and filled with […]
After leaving the Finca Vigia, we rode in the passenger van back to Havana. It’s about a 12 mile drive. I had never seen Havana before, and I had no idea what to expect. We found the city clean, but strangely empty. As we drove along the harbor front, there […]
I read as a writer: with curiosity, with interest in the writing style, with superiority sometimes, humility other times; with admiration and with jealousy, and sometimes with a sneer on my face. But I always read with the knowledge that someone sat down and wrote a story, crafted it upon […]
Last September (2025) I had the opportunity to fly from Key West to Havana, Cuba, with a small group of other Hemingway fans to take a tour of Hemingway’s Cuban home, Finca Vigia. We boarded a small 9 seater twin prop and flew 90 miles due south in blue skies […]