Babylon’s Ashes (The Expanse: Book #6), by James S.A. Corey — a review

Book #7 in James S.A. Corey’s The Expanse series is waiting for me in my library closet. Its title is Persepolis Rising, and it kicks off the final three-book story arc of the series. I could begin reading it today if I so desired. I’m an adult. A grown-ass man. In the regional vernacular of […]

Looking Forward (February 2023 Update): Music Soothes the Savage Beast

This is the quadmonthly happiness report for February 2023. Our belief here at FirewaterCorp is that happiness is defined as always having something to look forward to. In our world, choices in entertainment play a huge role in this pursuit. Our company motto is “Read. Play. Watch. Listen.” And then, of course: “Write About It.” […]

10-List: Ten Movies That Were Better Than the Book

Here’s why this was a difficult 10-List to compile. While I’ve watched a lot of movies that were based upon novels, novellas, or short stories, I seldom think that the movies are better than the source material. For instance, a lot of people claim that Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining was better than the Stephen King […]

My First Novel

I wrote my first novel when I was in high school. I wrote in longhand back in those days. In pencil, and in thick spiral-bound notebooks, preferably college ruled. My pencil of choice was, of course, the Faber Castell Velvet No. 2. I don’t remember how I came around to fetishizing this particular brand of […]

The Seven Basic Plots (and how I got there with the incidental aid of Rob Lowe)

What had happened was, I woke up too early on a Saturday morning, which is depressingly normal behavior for me. I don’t work weekends these days and never set my alarm the way I do during the week. Monday through Friday, I will sleep until my cell phone alarm wakes me at 6 AM. On […]

**Why I Hate The Giving Tree But Love Shel Silverstein**

Not too long ago, the USPS started selling Shel Silverstein stamps. The stamp has an image from his famous 1964 children’s book, The Giving Tree, on it. This one, with the Boy accepting the gift of an apple from the eponymous tree of the story. I am a window clerk at the main post office […]

Looking Forward (October 2022 Update): How I Spent My Summer

This is the quadmonthly happiness report for October 2022. Our belief here at FirewaterCorp is that happiness is defined as always having something to look forward to. In our world, choices in entertainment play a huge role in this pursuit. Our company motto is “Read. Play. Watch. Listen.” And, then, of course: “Write About It.” […]

Looking Forward (June 2022 Update): Are You Not Entertained?

This is the quadmonthly happiness report for June 2022. Our belief here at FirewaterCorp is that happiness is defined as always having something to look forward to. In our world, choices in entertainment play a huge role in this pursuit. Our company motto is “Read. Play. Watch. Listen.” And, then, of course: “Write About It.” […]

Nemesis Games (The Expanse Book #5), by James S.A. Corey — a review

Season 5 of The Expanse series on Amazon Prime was based upon this novel. Until now, I’ve always thought that watching the streaming series prior to reading the book it was based upon actually enhanced my reading experience. It fed me visual images that helped bring the printed words to life for me, giving me […]

Looking Forward (February 2022 Update): New Year, Same Pathology

This is the quadmonthly happiness report for February 2022. Our company motto is “Read. Play. Watch. Listen.” And, then, of course: “Write About It.” “Read” Since the October 2021 update, the following books were completed: Supernatural: Heart of the Dragon, by Keith R.A. DeCandido (urban fantasy/media tie-in) Big Damn Hero (Firefly #1), by James Lovegrove […]

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