Small Business Saturday, the day after Black Friday, and two days before Cyber Monday, is a relatively new national campaign to drive business to stores once known as Mom & Pop Shops. While we think of Black Friday as the day to shop department store deals and Cyber Monday as a day to shop online […]
I had the pleasure, recently, to be the guest speaker at the annual reception of LUCC: Libraries of Union County Consortium, to share my story as a self-published author. It was an eye-opening evening as I listened in on discussions about the state of libraries, what they mean to the community in which they […]
photo by Gage Skidmore Going into the final hours of preparation for Monday night’s Double Your Chances round of Who Wants to Be the President?, we were given a sneak peek into Donald Trump’s grueling preparation. Just this morning, the Trump camp learned that there’d be no Celebrity Questions, as they were expecting. If not […]
Photo by Peter Tea As I read stories written about Prince since his untimely death, I realize there are some loud messages he’s left us to ponder. One of the most crucial is: it’s okay to be different. In fact, it’s not just okay. It’s important, necessary, vital even. Prince never shied away from being […]
photo by Chris Dlugosz I was recently working on a deal with Costco to have my book sold in their stores. At the last minute, the deal fell through. I won’t bore you with the details, but I worked very hard for the better part of a year until it was beyond my control and […]
photo by theilr I was recently asked if I’d consider participating in a program at a local college that aims to pair professionals with Honors students who are pursuing similar careers. The goal is to forge a mentoring relationship. After hearing some of the details of the program, I expressed my interest. It sounded like […]
photo by Gage Skidmore Sources close to the presidential candidate claim that Trump’s problem with CNN and FOX is “they’re morons.” In an effort to be represented in the most honest and fair light, it is reported that Trump has just bought his own network: Trump That Media. Donald Trump blames his slide in the […]
photo by Mouser Williams We all do this. We browse our Facebook feed and see extraordinary things happening all around us. A Facebook friend just climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. A friend of a friend won The Great Food Truck Race. Someone else was named Chicago’s Teacher of the Year. Or California’s No. 1 Realtor. Someone’s teenager […]
photo by Plonq Some people will waste a lifetime waiting for the Gatekeepers. I was almost one of them. By nature, I’m a rule follower. Even un-written rules. If there’s a way something is “supposed to be done,” that’s how I’ll do it. When I finished writing my first novel, I queried agents. This was […]
Last night I had a nightmare that I was at the Cornelia Street Café to do a reading from my novel. I stood at the microphone on the small stage in front of a packed house. I had just been introduced to the audience, and in the wane of the applause I was horrified to […]