Mar 29, 2016 | The Writing Life
This weekend I posted an article on my Facebook page that caused a bit of an uproar. For some reason, people are just now discovering an article Dwight Allen wrote for Salon in 2012. Calling himself a “literary snob,” Allen wages a full-on attack...
Mar 22, 2016 | The Writing Life
Imagine this, if you will… You turn on the evening news (or check Facebook or head to your favourite online news site or *gasp!* read a paper), only to discover there’s been another school shooting. Many children were wounded, and a few died, including the...
Mar 21, 2016 | The Writing Life
The A to Z Challenge is almost upon us, which–quite frankly–terrifies me, because I haven’t begun writing my posts yet. I don’t even have a schedule! (For those of you not familiar with the Challenge: during the month of April, participating...
Mar 16, 2016 | Mysterious Places
When most people imagine Italy, they don’t think of the paranormal. Pasta, pizza, iconic ruins, Roman gods, passion–these things are usually what springs to mind. But a little-known island could change that. Located in the Venetian Lagoon, Poveglia is...
Mar 11, 2016 | The Life Less Ordinary, The Writing Life
Here’s what I wish someone would have told me before I hit the teenage years. Dear Teen Me, Don’t get upset when your peers call you “weird.” Take it as a compliment. Those same people will be envying your interesting life later on. Don’t...
Mar 8, 2016 | Scary True Stories
Life really is stranger than fiction. When I was a kid, a twisted horror tale called The Most Dangerous Game was mandatory reading in high school. In Richard Connell’s story, written in 1924, a big-game hunter matches his wits against a deranged captor who...
Mar 2, 2016 | The Writing Life
Ever have one of those weeks where everything goes wrong? Well, that has been the last two weeks for me. It got so bad, I was seriously considering giving up writing–the first time I’ve hit a low that deep since my early twenties. And then, just when I...
Mar 1, 2016 | The Writing Life
There’s a double standard in the writing industry. Agents complain about writers all the time–if you check an agent’s Twitter feed or blog, there’s bound to be some not-so-nice comments about the writers who query him or her. But if a writer...
Feb 23, 2016 | Scary True Stories
“My grandma just shot me!” It was a recipe for disaster. In 2012, Jonathan Hoffman’s life seemed to be falling apart. His sister was suffering from brain cancer and his family was splitting up. When his parents prepared to move to Arizona for the...
Feb 16, 2016 | The Writing Life
In January 2016, I discovered my friend had a dark side. While he appeared to be an innocuous broadcasting instructor at the local college, it turned out he was leading a double life. He collects *gasp* horror comics. “In fact, I’m going to be at this...
