This is “According to Hoyle” day, the anniversary of the death of Edmond Hoyle in 1769. He is believed to have studied law, and gave instructions in London in the playing of the game of whist. He published a “Short Treatise” on the rules in 1742, and hence the expression, “according to Hoyle” connotes playing...Read More

I’ve seen the first copies of ONE FOR THE ARK (official launch September 19) and I have to say it’s a thrill. (It’s live today on amazon.com, so you can be among the first to preview a copy.)  I always worry a little when the first copies arrive and I reread the acknowledgements, knowing that...Read More

This is the birthday of Roberta Cooper Ramo, who I don’t know personally and didn’t know much about at the time that she became the first woman president of the American Bar Association (1995-96). With the nomination of another woman lawyer pioneer as the Democratic candidate for President, it seems like a good time to...Read More

FACEBOOK reminded me that two years ago today, I posted the following: When is losing like winning? When there are 1300 entries and your story makes the top 45! The story, When Walls Weep, is excerpted in part from an unpublished novel, One for the Ark, and placed on the long list for the Raymond...Read More

The Democratic National Convention starts today and you know that Daphne would love to be there, if she could. Thomas, of course, was probably at last week’s convention, but only for purposes of hobnobbing with his fellow State party leaders. You’ll understand soon enough: at election time, Mayor Thomas Donaldson, a moderate conservative, and his...Read More

Mayor Thomas Donaldson of Stirling, Wisconsin faces a number of fascinating issues in his small, moderately conservative, moderately religious town, not the least of which is the occasional friendly opposition of his liberal feminist wife, Daphne.Read More

We’re a few months away from the publication of my fourth novel, ONE FOR THE ARK. I won’t use “fourth” as a segue here (that would be cheesy), but I will take this opportunity to be grateful for freedom of the press, freedom of speech and freedom of religion, all of which come into play...Read More

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE who voted for SALUTING THE SUN for Readers Choice. We had more than 80 votes, the most in my category I think (General Fiction). The winner was in the Literary Fiction category, a novel by a professor at Gonzaga, with a whopping 466 votes. The “judged” part of the contest will...Read More

Please vote for SALUTING THE SUN for the Foreword Reviews’ IndieFabFave Readers Choice Award. This is a separate award from the Book of the Year, for which STS is a national finalist. Here’s what you can do to help me when this portion of the contest:   Go to the 2015 IndieFab Foreword Reviews Finalists...Read More

 Foreword Reviews just named SALUTING THE SUN one of 16 finalists for their INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards. (Winner announced in June.) A total of 1500 entrants, so pretty cool. If you haven’t read WARMING UP or SALUTING THE SUN, now would be a great time to read and to post a review!! Both are...Read More