The Author Guy Blog

  26th April 2024 Hello out there, Welcome back. We were talking about “cutting the cord” to television and streaming service access, and whether or not I was entirely satisfied with my decision to do so a couple of years ago. The answer is “no.” I miss my once/weekly routine of viewing what I believe to be the best show ever – CBS Sunday Morning. If you’re not a viewer, I highly recommend you become one. I miss some sporting events, especially those that are “one off” like the Kentucky Derby or the rest of the Triple Crown. I experience pangs of regret when I read recommendations in The Week magazine for viewing for the upcoming week because at least one will look especially enticing. But I’ve stayed the course and I don’t see a departure any time soon. What I don’t miss are news programs telling me what I know has already happened (I know from online updates I receive throughout the day), especially since the preponderance of what they feature is negative or violent. And I rejoic...

19th April 2024 Hello out there, Welcome back. I hope everyone made the applicable income tax filing deadlines for last year’s endeavors, and that in return, the IRS was exceeding kind and understanding toward you. It was about this time, two years ago in April 2022, that I stopped watching television. I metaphorically “cut the cord” if you will when our cable/internet service reached $265/month and I couldn’t satisfy in my own mind a favorable cost/benefit assessment. So, when we moved into a fully renovated, mid-century Leave it to Beaver home, we only signed up for internet connectivity. We watched old television shows, and both old and new movies, on DVD, as well as read – books, newspapers, magazines. Cable proved to be a more difficult addiction for my bride of thirty-two years to escape, and slowly, over time, subscription streaming services were added. Now we have more viewing options than ever before, at about half the cost, but still I can be found elsewhere in the house com...

12th April 2024 Hello out there, Welcome back. We’ve all likely heard the adage it takes at least 10,000 hours of applied effort to master something new. I recall reading Tiger Woods had practiced and played more than 10,000 of golf before he became a teenager. Well, for me, I long ago passed the 10,000 hours invested in all aspects of fiction writing and I feel as if I’m still in kindergarten. This despite receiving highly-regarded award-winning recognition in three international competitions. For decades I considered myself a very accomplished business writer (I have a degree in journalism), but I simply had no idea the number of moving parts inherent in the craft of fiction writing. Many authors begin their journey by achieving or attempting a MFA (Master of Fine Arts) degree or attend numerous author-focused seminars, either in-person or online. I’ve done some of that, no doubt far less than I should have, and together with independent study and research I’ve crafted my own MFA cou...

5th April 2024 Hello out there. Welcome back. Spring cleaning is normally associated with material things in one’s house, but for me, it’s been a different yet incredibly welcome derivation. I’ve been de-cluttering my computer – specifically, uncoupling from newsletters I once deemed either valuable or potentially so – and no longer do. What prompted this initiative is my previously-discussed escape from ten years of self-publishing. As a result, a vast number of email newsletters to which I, as a self-published indie author, had subscribed that were somewhat interesting but no longer relevant. Instead of simply deleting them as they arrived in my in-box, and took the next right step and clicked the “unsubscribe” link. Inspired by a sense of weight being lifted, and then embarked on shutting off a significant amount of invasive communications on Facebook that arrive throughout the day. I’ll share that Facebook is the only social media platform to which I pay any attention, and I can go...