Book Review — I didn’t know what to make of the first few minutes of the audiobook. A plucky voice introduced his craftsman home in Seattle along with roommates Big Jim and bloodhound Dennis. Strange things had begun happening, like a renegade eyeball flopping out of Big Jim’s head and prancing onto the…

New Legends — What if there was no Big Dipper in the night sky? Legends and fairy tales from the constellations alone fill books and our dreams. There’s Scorpio season and the many supposed attributes of individuals born under that sign. Toss it all out. What mythology would we create on a new…

World-building a Planet Centuries and Light Years Away — Worlds can be as big as we want them, whether as small as a vulnerable moment or vast and expansive as the universe. I can’t stop thinking about Ithaka. It is a town on the planet Minos which was colonized by Earth’s billionaires in secret. Only, it didn’t stay that…

Poetry — This spiritless dirt is not earth It is not root and rotting leaf or grass seed It is torn from the beating pulse of the forest Laid orphaned and sanitized among other captives It sits idle and alone, cut off Awaiting death or resuscitation Whichever its merciful master desires. Seasons…

Coming Full Circle — Everyone over 25 is a popular music contrarian. Once you get to a certain age, you realize you’re not the target audience. Your only hope for a moving musical experience is a “back together” tour of your faves who are already on beta blockers. …

Short answer: Don’t want to — Finance talk is big business. If you want a successful online store or writing career, the more lucrative option is to market how to get dollars in your pocket in a few or many or a moderate amount of steps. It’s a lie. Well, capitalism is, I mean. We all…

Where Music Takes Us — Even before driving out of the parking lot, I hit pause on my audiobook. It was too much to concentrate on the storyline when I was in a fog at day’s end. It had been a rough couple of days and silence was the best antidote to the constant chatter…

One Year of Fearless Writing — The first birthday is an important one. A baby goes from a clump of cells to a sprawling, screaming person with interests, and a growing capacity to learn. Maybe teeth have sprouted or they’re just learning to walk. It’s monumental. As someone in healthcare, I think about all the things…