Stubborn persistence pays off, as Heinlein teaches us. Can I have a Hallelujah to that? All the way back in 2009, when my marriage was only four years old, and I wasn’t even a father yet, we took a trip to the mid-Atlantic island of Sao Miguel. The volcanic beauty and verdant exuberance of the […]
Read MoreTonight before bed, both our sons (eight and six) suddenly* decided they wanted to pray**. Since we choose to allow our kids the freedom to believe what they want, I didn’t object in the least. I exercized self-restraint, and refrained from forcing my own secular world-view on them. I merely explained what kind of things […]
Read MoreBlast from the past: my not-quite-eight-year-old son suddenly wanted to own a Rubik’s Cube. A couple of his classmates had one, and he was fascinated with the colorful 3D puzzle. I used to own a bunch myself, and had a method of solving the thing memorized from a convenient little booklet. Unfortunately, we had recently […]
Read MoreA long, rambling mission statement in which I admit I that need your help WARNING: This post contains writerly soul-baring and navel-staring. Never surrender When it comes to writing, I am my own worst enemy. I found a discussion thread on the forum page of my online writers group Codex yesterday, posing the question most writers […]
Read MoreThis thrilling tale of miscommunication and conjecture is available in Dutch only.
Read MoreOr… why writing is like using a muscle.* Our youngest, though approaching two years of age, still believes in at least one, preferable two bottles a night. (Bear with me for a moment. This really is a post about writing.**) Three, if he can get them. Add teething to the mix and our nights are […]
Read MoreWe’re living in the future… Springsteen got it right on his Magic album. We are living in the future. Case in point: the proof is no longer in the pudding, but in the cloud, or rather, the Cloud. In preparation for the 10th Villa Diodati Writers Workshop, 21-24 April in Southern England, all participants are […]
Read MoreA friend got married today, in a moving civil ceremony of beautiful speeches and enchanting songs, the bride and groom radiant and utterly happy. I was reminded of our own wedding, and of countless other moments of deep and unwanting happiness. And then the Reverend Norman Viss got up to perform the spiritual part of […]
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