September 2011
1 post
Win an Amazon gift card
Do you like contests? I haven’t done many promotions for my ebooks, but I thought I’d try something fun for my newest collection of horror stories, Big Chills For the Labor Day weekend I’m offering a $10 Amazon gift certificate to the first three people who can name the female character in “Crusher”, one of the stories in Big Chills. For more details, go...
August 2011
1 post
How To Write Short Stories And Not Starve
Back in 2001 I decided to start sending out short stories to online magazines. Short fiction writers like Ernest Hemingway and Flannery O’Connor have always been my heroes, and I had a dream of being a successful short story writer myself. I put that dream off for many years, but when I saw how many magazines there were on the Internet devoted to “flash fiction”, or ultra-short stories, I decided...
July 2011
2 posts
It's the last night for a free download of my book
For a free download of “Big Chiills”, my book of horror stories, go to: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/73898 If you could write a review and post it on Smashwords, that would be great! Offer good till July 31.
My book is free this weekend
As part of a Smashwords promotion, I’m offering my ebook “The Christmas Gift” for free till July 31. It’s at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7073
May 2011
7 posts
4 tags
Don't Think, It's Too Dangerous!
What will the world be like when we’re all wearing thought helmets? Recently I read a report about “thought helmets”, which are devices the U.S. military is developing that will enable soldiers to communicate by sending thoughts to each other. Sensors inside these helmets scan electrical signals from the wearer’s brain and a microprocessor inside the helmet turns the signals into words that are...
It's Going To Be All Right
My daughter is graduating from college in a few days. She’s happy, of course, but also a little scared at the prospect of going out in the world and starting a career. My words of wisdom to her? “It’s going to be all right.” Maybe that’s not the most profound statement a father can make, but I still think it’s valuable. In fact, it’s a constant thread running through my role as a parent. (See...
A rainbow for Mother's Day
I can’t think of a better Mother’s Day present than this. Last night we took the family out to dinner, and we saw a rainbow. The amazing thing is that we went to dinner at that very same restaurant almost a year ago and saw a rainbow that night also. The last time we went it was for my wife’s birthday; this time was for Mother’s Day. Both times there were some showers...
My Bank Rant
A long time ago in another universe I worked in a bank. It was a small town bank with half a dozen offices, and my grandfather had helped to start it with some local businesspeople in the 1920s. I only spent two years at that job, but I learned some lessons I’ll never forget. The biggest one was: Treat your customers like friends. Everybody from the president down to the tellers at that bank knew...
Thoughts On Osama's Demise
So we got Osama. I had almost forgotten about him; he had faded into irrelevance. Almost. When I drove to New York last summer and the skyline came into view across the river, there was that emptiness where the Twin Towers used to be. At times like that, or when the anniversary of 9/11 comes around each year, that’s when it all comes crashing back. I remember the pain, the horror, the...
Maybe I Did Something Right
Parenting can be an exercise in trashing yourself. I’ve never done anything else in my life where I second-guess myself as much as parenting. From the time my children were babies I’ve always had a nagging voice in my head saying, “Maybe I should have done this or that differently.” It’s everything from, “Maybe I should have made sure they didn’t use a...
Doubting John
Yesterday’s Gospel reading was one of my favorites; the passage about Doubting Thomas. I like the story about Thomas because I can identify with him. I mean, we all have doubts, right? It’s surprising that there was only one doubter like Thomas among the apostles. If you believe the Gospel accounts, the apostles really didn’t have a clue about what Jesus was doing. They sometimes seem...
April 2011
8 posts
Facebook Facts
Sometimes I want to be anonymous. I don’t want to be found on LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter. I don’t want that guy I never liked in high school Sending me a friend request. I don’t want that woman I worked with when I was 23, Who probably remembers the times I screwed up in work, And that I got fired; I definitely don’t want her as part of my Network. ...
No Tornadoes Here
I have moved around a bit in my life, but I still live less than an hour’s drive from the town where I spent my childhood. This used to bother me, because I thought that it meant I had no spirit of adventure. I should have moved far away, I told myself. I should be living in Europe, or Asia, or at least in California, instead of staying so close to my roots. How boring, how unimaginative....
Passing The Test
Today my daughter takes her driver’s test. This is the third time I’ve taught one of my children to drive, and my last one will be coming along in a few years. At times like this I reflect on how simple Life was when they were small children, and how stupid I was not to realize that parenting was easy back then. When my children were small I spent way too much time worrying about...
Untitled
Big sigh of relief today. My daughter in high school got her scores back from the ACT test she took in March, and they look good enough to get her into the college she likes. This is my third experience as a parent with the college admissions process, and it seems to get more stressful all the time. When my older kids were applying to colleges, I remember their school counselors saying that they...
My Desk Is A Work Of Art
I don’t understand people who are neat. I know they exist, but they are like some exotic form of life, like bacteria that live under the ocean at steam vents, or deep underground in Antarctica. How do people like this stay organized? How do they keep their desk clean? How can they keep track of all the paper in their life? My desk attracts paper like a magnet attracts iron. Every once in...
Sins Of The Fathers
It seems to be the fashion lately for children of famous male authors to write tell-all books about how mean and nasty their fathers were. The newest one is “Reading My Father: A Memoir”, by Alexandra Styron. In it she reveals that her father, William Styron, was an ogre, a verbally abusive bully who drank too much and may have cheated on his wife. The fact that famous authors are...
Night Work →
March 2011
2 posts
Himself It Is →
Larry And The Irish Question →
January 2011
3 posts
Larry And Pastor Tommy →
A Viking In The Kitchen →
December 2010
2 posts
Larry At The Mall →
Larry And The Bikini Contest →
July 2010
3 posts
FROZEN TREAT →
My Blog Wins An Award! →
June 2010
1 post
Larry Goes Ape -- a #fridayflash story →
May 2010
1 post
Dolores Meets Pierce Brosnan (Er, Larry). A... →
March 2010
5 posts
Princess Quest, A Flash Fiction →
My Alien Abduction Story At Short Humour Magazine →
Deaf Jam, a flash fiction →
Read An E-Book Week, March 7 - 13 →
Another Horrifying Flash Fiction Tale →
July 2009
1 post
Stop Networking Me! →
Sometimes I want to be anonymous.
I don’t want to be found on LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, or
Twitter.
I don’t want that guy I never liked in high school
Sending me a friend request.
I don’t…
June 2009
2 posts
When Will The Robots Arrive? →
When will the robots arrive?
We’ve all been waiting so long for the robots to arrive.
They’re so efficient, so precise, there are no temper tantrums with a robot.
No, “I’ve got a headache”. …
My Favorite Thing
My Favorite Thing
(via addthis)
May 2009
13 posts
“Note to self: Smile.”
4 tags
Love List →
I love that I have one child left who still wants me to kiss her goodnight. I love a sky that is heavy with snow. I love telling myself that good things are just around the corner. I love how…
3 tags
“If you free yourself from the conventional reaction to a quantity like a million...”
– John McPhee, Basin and Range
“If by some fiat I had to restrict all this writing to one sentence, this is the...”
– John McPhee, Assembling California
