I have a couple of audiobooks out there. Two of my memoirs are offered on Audible: October Song and There's a Hamster in the Dashboard. I'm proud of those listenable renditions and they were fun to produce. I hope, also, fun to listen to. If you're an audiobook person—and they are a certain kind of … Continue reading And Now, Something Out Loud

It took me seven books to get this book launch thing right. That is not to say I did it wrong or poorly with previous books, but that is to say that this time it was sublime. The Consequence of Stars is now officially out. This is my memoir of linked essays about home—what it means … Continue reading Celebration

Out of the shed for a few days to visit New York and the Book Expo of America for the launch of my memoir, The Consequence of Stars. an appearance at KGB Bar, and a little literary geek time. I'm sitting outside a cafe on W. 30th not far from the Javits Convention Center where … Continue reading The Literary Geek

I have been fortunate. My books have won awards. Most recently, my novel A Well-Respected Man was honored in the adult fiction category by The Society of Midland Authors, a storied and deep-rooted Midwest literary organization. It is a great honor to be even mentioned alongside any of the previous winners and honorees. The Chicago Writers … Continue reading Book Awards: The Beauty and the Beast

More than once I have been asked this question: Who is your book's target audience? And so many times I have sat at the desk in the shed and bellowed out loud: I'm a writer not a marketer! Truth is, I'm both. In the modern literary world, and in fact in any era of literary … Continue reading Who Will Read My Book?

I am beginning a new venture, the seeds of which were sown inside the shed early one recent morning. It was raining and somehow rain, at least for me, breeds ideas. Not always good ones. Not always sound ones. But many times creative and exciting ones in their newness. Writer Shed Press is one of … Continue reading Writer Shed Press

Independent Bookstore Day is upon us, (April 27th) and as I sit in the shed among all the books I stack here, I must admit many of them were not purchased in a bookstore. That's kind of sad. But yet there they are. All those books. Each read at least once, some several times. Would … Continue reading Go Buy a Book, Anywhere

My time in the shed this morning, while the rain lightly taps on the roof, is being spent going on a journey, many journeys, to places, several places, I have never been. In a few weeks, my memoir The Consequence of Stars is officially released. I've been working on book launch details, making travel plans, … Continue reading “Tripping” in the Shed

The weather is improving this week, but the other morning the space heater inside the shed did not turn on as planned. The early hours were rather cold and so I activated the shed's heater through a smart plug before heading out to write. At 6 a.m. my phone showed all was on, but then … Continue reading Chilled: A Writer in the Cold

No other sport has lent itself to great language and memorable stories like America's pastime. No other game is as literary.. It is the game of poets. I am here in the shed on opening day of the 2019 baseball season and I am a young man again. Baseball is on the radio. The best … Continue reading Baseball: The Poet’s Game