Houses and rooms are full of perfumes, the shelves are crowded with perfumes,I breathe the fragrance myself and know it and like it,The distillation would intoxicate me also, but I shall not let it.--from: "Song of Myself," by Walt WhitmanI have to a...

Some say the world will end in fire,Some say in ice.From what I’ve tasted of desireI hold with those who favor fire.But if it had to perish twice,I think I know enough of hateTo say that for destruction iceIs also greatAnd would suffice.--Fire and Ic...

"While the process of becoming lost is usually a lot of fun, the entertainment value diminishes rapidly once the act is accomplished."--Patrick McManus--A Fine and Pleasant MiseryIf you haven't read any of the Patrick McManus books of short stories a...

I only received a few entries in the Halloween story contest. They're short, so I've put them right into the newsletter for your reading pleasure. Please drop me a note with your vote for your favorite so I can send the lucky winner one of my books....

"Fire in his glance, and wildness in his breast,He feels all his former self possest;He bounds--he flies--until his footsteps reachThe verge where ends the cliff and begins the beach..."--Lord Byron -- "The Corsair"Before I get to my thoughts on "Pow...

"Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory." - General George S. PattonSpeaking of challenges - don't forget to submit your entry in the short story contest. Not to exceed 350 words and must include a Halloween story feat...

Winston Churchill is credited with saying, "Success consists in going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."I've had a recent success with one short story and have finished the draft of another. My story, "Freedom on Wheels" will appear...

"Do not tempt me! For I do not wish to become like the Dark Lord himself. Yet the way of the Ring to my heart is by pity, pity for weakness and the desire of strength to do good. Do not tempt me! I dare not take it, not even to keep it safe, unused....

"It is the property of every sorrow which overtakes us to reawaken past griefs which we believed dead, but which were only sleeping. The soul has its scars as well as the body, and they are seldom so well healed but a new wound can reopen them."--The...

A fool there was and he made his prayer (Even as you or I!) To a rag and a bone and a hank of hair, (We called her the woman who did not care), But the fool he called her his lady fair— (Even as you or I!)From Kipling's "Vampire"I've completed editin...