Quote of the Day: Words to Live By


The question isn't who is going
to let me;
it's who is going to stop me.
Ayn Rand

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The Novel: The beginning

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“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation” Henry David Thoreau Chapter 1 The sea has long been the place of intrigue, battles, struggles and tragic death. Living close by the sea, I became aware of death at an early age. Mother ocean claimed many people close to me by the time I reached adulthood. The intrigue, battles, and struggles came later. Monday, mid-afternoon, a sweltering late August breeze picked up from the south and induced an instant and persistent all over body sweat. The Atlantic Ocean boiled frothy white and choppy. I pointed the bow west to leave the protection of the Albemarle Sound through the Oregon Inlet at the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Not the perfect day for a pleasure cruise but with a topless thonged tanned beauty on the bow with drink in hand, a well stocked bar and galley-- summer’s end was too close to waste the opportunity for a short day sail. The wind whistled through the rigging, topside speakers were loud enough to be heard over the wind a...
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I wanted to write some pearls of wisdom for the coming New Year. I wanted to list some resolutions that would propel me and my career into 2006. Every year in the past, I have sat down after Christmas, reviewed goals of the previous years, and listed new goals for the coming year. Usually, I could review the list with some satisfaction, putting a line through tough goals, and creating the new list combining incomplete goals with ambitious new ones. This year for what ever reason, it has become more difficult than prior years. The words and goals are not as evident. The "things" I want out of life have so drastically changed, that a list seems almost superfluous. If you seek to be a professional writer, author Joe Konrath has an excellent list on his December 17th post at Newbies Guide to Publishing . As for me, I hope to have a few short stories published, find an agent, complete the novel and non-fiction book, and seek a publisher. That is what I am working towards. If you ...
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Hardcover v. Soft

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