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1st Progress Report
In my quest to become self-employed by June 2023, I have made a few small steps forward. There’s nothing major to report yet, as there is a lot of prep work, but I have accomplished a little, so I thought I’d share it. I have created a spreadsheet listing all of my published titles under…
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Quest for Independence
Teaching has lost its luster. I’m not actually teaching. My job, really, is to maintain a tenuous grip on sanity as I battle the chaos that is a room full of 8th graders. It’s stressful. It’s unfulfilling. It’s hell! I fully suspect this will be my last year in education, and that’s IF I make…
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Books of 2021
I read 51 books last year, beating my goal of 50 by … that’s right … one. I read a lot of good books, and there were a few stinkers. This is my annual post where I recount the best and worst of the year. If you’d like to see them all, you can click…
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Good Riddance 2021
This was a horrible year and I can’t wait to slam the door on it in 32 minutes. Back in March, my 18-year-old dog Bubba had to be put to sleep after being with me for 16 of those years. We’d been dealing with cancer and fluid around his heart and lungs for about a…
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The Teacher: A Novel
My first literary novel is available now! It’s been a busy autumn for me. My most recent horror novel, Mother, was released in October. In November, I participated in National Novel Writing Month and produced a 61,000+ word novel called Yes or No, and then, in early December, came my first mainstream literary novel, The…
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Shift in Perspective
When I was a younger man I couldn’t imagine writing in any genre other than horror. Now I think I had to make up boogey-men back then because I hadn’t experienced the real monsters of loneliness, depression, and loss. There’s nothing scarier than the human condition. Steven E. Wedel The above is a post I…
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Mother Wants You
Last November I participated in my first National Novel Writing Month. This novel Mother is the result of that. It’s my first horror novel in quite a long time and I’m pretty proud of it. The idea for this story has been with me for at least 30 years, but I never felt ready to…
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The Cardinal’s Visit
It’s been a week since Mom passed away. It’s been a difficult week. Planning a funeral is hard and attending it is even harder. But there has been one incident that is a positive and has been on my mind for a week now. Mom passed on Saturday evening. I drove home on Sunday afternoon.…
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Tribute to Mom
At about 5:45 p.m. on Saturday, September 4, 2021, my mother’s long battle with COPD came to a sad and inevitable end. With it came the end of an era for our family. There will be a tectonic shift in the structure of our world with the passing of our matriarch. Today, as we balance…
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Adventures in Online Dating, Part 3
It’s time to talk about the biggest issue I’ve had in the world of online dating. This is the one that makes me wonder if there’s something wrong with me, or with everyone else. Invariably, women say they want a man who can and will communicate. If you’ve ever received an e-mail or text message…