Blog

An Introspective Look at Life on this Planet (Stumbling Towards Grace) is the last entry in the book. It is about what we live, what we share, what we are, and what we can be. There is so much to share and so much we can do to affect our world. Let me know how it touches you.

If you had the choice, what day in your life would you like to relive or do over? Think about it and see what comes to mind. Maybe it was the best day of your life and you’d like to recapture the feeling. If that’s it, you can think about other things you might do to recapture that feeling. If it was about something you did wrong—and we all have those, that reflection is important. Maybe you haven’t yet forgiven yourself. The past is our teacher. If we learn from our mistakes and...

The inspiration for the short story “Redistribution of Wealth” comes from all of those who are forced to suffer in silence. Powerless to deal with ill-treatment and abuse at the hands of those in control. Sometimes the oppression is all-consuming. And sometimes events take place that result in a shift in that dynamic.

Danny Farina, his slightly older sister, and his parents live in a bad neighborhood. The kind where gambling and prostitution are the town’s biggest industries, and most...

Yesterday I went to a celebration of life for a good friend and a truly wonderful guy. He lived joyfully and in the moment, he brought optimism and happiness wherever he went, and he built so many wonderful relationships. It’s hard to lose someone who made a positive difference in our lives and in the world. It’s a reminder to treasure all of the relationships that are important to us because it is not guaranteed that they will always be there. Let’s appreciate all of the people who matter to...

"The Senator's Murder" takes us inside a political operation and then to the execution style murder of a senator. His chief of staff is charged with the crime, and the facts don't look good. It's a "who-done-it" and the identity of the killer is not known until after a trial that reveals some astonishing facts. And even after the killer's identity is known, the protagonists are left to deal with legal, ethical, and moral dilemmas that haunt them. I hope you enjoy the book! Please let me know....

This is the non-fiction piece from "Living, Loving, Laughing, and Occasional Murder."

Behind Chapter 8: Forgiveness. For many of us, our past mistakes haunt us. We learned how to be embarrassed, how to feel endless shame, how to beat ourselves up for falling below our own standards of behavior. What we didn't learn is what we need to know most. It's simple--not necessarily easy, given the way we were brought up, but simple. The past is our teacher. We can learn from our mistakes and then let...

The first story in the new book introduces us to Terry Scanlon, an experienced employment lawyer who is tenacious, confident to the point of cockiness, and who enjoys being a smartass in his confrontations with his opposing counsel (this character sounds familiar to me for some reason). Terry has been comfortable and feels in control of his chosen world. That comfort lasts only for the first fleeting moments of the story. Then Terry’s world is turned upside down. All control is gone as he...

This short story collection is my first and it has been a pleasure to construct these stories over the past year. The inspiration for these stories came to me at different times, sometimes the idea hit like a lightning bolt, other times the plots and characters came in segments. The characters struggle with crimes, moral and ethical dilemmas, legal issues, and relationships that have become troubling. I'll talk more about what some of these people faced, but because they are human, their...

My book of short stories has just been released. “Living, Loving, Laughing, and Occasional Murder” is now available as an audiobook narrated by Kiiri Sandy, who won earphones awards for her narration in 2023 and 2024. She is a remarkable performer. Give it a listen at Audible or Amazon!

The eleven short stories were written over the past year and allow me to introduce characters facing immense challenges, in over their heads, and trying desperately to cope. There are joyous moments of human...