Tag: writing
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AI-Assistive for the Win: Organizing 63 Pieces in a Minute
I’m not sure when I first started blogging, but there was a 19 in every day’s date. I’d already been published by a major traditional publisher and had hit a bestseller list under a pen name, but my very first regular posts—raw, reflective, and homemade—had a following of 70,000+. Indie publishing was just taking root,…
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Haunted Houses and the Ghosts of Tampa
When I first moved into a remodeled 100-year-old bungalow in Tampa, I wondered if it was haunted. After all, that’s a long time, and I do believe in ghosts. It took a year and a half before “something happened.” I’ve seen a couple of ghosts over the years, plus two angels (that I know of),…
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In Life, I’m a Regular
At this stage in my life, I’m a regular. Not a small. Not a large. Not that kind of regular. Not average, either. I’m a regular like the kind of regular you are at your favorite restaurant or bar. I know the menu, but I’m always willing to take a look at the specials. I know exactly what I want, how much, and when. I…
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How I Learned to Work Like Myself – Finally!
Maybe you’re not burned out. Maybe you’re simply working against yourself. For years, I’ve chased productivity systems that didn’t fit. Not that they didn’t work to some degree, but I was force-fitting my natural rhythms into a structure that wasn’t natural to my brain and body’s rhythms. That meant I was spending time, energy, and…
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Lost City Tropes and Ireland’s Cill Stuifin
I’ve loved “lost city” tropes for as long as I can remember, but it was probably movies like “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Tomb Raider,” “Congo,” and “Jewel of the Nile” (“Romancing the Stone” sequel) that cemented my love for lost city tropes in both fiction and non-fiction. But I think bigger, too! We have…
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What Happens When You Erase a Hero from History?
I never dreamed that Pete Hegseth would inspire me to write a novel. Right after he took over as Secretary of Defense, I began hearing from former Department of Defense colleagues. Within a few weeks, they told me that some of the more inspirational stories featured on DoD websites had disappeared overnight. The rationale? These…
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The Payback Archives: Where Revenge Meets Healing in Contemporary Fantasy Fiction
The Payback Archives is my world of quiet vendettas, emotional fallout, and hard-won redemption—with just enough magic to tip the scale. How It Started I grew up on weekly Star Trek episodes without a season arc, and by the time I was publishing with major traditional publishers, my TV appetite gobbled up Buffy the Vampire…
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When AI Gets It Wrong
You can’t make this up–but AI can! AI is everywhere now—from writing advice to government reports—and like most tools, it’s only as sharp (or as silly) as the person wielding it. I’ve had a few moments lately that made me laugh out loud, shake my head, or just marvel at how weird things can get.…
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25 in ’25: May Wins
In my plan to release 25 new Intellectual Property (IP) products in 2025, May was a big win, though keep in mind that I was continuing my business book serialization that’s already been accounted for. Plus, I spent a lot of the month working on editing and revising some manuscripts I wrote a few years…
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The Truer Self: The Closer I Am to Fine
Why I ditched “obligatory” marketing to follow my truer self—from federal‑acquisition firefights to relaunching The Last Page Before Dawn Ever since I first belted out the Indigo Girls’ chorus in “Closer to Fine,” I’ve known the quest isn’t for a true self—it’s for a forever-evolving truer self. Every step I take, I’m trying to get closer to that version. I say…