Christmas 1944
Short story excerpted from New England Christmas Sampler by Steve Burt. Christmas Eve 1944, a lone soldier, a barn and a baby.
December 2021
Stay Computer-Savvy with Nine Techie Terms
Language is constantly evolving, but nothing speeds up the addition of new words to the dictionary as technology.
A few decades ago, “mouse” and “web” meant a rodent and a spider’s creation, respectively.
Indie/Self-Publishing Outlook for 2022
The POD/Ebook revolution continues into 2022. Along with three predictions for self-publishing in 2022.
Winter Weather Words
From arctic blasts and snow squalls to freezing drizzle and cold snaps — there are countless ways to describe winter weather conditions.
Here are seven frosty weather terms you may not know.
It Ain’t a Gift If It Costs Me Money
It’s not a free gift if it costs you money.
Free means free! Three maxims when offering free gifts.
An Amazing Journey…A Remarkable Day
The Ovahimba. We know them as simply, HIMBA.
The most remote and unchanged traditional tribe that lives in the Skeleton Coast.
How Much Do You Know About Ambigrams?
An ambigram is a relatively new calligraphic tool.
It is a word or phrase that is intended to be read in either of two ways (by flipping it or rotating it) and can have the same or a different meaning depending on the type of ambigram.
If nobody reads what you’ve written, does it make a sound?
What are the big picture qualities that make a good written piece—article, story, essay, blog, or whatever? One that will get read.
Here are three overarching qualities that, in happy combination, make for good writing and good reading.
The Beer Can Lady is Back
Remember a few weeks back, I told you that Denise and I would return to finish cleaning up the pond and save the turtles from wearing those plastic beer can holders as necklaces?
Well, that’s exactly what we did today.
We returned to the scene of the crime. Or is that “grime?”
5 of the Most Common Comma Mistakes
The comma is a tiny punctuation mark that packs a lot of punch. Commas separate parts of a sentence, such as clauses or items. They can indicate pauses or just help to clear up the meaning of a phrase.
The Joy of Whirlygigs!
Whirlygigs are difficult to adequately describe: kind of like miniature windmills embodied in whimsical toys perched on sticks in the front yard or back garden.
They are as simple or complicated as one desires. The easy ones have wings that turn in opposite directions, connected with a screw to the silhouette of a bird or cartoon character cut from a handy pine board. The more complex versions might include dancing penguins, an old man chopping wood, or a woman stirring a bowl.
