When I received an email from Suzanne Davenport in early summer 2013 that described her ambitious project to compile a book based on how Newtowners felt after 12/14, I admired her courage. Suzanne and I met as volunteers in the Newtown Volunteer Task Force Call Center where we received and returned phone calls and emails … Continue reading
Having moved from California back to my hometown of Newtown, CT, a few months ago, I find myself writing a few more updates to friends than usual in the form of personal emails or Facebook posts. My California friends want to know what I’m doing and it’s hard to connect regularly by phone when there … Continue reading
For three and a half years, Kenneth Stroud of the RAF was a Japanese POW during World War II, having been captured when Japan conquered Singapore and imprisoned on an Indonesian island. Ever since then, he’s lived with the memories of hunger, illness, and the brutality of a particularly cruel enemy. Amazingly, he harbors no … Continue reading
I’m not proud of it, but I’ve gone to the copy shop twice this week to get a paper version of my manuscript printed. At 400 pages and $0.10/page, it cost $40 to print once – yikes! Why can’t I just learn to edit on the computer? It just seems easier on paper. I can … Continue reading
This is a list of memoirs that I’ve read since I began writing my own memoir, as well as a few I’ve read before my project and a few that are still on my bookshelf. Some are better written than others. Recommendations welcome! Me Melvin ‘N Andy by Andy Anderson Nautilus 90 North by William … Continue reading
Are we all destined for oblivion without name recognition? Check out the August 31, 2013 article in the New York Times titled “Long Odds for Authors Newly Published.”
I was thinking as I posted my old high school reading list for English class that I should start a few lists of my own. Here’s my first attempt at a book list for one of my favorite subjects – New England! I’ll add more titles as I think of them. Adult Fiction: The Running … Continue reading
I’m always curious about what high school kids are asked to read in their English classes these days. I’ve had a few conversations with friends about we read back in the 1980s. Call me a packrat, but I found my own reading lists from my 9th and 10th grades. I only have the outside reading … Continue reading
I’ve been reading memoirs ever since I started writing my own in 2011. There’s a Porcupine in My Outhouse by Michael J. Tougias turned out to be a fantastic read and I highly recommend it to anyone. Where did I find this book? I actually bought it at a gift shop in Northern New Hampshire. … Continue reading
This is a news story hot off the NPR wire. Original text at (http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/whats-behind-future-hit-movies-algorithm) A company name Epagogix has applied big data analysis to predict which movies will be hits, predicting how much a movie will make at the box office plus or minus about 10%. The algorithm evaluates scripts, plot points, actor/actress involvement, and … Continue reading
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