They took the subway car out of Golden’s Deli today. Golden’s wasn’t Katz’s, where Smitty took me a couple of months ago. But it was a real kosher deli on Staten Island, where knishes and pastrami aren’t as automatic as … Continue reading →
Karl works at the same chain I do. He’s a cranky mess of a smart guy, trying to figure out how to live a real life, hold his health together and maintain a relationship with his son as the world … Continue reading →
Vaclav Havel always interested me. Not too many writers become President of their country and then go back to writing. Havel wrote plays that were produced around the world, was arrested by the government of Communist Czechoslovakia, became leader of … Continue reading →
It isn’t easy being happy. The older you are, the harder it gets. There’s no feeling happy without kicking up the dust of past disappointments, self-delusion, all the foolishness. The things that made you happy still do; the uncertain, … Continue reading →
If you ‘re looking for my dispatches from Thrillerfest, they appear directly below this post: Those of you who’ve read ‘Mindbenders’ know that the character who tells the story, Greg Hirsch, is a PTSD Iraq vet. I did a bunch … Continue reading →
John Locke is getting a lot of attention lately. No, not the philosopher—that’s the history blog down the block. Not the character on ‘Lost’ either. I’m talking about the man who just joined Stieg Larsson, James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Charlaine … Continue reading →
I was fascinated by the powers of the mind long before my research for ‘Mindbenders.’ But I’ve realized I should be sharing some of the research directly here, because it explains that the outlandish things I have Max Renn, my … Continue reading →
First up: Commercial Announcement. THE PAPERBACKS ARE HERE!!! To be precise, they’re available on Amazon—’Mindbenders,’ ‘Green’ and ‘Howling at Wolves’ are all available in a real book you can drop on the floor or throw at the wall without breaking, … Continue reading →
Creative work is its own reward. One of the major differences between creative work and ‘work’ is that, over time, you come to expect a satisfaction not just from the finished product, but from the process of creation itself. My … Continue reading →
I just found out about this: Grace Paley: Collected Shorts, a film by Lilly Rivlin. Grace was not one of my teachers at Sarah Lawrence. But you could be Grace’s student without ever being in one of her classes. If you … Continue reading →
