Category Archives: Uncategorized

It’s the parenting – not the spider bite – that’s going to kill me. This also answer the question: where do my ideas come from? The scene: Me driving. Daughter (age 13) in back seat. Daughter: Dad, there’s a spider … Continue reading →

Twenty-five things revealed by NSA cell-phone surveillance/data collection program: Apollo lunar landings we’re a hoax. Fingernails really do keep growing after we’re dead. There was a second shooter. Most men can only remember 3 things without a grocery list. Emperor … Continue reading →

So here are a few things that novel writing has taught me (so far) about plot… From novel #1: Action and motion are not the same as plot. But you can’t have plot without them. From novel #2: Characters and … Continue reading →

Two press releases from last night’s Bengal Bouts boxing match featuring Nicholas Acampora. I think one of these reports is especially good. Dateline: February 14, 2013 (NOTRE DAME, IN) – Boxing fans at the University of Notre Dame’s Bengal Bouts … Continue reading →

Random thoughts: Here’s why I loved the The Arcade Fire + Mick Jagger performance of “This Could Be the Last Time” from last season’s SNL season finale: I love The Arcade Fire (and they’re going to have a new album in 2013!) … Continue reading →

Today’s NYTimes review of a recent Beach Boys concert had me thinking about Mr. Cunningham, my very awesome high school physics teacher, who also happened to be an international Beach Boys expert. During my St. Paul Catholic High School years, … Continue reading →

Now and again I hear from aspiring children’s book illustrators who ask if I might introduce them to authors in search of an artists to illustrate a picture book. In most cases, this question lets me know that I’ve just … Continue reading →

A few years ago, Ellen Major, owner of the lovely Booktenders’ Secret Garden Children’s Bookstore in Doylestown PA, phoned me in a panic. It was late on a Friday afternoon. Kate DiCamillo was coming to her store that night. Ellen … Continue reading →

I just finished two great days leading writing workshops for sixth graders at Memorial Middle School in Middlefield, Connecticut. I can honestly say that I did not want to leave! The faculty, staff, families and, most of all, the students, … Continue reading →