Monthly Archives: February 2011

Authors, Promotion, Branding, and Websites

By Richard | Published February 28, 2011

As a writer, I’m lucky because I’ve also spent time in the web design community, so I know just how important a website is in creating a brand, an identity. Writers who have agents, and writers who expect they’ll be able to land an agent, need to start thinking about it now. I’ve been running [...]

Posted in Author, Author, Authors and Promotion, Books, Publishing Industry, Writing | 1 Comment

Nova Scotia in February

By Richard | Published February 27, 2011

We wanted to breathe in some negative ions. The day was cold, and golden, and beautiful.

Posted in Nova Scotia, Photography | 1 Comment

Teaching Evolution Badly in American Classrooms

By Richard | Published February 27, 2011

When it comes to scientific fact versus scientific theory, many people are confused. Occasionally, the terms can be applied to the same principle. Evolution is both a theory and a fact. Over the last few centuries, the evidence supporting evolution as the mechanism for the origin of species has become so overwhelming and so incontrovertible [...]

Posted in Global Warming, High Horse, Religion, Sustainability | 1 Comment

Tasting Notes: Red Bull 2011 (Red Bull GmbH)

By Richard | Published February 26, 2011

Red Bull 2011 (Red Bull GmbH) Pale, yellowish hue, tinged with brown. Nose hints at badly over-ripened fruit. On the palate, it assaults with an overpowering sweetness with distinctly chemical notes. Cloyingly fruity, with hints of artificial cherry and pineapple, and a veneer of vanilla — but not French oak vanilla from proper aging. A [...]

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With Apologies to Robert Frost (Updated)

By Richard | Published February 25, 2011

A road diverged in a wood and I — well, to be honest, I don’t really want to take either path. At the moment, both seem equally fraught. It might be a case of life imitating art. In the Secrets of the Hotel Maisonneuve, one of the central characters, 72-year-old Mrs. Nguyen, looks back at [...]

Posted in Life, Writing | 9 Comments

Murmurs of Middle-Earth

By Richard | Published February 24, 2011

Via Andrew Sullivan

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The Starving Artist

By Richard | Published February 21, 2011

I had a busy weekend, and finished the sixth revision of my work-in-progress, The Secrets of the Hotel Maisonneuve. With good reason. This morning, I submitted my complete manuscript to three literary agents, bringing the number of agents who have read — or are reading — the middle-grade adventures of Jacob Jollimore to six. I [...]

Posted in Author, Author, Authors and Promotion, Nova Scotia, Politics, Writing | 2 Comments

The Slings and Arrows of Outrageous Fortune

By Richard | Published February 16, 2011

Would we be friends in the real world? It’s an interesting question. I value my online friendship with author Tracy Clark because she’s warm, witty and vivacious. If you spend even a few minutes enjoying her online company, you’ll be be smitten. But I expect we see the world differently. As a climate change activist, [...]

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The Problem is All Inside Your Head She Said to Me

By Richard | Published February 16, 2011

We’ve moved into Hurry-Up-and-Wait, Phase II. My earlier facts were correct, but my appointment with my endocrinologist today filled in some vital details. My pituitary tumor, which sits in the hollow of my brain, has grown dramatically. It is starting to move into my sinus cavity, and it is a concern. But it continues to [...]

Posted in Housekeeping, Life | 3 Comments

Here There Be Trolls

By Richard | Published February 16, 2011

One of the things I love best about Kristina is that she finds little pieces of happiness and amusement beneath the drudgery. We’ve started on the next round of home improvements, and Kristina’s been stripping the hideous striped wallpaper from our bedroom walls. When one huge piece came off the closet door, it inspired her. [...]

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