May 5 2020
I’ve learned to be cautious about using phrases like “few years ago”, because time goes slipping by so quickly nowadays that what I recall as a recent event too often turns out to be from the distant, shrinking-in-the-rearview-mirror past. I wanted to write about something I remember as happening about five years ago, but now […]
May 2 2020
America, and by extension, Canada, is a nation of car lovers. To see the proof of that, all you have to do is sit by your TV and count the number of automotive commercials on television. Irrespective of where you might be on any given night in North America, you will be stunned, once you […]
Jan 29 2016
I wrote a post some time ago about what had happened to “The Skystone” because several readers had written to me saying they couldn’t find copies to buy, and some people had even heard that the book was out of print. That last part galvanized me, I admit, because if the book had gone out […]
Dec 13 2015
I was recently asked, in the course of an on-line interview, what advice I have to offer young writers. I was expecting it because that same question comes up, sooner or later, in every interview I do, and it always reminds me of the best advice I ever received, from an old and greatly respected […]
Dec 9 2015
I received a very nice tribute a few days ago from a fellow called Conor Cobban, who wrote to me via hotmail.com to tell me he’s a registered site member and that he recently stumbled, almost by accident, upon the subsection of this site that features the weekly columns I now write for my local […]
Dec 6 2015
“You can’t go back.” How many times have we all heard that and recognized the truth of it and wished it wasn’t so? Unfortunately, it is so and that will never change. I’ve tried to change it several times, both here in Canada and back in my former stomping grounds in Britain, but no matter what […]
Nov 29 2015
When a friend of mine asked me recently why I don’t use “historically accurate” language in my books, my response ought to have been, “Thou kiddest me, surely?” I didn’t say it, though, because if I had, he would almost certainly have thought I had made a mistake and had really meant to say “Thou […]
Nov 21 2015
Christmas is coming, and even if you haven’t been paying attention, you should be aware of it by now through the sudden, massive increase in solicitations for charitable donations you’re receiving every day from every conceivable direction. It happens every year, and it’s part of the festive season, no matter what your specific name for […]
Nov 14 2015
I spent some time on YouTube a few nights ago, waxing nostalgic for the very early Sixties in England, when I was involved in the folk music revival, and one of the pieces I found was a recording by an old buddy who died more than thirty years ago. His name was Luke Kelly, and […]
Jun 1 2020
Measuring Up…
You might have noticed, after the past couple of months of isolation, that you can go a bit stir-crazy once you’ve exhausted all your avenues of self-distraction… Your reserves of resilience start dwindling and your capacity for patience starts drying up. I reached that point a few days ago, having managed to keep myself active […]