Despite the fact that it sometimes feels as if everyone has written, or plans to write, a book, I have just one writer friend. She also writes fiction. Had my friend Rachel not put Rebecca and me together, I doubt we’d ever have met. Even in our small valley each of us tends to stick […]
My Writer Friend on Why We Write Read More »
The seduction of noise. Do an online search and you can see a 21st century way of conceptualizing our addiction to distraction: noise pollution. Researchers have studied the effects of noise pollution and discovered its surprisingly broad impact upon adults and children. But the subject of this piece is even more insidious. Truthfully, is there any
The Seduction of Noise: Advice From the 5th Century Read More »
The real reason we work isn’t what we think, it’s the awe we’re after, not the money. If you are asked what your primary motivation to work would be, your first reply would be money… “I work for money.” Are you sure that’s it? Money is good, right, of course. We expect that the fruits
The Real Reason We Work: It’s the Awe We’re After Read More »
Perfect timing. Does such a thing exist outside of Tom Brady’s perfectly thrown and received football passes? Or Steph Curry’s three point basketball shots? Or does such a thing as perfect timing really exist? Perhaps, or if not perfect, nearly so. But of even of more interest to you and me is that the timing
Perfect Timing: Are You Lark, Owl or Third Bird? Read More »
I, Claudia. For the last six weeks or so, I have been immersed in ancient Greece, Rome and Israel as I work to get a feel for Claudia- that insubstantial shadow behind a 2000-year-old curtain- and her infamous husband, Pontius Pilate. After reading four or five novels about this woman, I told a friend yesterday,
I, Claudia-Newest Book Read More »
Finding joy: pure luck or intention? Finding joy: Joy not happiness. They are different, aren’t they? Joy is personified by this running, grinning dog. Maybe he is running toward his favorite human or perhaps she is racing after a ball. Regardless of what the dog is going for, it’s evident that joy isn’t something he
Finding Joy: Pure Luck or Intention? Read More »
Leadership. Thousands-maybe hundreds of thousands, of books and articles have been written about it. Still the questions abound. Is the leader different from the rest of us? More courageous and selfless? Are leaders more intuitive and creative than most? What are the characteristics that forge trust in those willing to place themselves in harm’s way?
Stanley McChrystal: 9/11 and Leadership Read More »
Two different entities, that is how fiction and non-fiction have seemed to me. Ever since I began to write fiction, I have spoken and written frequently about how wholly different is that process from non-fiction. Until this week when suddenly I realized how wrong I’ve been. Maybe you’ve never spent much time pondering this subject.
One Moment, Two Different Entities, Suddenly They Merge Read More »
Solitude. To some, the word means loneliness, a desperate and solitary state. To others, withdrawing from crowds, conversation and activity can feel as necessary as food. While searching for an image that conveys my current understanding of the concept of solitude, it seemed the majority of them depicted miserably lonely men and women. While just
Solitude: As Critical As Food Read More »
Here is the final teaser for Malthus Revisited, now available for purchase at Amazon and edited by Laura, my new editor and writing partner: Eighteen-year-old Morgan Gardner did not seem like someone who could save the world—unless you took the time to notice her eyes. And most people didn’t. Morgan’s exceptional gifts were known only