Before the books there were the photographs — nearly a million of them, across hundreds of Renaissance faires and years of bellydance and fine-art work. These posts cover that creative life behind the lens and what it taught about seeing, storytelling, and craft.
Character DevelopmentThe real enemy of creative work is not a dry spell; it is the toxic people who drift into your life and fog everything with negativity until the work stalls. I have dealt with them as a writer, a photographer,…
Becoming a GhostwriterI did not set out to be a writer. I set out to understand my grandfather, and the writing followed, more than forty years and 113+ books ago. The path was never a straight line. Here is the real story…
Authority Through AuthorshipBefore anyone reads your bio or looks at your work, they see your face, and they judge it in milliseconds. That snap impression is hard to undo. After building more than 300 professional profiles, here is why the profile photo…
AugustA publisher of 20 coloring books on what makes them work, why adults need them, and how real dancers became line art.
Becoming a GhostwriterIn late 2013 I walked away from twenty years as Director of Computer Operations at Trader Joe's, overworked and trading my health for a job that had stopped giving back. I had savings and a dream I had carried since…
Authority Through AuthorshipIn this conversation with Fiona Mcvie, I trace the whole path: where I came from, how a career got built on words, and the unglamorous realities of professional writing and ghostwriting. Updated for current numbers, it is the full story…
Business BooksTony stole $3,000 from me at 26, and twenty-five years later that con probably saved me thousands more when a Facebook scammer came calling. I thought I understood deception, I had worked in early computer security. Tony taught me otherwise.…
bellydanceIntrovert, ADHD, autism: by every measure I should avoid a stage, yet I now speak regularly and keep seeking more of it. It did not come naturally. It came through grief, a camera, and a lot of practice. Here is…
Copyright InfringementCopyright intimidates a lot of writers, and that fear keeps them from understanding rights they already hold. This is not legal advice, just plain-language observations from years as an author and creator. Here is what you should know about protecting…
Overcoming Writing ResistanceIn 2005 I aimed a cheap Olympus at the moon, chasing the thing I had stared at since the 1969 landing. The moon punishes consumer cameras, but I got the shot, and something unrelated to the shutter clicked into place.…
bellydanceOver eight years and 300-plus renaissance festivals, I shot roughly 980,000 photos of performers, belly dancers, jousters, pirates, often hired, always watching through the lens. That much close observation rewires how you see people. Here is what nearly a million…
MemoirTwo months after my wife died, I stood in the most spectacular wildflower bloom in Joshua Tree's recorded history, 45, newly widowed, and lost. I could have reached for medication or given up in a chair. Instead the desert my…
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