Tag Archives: Jack London

Book Review: Small Game by Blair Braverman

This novel is fairly short, fast-paced, and very entertaining. It concerns a woman named Mara who teaches survival skills at a facility called Primal Instinct. She is approached by a casting team of a new reality show, Civilization. Together with … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Cruise of the Snark by Jack London

The background of the edition of this book and how I came by it is an interesting story. Two of my sons and I went on a road trip from Seattle to the San Francisco Bay Area in late June … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Literary Pilgrimage

Most people, when they take off on holiday, look for warm beaches with clear waters for swimming, or cool forests for picnics and hiking, or foreign cities with unique sights. Alternatively, they crave raucous amusement parks or luxury cruises or … Continue reading

Posted in Memoir, On Writing, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Meditations on Late-Blooming Literary Success

While on the bus on the way to a gathering of local writers, I was somewhat ruefully contemplating the fact that many of my colleagues, although decades younger than me, have reached a level of popular and commercial success that … Continue reading

Posted in On Writing, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Wolf: The Lives of Jack London by James L. Haley

Reading about the life of Jack London had an enormous effect on me when I was a young writer.  Inevitably when I read a new biography of London I compare it with the book that introduced me to him, Jack … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

I had forgotten the joys of perusing books in libraries, but my present inability to afford to buy books has brought it back.  I’ve found a number of quality books I would have never thought of reading, among them this … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Wolf in a Cage and The Gift: Two Fantasies” – Free Short Story Offer

For five days, from Sunday September 14th to Thursday September 18th, my short stories “Wolf in a Cage and The Gift: Two Fantasies” will be available for free download on Amazon.com here.  Stop in and pick up a copy.  Here’s … Continue reading

Posted in Reading | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Jack London: An American Life by Earle Labor

If I had to name the three writers most influential on my own career as a writer, they would be Jack London, Harlan Ellison, and Henry Miller.  I would snap up a biography of Harlan Ellison in a moment, but … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, Memoir, On Writing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Dark Night of a Writer’s Soul

Second prelude:  Outside my window the apartment parking lot and cars are dusted with snow.  I was going to sit down and write an essay about my current state of mind, and was going to refer to the stunningly poetic … Continue reading

Posted in On Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Tale of Three Jackets

In order to help you understand this completely I need to tell you an anecdote about my father.  He had a great sense of humor back in the days when most of us lived together under one roof, before we … Continue reading

Posted in Memoir, On Writing, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment