Blog
Going Electric !
4
Our 16 year-old Rav4 had 220,000 miles, and was still running strong, but the clutch was finally showing signs of wear so we decided to look into a new car.
We wanted to go electric, so we surveyed the current state of the technology, keeping in mind we only have one car and so it had to cover all of our needs.
You basically have three choices of electric vehicles today…
Continue readingWhat I Hate and Love about the South
For the last six weeks I’ve been in VA taking care of sick parents. VA is an interesting place. The capital, Richmond, is divided by the James River. Although your history books will tell you VA was a southern state the truth is that on the north side of the James River the people think of themselves as Northerners. On the south side, people speak with a twang. As I was often on both sides of the river, I’ve made a list of what I hate and love about the South. So here goes:
Continue readingAu revoir Barnaby
A month ago today, the adventurer, Barnaby Conrad, left us behind.
You may have known Barnaby as a bullfighter in Mexico, Spain, and Peru. Or you may have known him as a portrait painter. Or you may have known him as personal secretary to Nobel laureate Sinclair Lewis. Or you may have known him as author of 35 books. Maybe you knew him as owner of the El Matador nightclub in San Francisco. Or perhaps, like me, you knew him as the co-founder of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference.
Continue readingWhy medical bills are killing us
There is a lot of ongoing discussion about healthcare in this country, and we have all had our personal experiences with it, good or bad. But aside from all the political debate, I always thought there was a crucial discussion missing, and it is the one about prices.
Coming from a country where the raw unsubsidized healthcare prices are easily 5 to 10 times cheaper than here for the exact same quality of care, I was always astonished that it never really came up in any of the debates. These are always about the structure and who will pay for what, but never adress what looked to me like the core issue, The Prices!
Of course along the way over the last 10+ years, and after many medical bills, I started to have some ideas of my own…
So I was thrilled when recently Time Magazine published a report called “Why medical bills are killing us” stating within the first few paragraphs:
Continue reading2013 Year of the Snake
Uck. Slippery snakes. Eweeee. I hear you.
Snakes aren’t sexy unless you’re born under the Chinese sign of the snake. Then you might be very, very sexy. Let’s not forget the snake is the universal symbol of sexuality.
Finding Your Target Audience
Finding your target audience is like being the new kid in high school and having to make friends. You can hide out and wait for friends to find you or you can put yourself out there and using trial and error, find the kids who have the most in common with you.
Being cave dwellers, we writers prefer the first method. We believe that if we just write a good story the readers will come. Write it, they will come.
Continue readingTo Brand or Not to Brand?
Branding. You hear it everywhere. At the coffee shops, at conferences, in the stables. Okay, that might be a different definition, but the word “Branding” is as popular as “Platform” was five years ago. First off, I want to say that Branding is NOT marketing. Same nose and chin, but no relation.
Continue readingHappy New Year!
With the debut of my first novel, The Belvedere Club, 2012 was a great year for me. I also began this blog post in 2012 to connect with my readers and fellow writers.
I had hoped to get a new post up every week, but with the writing of the sequel to The Belvedere Club and the editing of an older novel Bayou Nights, my goal fell short by 50%.
Continue readingJoin the “Made in America” Challenge
I recently saw David Muir speaking with Diane Sawyer about buying American this Christmas. I was intrigued and then astonished when David Muir said we could create 260,000 jobs in America if each one of us bought one $64 present this Christmas that was made in America. This means checking the labels because most of our products aren’t made in America. In the 1960s, 9 out of 10 Christmas presents were made in America. Last year less than half our gifts were made here.
Continue readingHappy Thanksgiving!
With the holiday season bearing down on us like a speeding train bound for the North Pole, I want to take a moment to thank my readers for their support and comments. In appreciation of your time spent on this site, I want to offer up a tasty libation guaranteed to juice up your holiday celebration.
Continue reading