Brain Matter

  Deadlines have always fascinated me as a writer. Not the concept of them, but the idea that someone can write, and write well, with one of them hanging over their head like a guillotine.  I know me. I would succumb to the pressure. Not that I would miss my deadline, but I’d be a nervous wreck and undoubtably suffer from a loss of appetite and lack of sleep.  That’s not how I ever wanted my writing career to be.  I enjoy writing, and I’ve always wanted to keep it that way.  Back before I was a professional writer, I still did lots of writing. Technical stuff, mostly. Procedure manuals, reports, term papers, that sort of thing. I did it for school, I did it for the various jobs I had in medical technology, laboratory management, and biomedical research. There were usually deadlines associated with them, but it was okay, because the papers/documents/etc. weren’t long. We’re talking no more than 10 pages. Easy stuff; back in college I learned I could wait until ...

  Let’s face it. Generative AI (GenAI) is probably the most talked about subject for fiction and non-fiction writers (and editors, publishers, cover creators, etc.) today. The topic is pretty much everywhere you look, and with good reason.  People are pissed about GenAI. Those companies have stolen our (yes, I’m one of them) works to train their AI babies. And that is wrong. If nothing else, we deserve our royalties for what would’ve been sales of books. And the AI companies should have to pay fines on top of that for blatantly disregarding the law.  There’s also the whole concern over plagiarism, but I’m in the camp that feels there can be no action taken regarding that because there’ve been no examples of it happening (except when told to). The AI doesn’t regurgitate chunks of prose from this book and that book to create a new story; it calculates patterns, ‘learns’ when and where to put words. So let’s put that aside for this discussion. And let’s also put aside some...

  Hey, Halloween people—it’s been a hot minute (maybe a little longer!) since my last check‑in here, but I’m turning over (hoping to!) a new leaf and aiming to keep this blog more up to date. Life got crazy - including a move to a new state - but the one constant has been my writing. Since the last post, I’ve had multiple novels and collections published, plus a bundle of short stories , and I’m excited to share the full scoop! 📚 Novels, Novellas, & Collections Here's what I've been up to since last I blogged: The Wakening Fifty years ago, Father Leo Bonaventura cast a demon from a young boy in Guatemala. Asmodeus vowed revenge—and now that ancient evil has returned to a small New York town. A young girl’s possession reels in an unlikely group: a team of paranormal investigators, twin psychics, a defrocked priest with a dark secret, and a grieving father whose wife once played with spirit boards. Together, they must help Bonaventura banish Asmodeus and the poltergeis...