Monthly Archives: October 2018

What I Did This Weekend

What did I do this weekend? Drank basil martinis. Ate good food. Sang “Happy Birthday” to Spouse. Read books. Took a nap. Walked between trees. Took pictures. Listened to ravens.

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Suicide Squad; Who Needs the Joker?

(SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS. The film came out in 2016, but if somehow you haven’t seen it and you’re planning to watch it now, skip this column unless you don’t mind spoilers.) I have one question about the movie Suicide Squad; … Continue reading

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Art Trails Westcounty; 2018

On Saturday Kathleen and I headed out to visit some of our favorite west county artists’ studios as part of Art Trails. I haven’t gone in a few years. It was nice to get back to it. Once the fog … Continue reading

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Aluminum Leaves; Update #1

I got an email from my editor that she reviewed my revisions to “Aluminum Leaves,” the novella Falstaff Books accepted, and the story was being sent on for copy-editing. This is exciting! My revisions satisfied her questions and there are … Continue reading

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The Black Tower by P.D. James; is it Dated, or is it Me?

I just read The Black Tower by P.D. James. I thought it was a re-read for me and that I had read it at some point in the dark and distant past. I was less of sure of that after … Continue reading

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Raising the Stakes; Orphan Black

“Raising the stakes.” It’s something genre writers think about (hear about, read about) a lot. With some genres, like thrillers, mysteries and romances, the common wisdom is that action has to start very soon on the page and, to paraphrase … Continue reading

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Television Tuesday; The 13th Doctor Makes Planetfall

Doctor Who is a very old British science fantasy show. It follows an alien character called The Doctor. The Doctor travels around in a time/space vehicle called the TARDIS, which stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space but really … Continue reading

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The Not-the-Julia-Child-Kitchen; Japanese Eggplant

The Japanese eggplant caught my eye because they were beautiful, so I bought some. I thought they’d make a nice saute to go with the salmon that night, and I was right. Eggplant is a chewy vegetable with a subtle … Continue reading

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Television Tuesday; The Miniaturist.

The Miniaturist showed on PBS Masterpiece last month. You may be able to find it On Demand. The three-part adaptation of Jessie Burton’s novel and book-group favorite was beautiful, borrowing unabashedly from the visual style of the Dutch Old Masters; … Continue reading

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