A Kernel of Truth

Posted by on Oct 11, 2016 | No Comments

Popular novels often have an element of truth in them that makes them at least semi-believable. They use real places, persons, historical events, or myths that let the reader believe that even if it’s fiction, it could have happened. How about a legend involving an 11th Century English King, his ring, and a still living […]

Three Fun Facts About The Last Apostle

Posted by on Mar 4, 2016 | No Comments

The Kindle version of The Last Apostle is on sale for 99 cents through March 7. I’d greatly appreciate your help getting the word out.  Sometimes you can get cuts of movies that have commentary from the director with inside information about the film. I also love to go to IMDB.com to find out fun facts.  I’m going to share some […]

Look to the Goal, and Stay out of the Ditch

Posted by on Dec 20, 2014 | No Comments
Look to the Goal, and Stay out of the Ditch

I took a motorcycle class to get re-certified and learned an important principle that goes way beyond riding two wheelers. The instructor emphasized over and over in both the classroom and on the course that when you’re making a turn you want to look through the turn—look where you’re going—and not at the obstacle near […]

Writing is a Team Sport

Posted by on Nov 16, 2013 | No Comments

I recently had the privilege of speaking at the Northwest Christian Writers Association, which I joined in 2007. Following are the notes from my talk. Links to segments of the video are provided in the text. Six years ago I showed up at my first Northwest Christian Writers Association meeting. I was excited because I […]

The Power in the Pause

Posted by on Jul 24, 2013 | No Comments

Inexperienced story tellers and speakers often rush through their narrative as if they were a rodent on crack–and overlook the power of pacing. A well placed pause can add suspense and conflict to a tale. For a great example of this let’s turn to the classic movie, Casablanca. One of the most famous movie lines of […]

A Higher Calling for Story Telling

Posted by on Jun 25, 2013 | No Comments

“The only reason for giving a speech is to change the world.” John F. Kennedy I love telling stories but now is the time to raise the stakes for this blog.  And the best way to explain why is, of course, through a story. If you’ve watched the movie, Lincoln, starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham […]

In Honor of Memorial Day: The Forgotten Sailors

Posted by on May 27, 2012 | No Comments

In honor of Memorial Day I’m re-running this post about men who made the ultimate sacrifice in a lonely stretch of the  Pacific Ocean. On a personal note, I did “process [the] advice” from the publisher I mentioned and have made some significant progress. On a narrow canal in a Midwestern city lies a memorial to […]

The Struggling Writer

Posted by on Feb 21, 2012 | No Comments

Stephen King at Starbucks* Would you like to be in a book club that had guests such as Stephen King, Dave Barry, and J.A. Jance? The club at Starbucks headquarters in Seattle has managed to land these popular authors among many others. As a long time partner at the office my wife has managed to […]

Felix Navidad

Posted by on Dec 6, 2011 | No Comments

If you’re curious about our tradition of “delegating” our annual Christmas letter to the family pet check out the post  A Canine Christmas Card. For many years Dennis and Laurie have had a family pet pen their annual Christmas letter. But Rascal passed away at the ripe old age of 107 last February and they’ve […]

Nuns and Baseball

Posted by on Sep 27, 2011 | No Comments

The back to school season reminds me of a number of teachers that were influential in my life. Over the next few months I plan on telling stories about several of them. If you’d like to tell a story about a teacher that was a notable influence in your life please contact me. If you’re […]

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