The Twits

After weeks of turning the house upside down, I finally found the Roald Dahl book I was looking for! This passage is pure gold: “Mr. Twit was a twit. He was born a twit. And now at the age of sixty, he was a bigger twit than ever.”

writing new novel

I've been writing a novel set in Los Angeles. We were only there a few days, but there's a lot of unbelievable inspiration there.

1956 Boiler

I finished reading The Janitor's Girl. It wasn't quite the book I was expecting--of course I was hoping for a browbeaten custodian banging around in a boiler room, pushing broom and mop to get his daughter through school. But there wasn't even a janitor! Instead, the girl's father is superintendent of a well-to-do apartment building. Even so, Sue does experience social shaming and loneliness until she befriends two refugees. Every Saturday they go out to see the sights in 1956 New York. I'm sure a young Martin Scorsese was watching them out his window.

homeless picture

$4 SALT

Incidentally, you can buy a copy of OLD SALT novel for only $4 on amazon! How do they do it so cheap?? Don't ask me, just thank your lucky stars they're practically giving it away for free! And what a deal--you'll be transported to another world. A perfect summer read for Coney Island sand or a shady porch in Tennessee.

GDR UPDATE

GOOD DEED RAIN update: Well, the novel MAGIC ISLAND has successfully set sail. It's out there, awaiting you. Currently there are 4 new projects on the assembly line--a collection of poetry (due soon!), two short story collections, and I'm getting close to finishing writing another novel, starring Neptune. Thanks to our many supportive readers out there, especially those in Timbuktu. Stay tuned for more!

OLD SALT rewind

Here's a page spread from published novel OLD SALT. This was a fun adventure seems like anyone would enjoy.

The Janitor's Girl

Here's a TRUE story. The other morning on the way to work I found five dollars under a willow tree. I put it in my pocket. I thought of it as a challenge to see what I could turn it into. It took a few days until I went to the bookstore. I was looking for a book they didn’t have, then I found THE JANITOR'S GIRL. I opened it and saw it cost four dollars. Could this be the reason for the mysterious $5? I didn’t get the book though. I left...I thought about it for a day. Not only that, I also did a little research—I looked online and saw a copy of it selling for $900! Rave reviews from readers! I couldn’t resist, I went back and bought it. I started reading it last night: “Would the girls in this new neighborhood really look down on her because Pop was the superintendent? Would they have parties and not invite her?”

The Malevolent Elephant

TO BE BEAUTIFUL

Imagine the nerve it takes to be a deer in this town. To wake up somewhere hidden each day, then to be obvious and also to melt in, to be prey, to be beautiful and almost innocent, with a spotted baby to care for, crossing roads to look for something that doesn’t seem to exist, getting used to grief, to cling to the idea of a peace that doesn’t seem to exist except in the pure joy of sunlight and shade in the leaves, and the miracle of finding flowers in a garden someone forgot to cover with a fence.

Barney Miller

I'm all alone in the office today, so I've decided to redecorate it as the set of Barney Miller.

MAGIC ISLAND

New Good Deed Rain novel published today, MAGIC ISLAND. Cover painting by Laura Vasyutynska, her 5th book for us.

no eruption required

I found this student's notecard today. "No eruption required" is a magnificent line. A+!

Who isn't longing to read: George Washington mentioned you in a post.

Sentence from novel

Been writing a new novel, another B-movie marvel from 1943. The following sentence is a sneak preview--- In his hand he held a black heavy-looking bag like the one William Carlos Williams would carry in the snow.