August 11, 2022
In March 2015 I wrote this article for Dynamic Doingness, Inc. It is available in English and Spanish. We all like to have stability in our […]
August 4, 2022
This was originally written in April 2016 for Dynamic Doingness, Inc. It is available in English and Spanish. Many, including a surprising number of its citizens, […]
July 28, 2022
This was originally written in April 2014 for Dynamic Doingness, Inc. It is available in English and Spanish. Any time one feels the need to liven […]
July 22, 2022
Bob Dylan said in an interview in March 1978 for Playboy Magazine: “People have one great blessing—obscurity—and not many people are thankful for it. Everybody is […]
July 1, 2022
I think there comes a time when one either chooses to conform to the prevailing opinion or takes the opposite point of view. Adhering to and […]
July 1, 2022
I’ve done many interviews regarding conversations. I particularly liked this one. It was with the Reverend R. David Jones on WGRC. Here is an excerpt: “Whatever […]
June 20, 2022
I wish to thank the many people who participated in and helped produce the livestreaming release event from Otraparte of A la sombra del hijo in […]
June 16, 2022
Professionalism, acting to a high standard of conduct and proficiency, has inherent in its meaning the idea of quality. Its meaning comes from the word profess, […]
June 7, 2022
This was originally written in February 2018 and published in English and Spanish. (For the citations initially included in the article, please visit those sites.) “The […]
June 7, 2022
We have special discounts for our readers and their fathers on Eye of the Moon limited First editions: 10% off paperbacks (code: FATHERS)15% off hardcovers (code: GIVEMONTH) […]
June 2, 2022
Trust is defined as the assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something. One in which confidence is placed. It is […]
May 6, 2022
Most people think that stress is the result of crisis, but that is not always the case. Waiting and boredom are key stressors that are often […]
May 4, 2022
In Shadow of the Son, Mary makes a last-minute visit to Rhinebeck. An excerpt from Percy’s initial impressions: She was dressed in a dark business suit […]
May 3, 2022
We have special discounts for our readers and their mothers on Eye of the Moon limited First editions: 10% off paperbacks (code: MOTHERS)15% off hardcovers (code: GIVEMONTH) […]
April 28, 2022
The universe tends toward complexity, not simplicity. This is counterintuitive but nonetheless true. The reason can be found in how energy behaves. Energy prefers to be […]
April 21, 2022
I was reading Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maude Montgomery. This is a book I’ve read more than once, and one I highly recommend for […]
April 13, 2022
As we draw close to our fourth launch in five years, we want to support our amazing bookstores and invite our readers to support their local […]
April 6, 2022
Knowledge is the most democratic of substances. Birth, prior learning, experience, reputation, wealth, or circumstance count for nothing. Its acquisition must always be deliberately and consciously […]
March 31, 2022
One of the most important concepts for anyone to master is called the Setup. It applies to both individuals and organizations. For a corporation, a group, […]
March 16, 2022
I wrote this article in November, 2015 for Dynamic Doingness, Inc. It is also available in Spanish. For the original citations, please see the full article. […]
March 9, 2022
How many times a day do we look up? Chances are we’re looking down at our phones, and it is there that our attention remains. What […]
March 3, 2022
I’ve heard that musicians tend to be good mathematicians, and mathematicians tend to be good musicians. Likely this is true. Stephen Sondheim said that he was […]
February 22, 2022
I wrote this article in June of 2015, a further look into the subject covered in “Memories“. This article is also available in Spanish. Humans perceive […]
February 16, 2022
This is an article I wrote June of 2013. It is also available in Spanish. When we look at the world, what do we see? We […]
February 1, 2022
According to the latest research, books are still selling, more authors are publishing, and more books are available than ever before, but fewer books are being […]
January 20, 2022
I wrote this article in March, 2012. It is also available in Spanish. One way to create a stir with the Founding Fathers of the United […]
January 13, 2022
Selected parts of the interview are available to read in English and Spanish. You can check out all of my interviews to date on my Interviews […]
January 6, 2022
Many are familiar with the phrase: “Truth is stranger than fiction…” but are unfamiliar with what follows, or who wrote it. The full quote is: “Truth […]
January 1, 2022
Mary Jo and I have put together a photo collection for you to enjoy: Photographic Journey of Uruguay.
December 31, 2021
The New Year usually brings about in all of us reflections on the past and contemplations of the future. In Shadow of the Son, Percy states […]
December 30, 2021
I wrote this article in November, 2012. It is also available in Spanish. Today a genius is considered to be a person of outstanding intelligence and […]
December 23, 2021
I’ve been featured on Book Reader Magazine and I have a new profile on All Author, where you can see questions and answers under the Ask […]
December 16, 2021
When all is said and done, a good story engages. It will seep effortlessly into the mind and speak to us directly. To do that successfully, […]
December 9, 2021
The more I write the more I am convinced that stories are the essential building blocks from which our lives are constructed. Our lives are made […]
December 2, 2021
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I spent time watching Stephen Sondheim interviews. I must admit that I was not overly familiar with his work. I am more […]
November 24, 2021
Gratitude is defined as the quality of being thankful; or the readiness to show appreciation for, and to return kindness. To show appreciation for something, one […]
November 15, 2021
I took six years of Latin in Grammar and High School. Even in the 1970s, Latin was considered a useless subject, but for a subject that […]
August 19, 2021
I thought I would give you an update on my world. I’ve been off doing things other than writing for the last month and a half. […]
April 2, 2021
I am reposting an interview I did with Christina Hamlett three years ago, shortly after launching Eye of the Moon. In that interview, I was asked […]
March 18, 2021
What is the one physical quantity that can be measured more accurately and precisely than any other and yet can’t be defined in a way that […]
February 25, 2021
The night sky before or just after a storm is one of my favorite moments. The clouds whip across the sky as the moon peeks out […]
December 30, 2020
Endings are hard because an ending, even that of a book, a work, or a year, doesn’t mean that everything stops. An ending is usually the […]
December 17, 2020
In March 2016, I wrote this article for Dynamic Doingness, Inc. As a novelist, I’m often surprised at coincidences and their later connection to other elements […]
December 3, 2020
In November 2011 I wrote an article for Dynamic Doingness, Inc. that was adapted to a video by Smith-Obolensky Media in September 2016. At the end […]
November 30, 2020
As 2020 comes to a close, I wanted to revisit an article I wrote for Dynamic Doingness, Inc. in December 2015. At the end of a […]
October 31, 2020
I am honored to be a return guest on The Stuph File Program, hosted by Peter Anthony Holder. The entire episode can be found on his […]
September 24, 2020
In the South Cone, Spring begins in September rather than in March. Having lived in the North so long, it takes some getting used to. North […]
September 10, 2020
Colonia, as it is known in Uruguay, is a city on the Rio de la Plata that runs between Uruguay and Argentina. The city, like Uruguay, […]
August 27, 2020
We rarely recognize golden days when we are living them. Good can only be evaluated by what we consider bad, and bad by what we consider […]
August 20, 2020
Len Deighton is my favorite living writer. I have read and reread the nine novels beginning with Berlin Game and ending with Charity of his triple […]
August 12, 2020
I consider David Hockney one of the world’s finest artists. Born in Britain, he moved to Los Angeles. He currently lives in France. The subject of […]
August 5, 2020
In May of 2017, I wrote an article entitled I Ain’t Superstitious about superstition, the art of false news, and a quote by Winston Churchill, which […]
July 30, 2020
The article “Ideas and the Scientific Method” that I wrote in May 2013 is surprisingly appropriate today. It gave a brief synopsis of the history of […]
July 15, 2020
My interview with Bill Ballenger on The Political Insider #110 is posted, from the 10 minute to 29 minute mark. It was delightful to talk with […]
July 7, 2020
I had the great pleasure of speaking with Lou Diamond for his podcast series in collaboration with Bedside Reading®, Authors that Thrive.
July 1, 2020
The Rufous Hornero (furnarius rufus) is Argentina’s national bird. They build oven-shaped nests of clay and vegetation. Its English name is the “Red Ovenbird”. They are […]
June 24, 2020
When times are uncertain the best one can do is be optimistic and have a sense of humor. One must also take the long view. Such […]
June 17, 2020
I read The Good Shepherd and gave it five stars. Here is my review on Goodreads: There are a few books by C. S. Forester that […]
June 3, 2020
One of the ways we learn is to observe. Infants do that a lot. They look around. What are they doing in their cute little heads? […]
May 27, 2020
How we think changes the world we see. Let us take two diametrically opposite views of the world. The first is the causal view. For example, […]
May 20, 2020
I wrote this article in November 2016. It is translated into Spanish. Imagine you are on a bus. You are a passenger and the bus travels […]
May 13, 2020
I read A Gentleman in Moscow and gave it five stars. Here is my review on Goodreads: A Gentleman in Moscow begins in 1922 with the […]
May 6, 2020
If one finds oneself in trouble, beset by problems from every side, and filled with doubts and uncertainties, it is nonetheless possible to do something about […]
April 22, 2020
Stephen King and I have an uneasy relationship, even though I’ve never met him. Would he be the same person I imagine him to be, if […]
April 16, 2020
Those who live in the Northern Hemisphere see the moon right side up. In the Southern Hemisphere, the moon looks upside down. It is a matter […]
April 8, 2020
Giovanni Boccaccio was born in 1313, grew up in Florence, and died in 1375. He survived the Great Plague that struck Florence in 1348 and began […]
April 2, 2020
The subject of viruses has been on many people’s minds of late and with good reason. Because some viruses can be deadly, one might wish to […]
March 25, 2020
Do you feel like a seal? I do. I’m not sure which one I am in the picture. I haven’t decided, but I’m in there somewhere. […]
March 18, 2020
Things are rarely simple. Raymond Chandler is one of my favorite authors. About every five years, I will re-read all that he wrote, starting with a […]
March 12, 2020
I used to ride horses. One thing I learned was that you had to train “both sides” of a horse. Their brains are bicameral (two hemispheres) […]
March 5, 2020
One of the definitions of judgement is the ability to make considered decisions or come to sensible conclusions. Judgment is formed from experience. Mistakes are regrettable, […]
February 27, 2020
Allow me to introduce you to Megalopyge Urens. It is common in Montevideo during the months of January, February, and March. A 1936 edition of Revista […]
February 20, 2020
Barbara Tuchman (1912-1989) won a Pulitzer Prize in 1963 for The Guns of August, her account of the start of WWI. Described by the press in […]
February 13, 2020
Is the world ending anytime soon? Judging from the news, all does not look well going forward. Do you know the feeling? To get a sense […]
February 6, 2020
Not in any particular order. Clarity is more important than substance. To a reader, substance is paramount, but not to a writer. A writer takes what […]
January 31, 2020
I had the honor of returning to the radio program, “Middle Age Can Be Your Best Age” with Roy Richards. (My first interview was in October […]
January 30, 2020
This road/pedestrian walkway runs along the edge of Montevideo. It stretches for 13.7 miles along the water’s edge. It is the longest continuous sidewalk in the world. […]
January 23, 2020
This is the beginning of a new series of blog posts. I have learned much from many people and from numerous personal experiences over the years […]
January 16, 2020
There is a lot of water in Uruguay and with it comes water lilies. Their technical name is nymphaeaceae. Monet created a series of paintings called […]
January 9, 2020
Last year, I did an interview with Hamza Davis of Intrinsic Motivation: A Homies Perspective. It was titled: Who Are The One Percenters – Myths About […]
January 2, 2020
These are the two defining elements of Uruguay. It is no wonder that the Uruguayan flag is light blue and white with a sun.
December 30, 2019
Another year closes, and another begins. What will the future bring? Good things, we hope. Should your burdens be great, don’t remain downhearted. “Will it help?” […]
December 30, 2019
I was honored to be a guest on the radio talk show “Midnight in the Desert with Dave Schrader” and talked about my novel and some […]
December 26, 2019
Cabo Polonio is one of Uruguay’s wildest areas. The seas can turn chaotic and treacherous. How many ships have wrecked off this coast? More than a […]
December 19, 2019
Insects and spiders are different in every part of the world. In Uruguay there are many that I haven’t seen before, like a white and red […]
December 12, 2019
Akrasia is “the state of mind in which someone acts against their better judgement through weakness of will.” –Oxford. Some might call it ‘having a moment’. […]
December 5, 2019
Seabirds against the skyline of Punta del este. There are many migrations and seabirds of all kinds congregate briefly off the coast before they head North […]
November 27, 2019
One of my favorite writers is David Mamet. He is a fascinating source of inspiration. (See his Three Uses of the Knife: On the Nature and […]
November 21, 2019
To me, this is the ultimate pastoral view of Uruguay. It captures the sky, the greenery, the abundant water, and a sense of what it’s like […]
November 14, 2019
Learning to compromise is one of the hardest lessons. Often compromise is viewed as weakness. The outbreak of the Civil War in the Unites States (1861) […]
November 7, 2019
Water is such a strange substance, particularly water collected in pools. In this photograph there are reflections on the left that fade into seeing beneath the […]
October 30, 2019
Behind seemingly innocuous celebrations are profound concepts, peculiar histories, and perhaps disturbing ideas that seem to have a life of their own. In many cases, they […]
October 24, 2019
This month I had the pleasure of speaking with Roy Richards on his radio show, “Middle Age Can Be Your Best Age”, about the Conversation Crisis. http://webtalkradio.net/Shows/MiddleAgeCanBeYourBestAge/mac102119.mp3 […]
October 10, 2019
The start of a new day in Uruguay. Dawn is a hopeful time. Yesterday is done, and the future beckons. The photograph was taken with a […]
October 3, 2019
Cormorants sit on a single rock surrounded by ocean. The play of light on the gray of the sea gives the photo its magic.
September 26, 2019
This photograph is so typical of the wonders found in Colombia. Not only are the colors bright and different, but the campesino on the small horse […]
September 19, 2019
The coastline of Uruguay faces toward the Southern Ocean and the continent of Antarctica. The wind from the sea is relentless.
September 12, 2019
This was shot with a 500 mm catadioptric or mirror lens. It was a bright, windy day. The slightly out-of-focus sparkles of water and grasses in […]
September 5, 2019
This photograph is of a clear Uruguayan morning. I can feel the time of day just from the colors. There are so many shades of blue, […]
August 29, 2019
Although I like eye-catching photographs, the ones that go up on my screen saver tend to be calmer and more subdued. This is one that I […]
August 21, 2019
Several years ago, Mary Jo and I visited this shrine in Colombia on the spur of the moment. A few days later I found out that my […]
August 15, 2019
This photograph was taken in Cambria after a storm. The grays and muted silvers have washed out the colors. The texture is like rippled metal, and […]
August 8, 2019
Rather than write a blog every week, I will start posting a photograph instead, with perhaps a short comment. I will start with one of my […]
May 2, 2019
I read for two reasons. I love stories, and second, I am curious about most everything. Many people have asked me how I manage to read […]
April 18, 2019
Sometimes people enter our lives, and we note there is something extraordinary about them. When that happens when we are very young, we rarely realize the […]
April 4, 2019
“Suffering raises up those souls that are truly great; it is only small souls that are made mean-spirited by it.” –Alexandra David-Néel. There are many footnote […]
March 28, 2019
This is an odd question, but trying to answer it leads to interesting ideas and concepts. To begin, a system could be defined as any group […]
March 21, 2019
…in England, and a Possible Prescription for Insomnia Literacy is defined as the ability to read and write. In Victorian England of 1820, the general literacy […]
March 14, 2019
We all want to be satisfied with our lives, but achieving that state can be difficult because life never allows us to reach a high point […]
March 5, 2019
Time is something of which we are all aware. Over the years, time seems to accelerate. Whether this is a perceptual illusion, the result of living […]
February 24, 2019
We live in an “age of anxiety”. The term is not new. It was coined by the English writer and poet, W. H. Auden, and was […]
February 18, 2019
Peter Anthony Holder was kind enough to invite me on his show, The Stuph File Program. He had some pointed questions about the One Percent, always […]
February 15, 2019
Whoever controls the story controls the action. As a writer, it’s what I do, but I got to thinking and realized this concept can be applied […]
January 29, 2019
Here are six books that changed my view of the world. These are not in any particular order of influence. Each one worked its magic in […]
January 24, 2019
When I look out to sea, where the horizon meets the sky, I’ve wondered what would happen if I sailed in that direction. What would I […]
January 16, 2019
I used to compete in triathlons and the occasional marathon and half marathon. I loved the training more than the actual competitions. I would feel confident […]
December 27, 2018
Suppose you were asked to handle 300 emails a day as part of a job. If there are twelve work-hours available, then you would have to spend […]
December 19, 2018
I thought I would post a passage from the Tao Te Ching. This quote is from Stephen Mitchell’s excellent translation. “29 Do you want to improve […]
December 13, 2018
A mantra is an utterance that is considered to have spiritual power. The word comes from Sanskrit, and literally means “instrument of thought”. A mantra is […]
December 6, 2018
Author Melanie Ansley invited me to her blog where I share “5 Things Writing Taught Me About Living and Living Taught Me About Writing”. I hope […]
November 28, 2018
Hermès, the French high fashion supplier of luxury goods, was originally established in 1837 by Thierry Hermès as a bridle and harness shop in Paris. What set […]
November 14, 2018
In an article called “So, You Want to Change the World?“, I discussed homeostasis, and the fact that change moves in jerky, rather than smooth, increments. […]
November 8, 2018
We all have heard the Chinese story of the farmer: “Once upon the time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many […]
October 31, 2018
There are several explanations as to where the celebration known as Halloween came from, such as the Celtic festival, Samhain, that marked the beginning of the […]
August 30, 2018
I have been doing radio interviews lately, and I really enjoy doing them. It is hard for an author to simply announce that he has written […]
August 14, 2018
Contrary to what many people think, genius isn’t necessarily about being born intelligent, although that is a factor. Real genius requires more. According to Professor Michael […]
August 7, 2018
Patience is defined as the capacity to accept (or tolerate) delay, trouble, or suffering, without upset. Suffering and annoyance are very old concepts, and both have […]
August 1, 2018
One of the questions I struggled to answer as a writer is what happens if I become really successful? How do I handle being well-known, and […]
July 17, 2018
Crows and ravens are members of the Corvidae family, which includes crows, ravens, rooks, jays, and magpies to name a few. The common raven, Corvus corvax, […]
July 10, 2018
Melanie Ansley‘s book, Theo and the Forbidden Language, recently won Best “Young Adult” at the IndieReader Discovery Awards. Melanie is an award- winning Film/TV producer, has written […]
July 5, 2018
I was recently interviewed by VoyageLA. The site includes many stories of inspiring locals, influencers, and fun things to do in LA. Today we’d like […]
June 28, 2018
Fear and courage are emotions that have shaped my life in many ways. I am less fearful now, and that is a blessing. Whether that shift […]
May 22, 2018
When one thinks of Michael Crichton one thinks of Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, Rising Sun, or maybe Sphere. He created them all and many other […]
May 10, 2018
Part of the story of Eye of the Moon must contain something about my grandfather. When I was a teenager, I would go out on […]
May 3, 2018
One of the more difficult books to understand, and yet one of the most enlightening on the theater is David Mamet’s small volume, Three Uses of […]
April 26, 2018
As an IndieReader Approved book, Eye of the Moon (and its author) were selected to be included in the IndieReader blog as part of the All […]
April 19, 2018
[My photo of my JS Series Ibanez guitar.] Some years ago, I went to a commencement at the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles. By some miracle, […]
April 12, 2018
Have you ever made a decision that was not only completely out of character but completely brain-dead? Like the time you were offered a genuine Rothko […]
March 29, 2018
Nadene is an avid reader who shares her passion on both her blog and her Totally Addicted to Reading website. She was kind enough to host […]
March 22, 2018
Libby Fischer Hellmann has written fifteen mystery novels, won numerous awards, and been nominated for many more. She and I met in Tucson at the Southern California […]
February 28, 2018
I was recently interviewed by Christina Hamlett for You Read It Here First. The interview in full: For readers who enjoy strong female characters, supernatural elements, […]
February 23, 2018
Magdalena Ball runs compulsivereader.com, a website based in Australia. She is a literary force in her own right and anyone who hosts a website devoted to […]
February 15, 2018
I became familiar with Matt Coyle when I found out that he and I would be sharing a Southern California Mystery Writers of America booth at […]
February 9, 2018
In a guest post I wrote for Elizabeth A. White last week, I was reminded of one of my favorite passages in history. It reads: “Our earth is […]
January 25, 2018
It has been said that to become a cultured person one should study the Japanese tea ceremony. Nothing is allowed to be rushed, and there are […]
January 18, 2018
I thought I would write something on a lighter note, given the last post. When I was growing up, I met many notable people. Unfortunately for […]
January 4, 2018
Usage of the word “character” in the English language has been steadily declining since the turn of the 20th century. (See Google analytics of “character” mentions.) […]
December 28, 2017
If I don’t know what to do, I often grab my well-worn copy of the Tao Te Ching (Stephen Mitchell translation) and open it at random. […]
December 22, 2017
Here is a short (fiction) story I wrote for you for the holidays. It is not related to Eye of the Moon whatsoever, though it is […]
December 1, 2017
In November of 2014, I wrote an article for Dynamic Doingness, Inc. titled “Lost and Found”. I wanted to share part of it with you here, […]
November 16, 2017
The first part of this interview covers Ivan’s favorite authors and their influence on his work. Ivan started in nonfiction, writing articles for Dynamic Doingness, Inc. […]
November 9, 2017
Continued from Part 1 Who is your favorite author/writer and why? No favorites. There are a lot of authors I like or have liked or admired […]
November 2, 2017
Tom Hyman was my first writing mentor and my main editor for Eye of the Moon. He guided me through many aspects of the journey from […]
October 27, 2017
Why do certain aspects of our lives stay the same when we want to change them? We find it difficult to lose weight, step outside our […]
October 19, 2017
I like plays. I enjoy them because they are the closest thing I know to live storytelling. A play creates an intimacy between playwright, actor, and […]
October 12, 2017
I interviewed professional author, Nick Thacker, who delivers nonfiction and fiction with equal aplomb. Being a full-time writer in today’s world is not easy, but Nick […]
October 5, 2017
Q: Who are some of your favorite authors? How have they influenced your work? A: I have many because I read all the time. Modern authors […]