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What? Two blog posts in a week? Tom's on a roll, baby! Well, sort of. I did some writing today! Was it in either of my WIPs? A new short story, perhaps? No. I wrote a Spenserian sonnet about Olivia Nuzzi falling in love with RFK Jr.'s brain worm. Why are you looking at me like that...? A Canto for Olivia Journalism's femme fatale , Olivia Nuzzi. “I loved his brain. I hated the idea of an intruder therein. Others thought he was a madman; he was not quite mad the way they thoug

I used to LOVE the month of January. After all, I was born in January! January 6, 1968, to be precise. Yes, that means I’m old, but it also means that I’m a Christmas Baby! And not just a Christmas Baby, but an Epiphany Baby! That’s right, Christians! I was born on the day that the Wise Men finally got to Jerusalem to check out Baby Jesus. I’m a “Twelfth Night” baby, baby! Paul Oakley Stovall steals many a scene as Malvolio in “Twelfth Night.” Photo by Liz Lauren for the Ch

Look, I know it’s been a while since I’ve written here. But, in my defense, I’ve been busy! Busy writing! And taking vacations! And working! And dealing with (gestures frantically in the air) all of this! Everything is fine . For a while, I was disappointed in myself for not writing anything here. But then I realized that this is my space and I can do what I darn well want with it. So, I gave myself some grace and got back to the business of living my life as best I can. From

Here we are at the end of the boot camp! This was far more enjoyable then I expected, and I think I may have unearthed a few characters...

Breaking Down The tachometer was pegged to the redline, somewhere around seven thousand RPM. The engine couldn’t take much more, despite...

Resignation Letter Dear Popular Culture, Yeah, I’m afraid I’m done with you. I suppose you are owed an explanation, although it should be...

The Stranger I decided to take a shortcut on my walk home from work. I hoped the new route would burn of the thousand steps left on my...

Dollar Message (The original prompt involved buying a birthday gift at a department store, but that scenario didn’t feel desperate...

Devon School In Memoriam The following obituary was originally printed in the New York Times on Septmber 25, 2001, and is reprinted here...

Full Disclosure They toured the house with the real estate agent. “We love it,” Mary said. She began to say something else before her...

When I saw the name of the prompt, "Back from the Future", I wasn't that excited. Time travel stories can be fun, but they are hard to...

Alphabet Poem Always Becoming the thing I Care about the least. Demons curl about me, their Effervescent presence has Frightened all of...

What happens when something you see every day reveals something new to you? Tags Alice was walking home from work when she passed “the...

Sorry there was no prompt yesterday. I was travelling and travelling really knocks the wind out of me. So, let's pick things up with a...

Mystery Cookie First Monday “Did I miss an email about this?” Jennifer asked her cube neighbor, Larry. “What are you talking about?”...

The One that Got Away Ah, Valentine’s Day. Or, as we in the industry refer to it: Amateur Night. “Here’s a hot tip for you,” Heidi told...

For the next two weeks, I am going to present a series of writing prompts. Maybe they'll give you a better idea of who I am and why I...

Or, for the love of God, Tom, please don’t do this again! I have been online in one form or another for over 30 years. I wrote and posted...

The word “blog” seems quaint, doesn’t it? And yet, I remember when the word came into the popular vernacular. Am I old? That’s it, isn’t...

I mean… this isn’t my first blog post. I don’t remember when I made my first blog post. Way back in the before times, no doubt. So, why this