The answer is more complex than conventional wisdom would suggest
After my dog died last month I discovered I — and my family — cannot live without one. Scooby was special to me. He cannot be replaced and he has not been so. But I in particular stopped functioning when he died. And within a few days, I knew I wanted another pet.
The intent behind adopting a new labrador retriever was never to make me instantly happy again. My little brother is dead; it would be a miracle if I were somehow jubilant once more. …
How I struck a balance between being introverted and closed off like I usually am and promoting my work like there’s no tomorrow
Marketing — the scourge of the self-publishing industry. With the burst in population we’ve had a concomitant increase in artists and creators. Today there are probably millions of books in circulation around the world. Standing out from that throng requires a sound marketing strategy.
I didn’t have one. I’ve never had one. I wasn’t even on Instagram and Twitter when I published my debut novella two years ago. Heck, I had maybe twenty contacts on my phone. I was under the impression my job would be done as soon as the book reached the market.
Needless to say I was…
Try as I might, I simply cannot quit sugar, and it is causing me both physical and mental issues
Two years ago I was addicted to alcohol and nicotine. My depression and anxiety were strong then, and I found they helped. Except they didn’t. When I discovered how nicotine could actually exacerbate anxiety I decided to quit. And I did. I snapped my fingers and went from six to seven cigarettes a day to none. The incident helped me develop faith in my willpower.
The same happened in the case of alcohol. I eventually realized I required two whole bottles to get drunk where I once needed half of one. And the hangovers were becoming a pain. I drank…
Despite everything about my personality suggesting otherwise, I’m a huge fan of pro wrestling in general
Almost everyone who comes to know of my love for WWE is surprised about it. I’m perceived as a practical, sardonic, work-obsessed, no-nonsense person. That I’d spend time watching something so “fake” and “lame” astonishes many. But I do. And to be honest, even I don’t fully know why.
Perhaps it’s because the fights are scripted (not fake, scripted) that I enjoy watching them. UFC doesn’t appeal to me, because it’s just two people fighting. That violence has no inherent purpose. Wrestling does. There are stories told via and around these matches. There are characters, there are storylines. …
Lessons and insights from when my dog, whom I loved more than I ever could express, died last week without warning or prior sickness
Scooby was the name of my dog, my little brother. I’d always wanted a pet, but my parents finally acquiesced when I was fourteen when I was diagnosed with clinical depression. They believed he would help my mood. He did, and more. He became a part of our life so primal we still can’t get over his death.
He was seven when he passed. Whenever I expressed dismay over his decline in activity or displays of the slowness accompanied by age, mom tried to gently have a conversation and prepare me for the fact he had only three good years…
Right now I’m just alive, an empty shell running on autopilot
It’s rare for me to write an article that is purely personal, with no underlying aim of getting it into a publication. But I feel like if I don’t write this I won’t fully process/accept what happened. I’m a writer after all, and writers deal with their emotions through the written word.
I had a pet dog. A golden retriever. We got him when I was fourteen. I named him Scooby. He was the cutest person ever, with big marble eyes and a constantly wagging tail. Toward the end he became a bit more lethargic, but he was seven years…
Quality is important, but so is societal evolution
Shows like Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, The Wire, and The Walking Dead have dedicated fanbases that vocally and frequently bestow upon their respective favorites the title of Greatest of All Time. Or GOAT, as I love to shorten it to.
However, I am of the (admittedly insignificant) opinion that such debates are misguided and miss the point. No one show can lay claim to the laurel of GOAT, no matter how good it is. …
Just one missed dose (albeit of two different medicines) meant I was in the lowest of lows for two entire days
Ever since I was first prescribed them, I was told to take my medication every day without fail. I was also advised to have them on time. I usually never encounter difficulty abiding by these guidelines. Thankfully I have a reliable memory when it comes to these matters.
But my memory does occasionally fail me. Three nights ago was the most egregious instance. I’m supposed to gulp down three tablets each night; for whatever reason, I completely forgot. It was surprising because I’m normally careful about taking my meds on time. That night, I was playing a video game; then…
To fall in so deep you don’t know how to pull yourself out again
To date I have written and self-published three crime thriller novels, and am working on a fourth. While my current project is a standalone story, the already-out trilogy is part of the same series, featuring the same characters. They are written in the present tense, using a first-person viewpoint.
I have been blessed enough to have over a hundred reviews on Goodreads. A writer is always trying to improve; I have read quite a number of them. There are points of criticism and points of praise. …
HUMOR
Because, you know, why not?
I’ll be fully transparent with you; I love the comedy of James Veitch. It was he who made me want to engage with a spammer. That, and a natural inclination to mess with people.
I get a lot of emails each week, and often miss a couple of important ones. So when I received a notification for this email, I genuinely thought it’d happened again:
