Chapter One of 22 Dutch Road (4 of 10)

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The Corolla’s AC had expired the previous summer, so Billy was sticking uncomfortably to the driver’s seat vinyl. The manor’s no doubt functional air-conditioning beckoned, but he kept the car in PARK because the sculpture’s face, with its strong cheekbones and broad, dignified nose, was simply marvelous to look at. It had been carved with obvious talent, someone’s skilled hands … Read More

Chapter One of 22 Dutch Road (3 of 10)

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“I thought you’d like them,” Richard said defensively.“ Like the soldiers we played with when you were a kid. You remember, don’t you?” When Billy was five, his father presented him with a bag of plastic soldiers, then left. Billy did the best he could alone, staging battles between the US Army and rocks he’d dug out of the backyard … Read More

Chapter One of 22 Dutch Road (2 of 10)

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Billy called his father by his first name whenever he was mad at him—which was often; Richard’s being dead for eight weeks hadn’t changed this. While his father was alive, Billy wouldn’t dream of yelling at him. Why court a cuffing? Death, however, had been a game changer. Now I can yell all I want. Still, he hadn’t yelled—old habits … Read More

Chapter 1 of 22 Dutch Road (1 of 10)

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Here’s the first portion of the first chapter of my horror-fantasy novel 22 Dutch Road to give you a taste of the book. I will be posting Chapter 1 in ten sections, roughly one per day. Billy was less than a minute from the monstrosity that was his father’s house, an ugly building he’d shunned for three years. He had reason: … Read More

Writer’s Digest Review of e-book version

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Below is the complete Writer’s Digest review, including an opinion on the cover for 22 Dutch Road: “The cover is a great indication of the tone and content of the story, but I think it would draw in a wider audience if it was a little more polished. Something as small as changing the font of the title and making … Read More

Yea! I was a finalist for something!

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I entered 22 Dutch Road into some internet contests and heard back from the first one yesterday. The novel was one of seven finalists for the “horror” category for the 2020 International Author Network (IAN) Book of the Year Awards. Yea me! Now I didn’t win, and I don’t know if I was in the top 7 of 1000 entries, … Read More

A Review of Out of Captivity by Gonsalves, Stansell, and Howes with Gary Brozek (2009)

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Out of Captivity: Surviving 1,967 Days in the Columbian Jungle by Mark Gonsalves, Keith Stansell, and Tom Howes with Gary Brozek (2009) ★★★★ Out of Captivity is a firsthand account from kidnapped American ex-military “contractors” who had the misfortune to crash in the southern hinterlands of Columbia on February 13, 2003. Their work as professional avian counter narcotic “spies” spotting … Read More

A review of Law of the Jungle by John Otis (2011)

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A review of Law of the Jungle by John Otis (2011) ★★★★1/2 Law of the Jungle is a successful effort by John Otis, a longtime South American correspondent, to document the kidnapping of three American military “contractors” who had the misfortune to crash in the southern hinterlands of Columbia on February 13, 2003. Their work as professional avian counter narcotic … Read More

A review of The Wailing Wind by Tony Hillerman (2002)

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Tony Hillerman is a prolific writer of westerns; I was given The Wailing Wind by a friend to test drive this famous author. The book is one of many in a series of modern westerns featuring a Navajo Tribal Police Sergeant Jim Chee and his retired boss Joe Leaphorn, as well as a young female Native American officer, Bernadette Manuelito. … Read More

Long Sentences

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What makes a short sentence short and a long sentence long? (And a long sentence a run-on sentence?) 1. That depends. (2 words) 2. That depends on a lot of things, including pacing (e.g., lengthy, dramatically slow sentences versus shorter, “faster” ones) and historical aptness (e.g., using longer sentences to make an eighteenth century fiction piece reflect that period’s slower … Read More