My family wasn’t surprised when I said I was writing a novel, but they were skeptical when I said it was going to be a romance novel. My feelings on the topic are often known to be indifferent, and my skepticism about the foolishness of passion is often vocalized. …

“We are all bitched from the start and you especially have to hurt like hell before you can write seriously. But when you get the damned hurt use it — don’t cheat with it.” — Ernest Hemingway While we’d all like to think differently, Hemingway in this quote defines a…

“The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.” — Jack London In the most recent James Bond film, No Time to Die, this quote by Jack London was used to describe…

Since my 25th birthday, I was elected to the Board of Directors of an international training organization, I wrote a novel, I bought a home and grew a beard. A lot can happen in a year, even if it seems like life has slowed to a decrepit pace. The following…

Once upon a time, I went out on a date with a girl who was kind enough to say yes. There clearly was not going to be a second date the moment she said she had ferrets for pets. All that aside, she asked the question which I thought had…

Why life strategy works better with fifty two cards than a checked board. — Due to the success of The Queen’s Gambit, a Netflix original I highly recommend to anyone, the game of chess is cool and popular to talk about and play right now. …

How I Wait (For Love, Marriage, and all the stuff in between) — In Jane Austen’s Emma, one of the best exchanges of dialogue comes from Mr. Knightley responding to the ever irritating Mrs. Elton. When the recently married woman offers to form the guest list for Mr. Knightley’s house party, since he’s a bachelor, he gives this great response. “No,” he calmly…

You probably hated 2020, and who can blame you? It was a year where most found themselves quarantined on and off, constantly in the midst of an argument between science, politics, and ideology, hours cut, job’s reduced, and everyone uncertain what exactly would happen next. …

Answering the most important questions of life. — Navigating life is a matter of navigating questions and they are rarely clear ones. The questions are usually only half formed, requiring us to guess at both the answer and the question itself at the same time. …