The Crotchety Old Man

Category: Procrastiwriting

  • Change is Gonna Come

    There’s more to being an author than writing books. Writing new stories is the fun part. The publication process is a sometimes painful learning experience, but the real torture comes around the release of each new novel. I’m talking, of course, about marketing and promotion, Even for an attention whore like me, the amount of self-promotion…

  • Swap Resolutions for Priorities

    For most of my career, instead of days off for “lesser” federal holidays, my employer has given us the week off between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Depending on when the holidays fall, I usually add days of vacation time to either end — both if possible. Most years, the holiday vacation is my longest break from the…

  • Ready for Some Strange

    Coming up with an idea for my next novel has never been a problem. By the time I finished writing Until Thanksgiving, most of After Christmas Eve had already come together in my head. Once I started writing that story, I knew several of the characters would turn up at the Stonewall Riots for Happy…

  • Search Me

    WordPress — the host for my web page — tracks the number of visitors to the site and page views, how visitors found me (Twitter now eclipses Facebook), and all kinds of interesting tidbits. I don’t pay much attention anymore, but every now and then I like to see what search terms have brought visitors…

  • Keeping Things in Perspective

    There are very few things I’d rather do than write. When my chores are done or I’m dodging an unpleasant task, I write. Numerous other interests have come and gone over the years — tropical fish, gardening, video games, and paint-by-number to name a few. Writing has outlasted those and many other activities and has…

  • Meant to Be

    Things have been unusually busy around here lately. It’s not my fault, either. I blame my partner. In the last month, he graduated from college, volunteered to sky dive, and agreed to cook all the food for a Cinco de Mayo/Kentucky Derby party at our house the week before final exams to celebrate his graduation…

  • Time Change to Believe In

    Last weekend we switched back to Standard Time. Few things mess with my head more than a time change. This year has been especially hard because I can’t figure out how to move the clock on the stereo in my car back an hour. Consequently, I’m always thinking it’s an hour later than it really…

  • Kinda Biz-Zee

    Whenever possible, I try to write a new post here on the blog at least two or three times a week. Lately ye olde blog has moved to the back burner.  Without a dose of my wry sense of humor and insightful observations, I’m guessing many of you have had a totally shitty week. I’m…

  • My Summer Vacation

    Here in Athens, a dramatic increase in local traffic signals the end of the summer. Public schools started a week ago. College students who live off campus moved into newly rented apartments in early August. The opening of the dorms last week drew most the rest to town. Classes start tomorrow. When I was a…