June 21 is the date of the summer solstice, the day with the longest period of daylight and officially the first day of summer. All due to the tilt of the earth’s axis. It’s the time of the year when the naked bicyclists pedal through Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood, the sweat of their buttocks slowly erasing…

Most writers have day jobs. Many teach, some wait tables, some build things. I have none of those skills. I work in the public sector. That’s not meant as a corollary. It just means that in the same way that I stumbled upon writing as an avocation, I stumbled upon Project/Program Manager as my occupation.…

If there’s an icky part about getting a book published it’s asking people for blurbs. Not just any people, but writers of note, because as a website called Selling Books puts it, “for an unknown author, such endorsements are essential for compelling readers to take a chance on someone they’ve never read before.” Asking for…