This past weekend I attended a firearm safety course. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while, now, and I finally “pulled the trigger” on it. (harhar) As part of the class, I had to rent a handgun to practice with. I’ve only shot a handgun once in my life — a .38 […]
Blog
The Evolution of Influence and the Law of Attraction
In the classic book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (affiliate link), the grandfather of modern productivity, Stephen R. Covey, has some sage advice: Focus on your area of influence. It’s sensible. Why waste your time and energy on things that are outside of your control? Still, I struggle with this — and I […]
What is the purpose of a novel?
“Purpose defines success. It’s the primal reference point for any investment of time and energy, from deciding to run for elective office to designing a form.” David Allen, Getting Things Done (aff.) In the years I wasn’t writing fiction, I was still studying the craft. I was reading books, taking classes, attending conferences — soaking […]
The Old Man on the Corner
Three days a week, I work from my external office. I’ve had an office downtown for almost three years, but recently I moved to a space over in the Ivywild neighborhood that butts up against North Cheyenne Canyon. I miss downtown, but this location has its charms (a cute little bookstore! a funky coffee shop […]
Habits + Creativity
I’m fascinated by habits — how they serve us, how they hurt us, how to create them, how to break them. I’m also fascinated by creativity — how we combine what we’ve learned to build new things, how we block our own creativity and how we can release it, how creativity heals us and connects […]
Cabin Retreat and Testing My Limits
Last Friday morning I headed up to my in-laws’ cabin in the mountains west of Canon City. It’s a long drive on dirt roads, and with much of the land belonging to the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) it can be a bit of an obstacle course with the free-range cows. My goal was to […]
