A perfect prelude to the upcoming April Fool’s Day.
For all piano accompanists out there, this video will especially resonate with you!
Fun Fridays – March 21, 2025
I’d prefer not to have a debt with a plumber. No doubt. I paid the bill! I have the receipt! There is nothing subtle about it. Enjoy today’s fun video about the spelling origins of certain English words. Undoubtedly, you will enjoy it!
The Power of a Single Word
According to various sources, there are about one million words in the English language. Approximately 750,000 of them are technical or scientific. That leaves us with 250,000 words with which to communicate. I doubt any of us know all of them or use them. According to the TestYourVocab.com website, the average person knows about 20,000 words and uses only half of those in everyday speech. Go to …
Fun Fridays – March 14, 2025
Back in the day, in Melbourne, Australia, was a bookseller named E.W. Cole. Today’s video is a glimpse into that wonderful bookshop. I want that second floor full of bookshelves to be in my office!
My Book Life Began in the Library
In many ways, my life in books began in elementary school. I discovered our city’s public library with the help of my mom. I soon began walking there regularly after school. While there, in what seemed to be a massive building, I would explore the rows and rows of books. Plucking one off the shelf here and there and skimming pages. One day, I discovered a complete section of books on …
Fun Fridays – March 7, 2025
Twenty-five TV commercial jingles woven into one song. amazing creativity. How many of them can you also sing the words? Frightening confessions are welcome in the comments. In case you are curious, look below for the products used. Here is what you are seeing: Old Spice, McDonald’s fries, SpaghettiOs, Rice-A-Roni, Meow Mix, Chili’s steak bones, KitKat bars, Fanta, TUMS, Coke, the Toys …
4 Conference Success Secrets
I have been on the faculty of nearly 200 writers conferences over the years. Some might say that is the definition of insanity… !?! But I would not be where I am today if it were not for the fine people I have met over the years at those events. I am a firm believer in the purpose behind a writers conference and what can be accomplished. After a while it became clear which writers were going to …
Fun Fridays – February 28, 2025
Ten years ago, there were Llamas on the Lloose in a suburb of Phoenix! Enjoy the Llama Drama, set to very appropriate music. It’s Llike a Llittle Llost writer at a conference trying to find their cLlassroom. Fortunately, there was a local cowboy with a Llasso. Yes, Phoenix has cowboys. HT: Trissina Kear
How Do You Know What Will (or Will Not) Sell?
There is a mysterious magic embedded in the mythos of the publishing industry: the ability to pick successful books. I was recently asked, “You say ‘no’ so often, how do you know when to say ‘yes?’” I wish I could claim that every agent and publisher have a secret formula we consult to know what will sell. Ask any group of us for that secret and we will all laugh because there is no “secret.” We …
Fun Fridays – February 21, 2025
16 writing puns and jokes. I claim no originality nor responsibility. It’s not my fault! ________________ I’m a big fan of punctuation—period. I tried writing a story about flying, but it didn’t take off. Writing is the only write way to express myself. The manuscript was too long, so I had to cut to the chase. Why do writers always feel cold? Because they’re surrounded by drafts! What do …