Tomorrow is Election Day in the United States. Tomorrow, for the very first time, Masha will cast her vote for President, for Governor, and for several other local races. You may have noticed that I stay pretty far away from politics here. That’s not a result of any strategy of appeasement, or any effort to passive-aggressively imply support for one side or the other based on certain beliefs I’ve shared or not shared here. It’s not from any failed effort to show direct support or opposition to any particular single issue. Honestly, the reason is that I’m conflicted. I have […]

Read More

Welcome to Fiction Friday. Every Friday I share with y’all a glimpse into the mind of Zach the Zombie and some of his friends. Zach will be back next week, but this week I’d like to share something unique. During the month of October, I participated in Writers Unite, a one-month challenge to focus not on platform or marketing, but on writing for the love of writing.  This tied in well with my career change, and it also coincided with the start of Andi Cumbo‘s online Short Story class.  Because of this beautiful coincidence, I chose to focus on improving as […]

Read More

Seth Godin posted this recently: Who you hang out with determines what you dream about and what you collide with. And the collisions and the dreams lead to your changes. And the changes are what you become. Change the outcome by changing your circle. Now, this is not a new idea. Smart people have been saying this since before the flood. So why is this so hard? The challenge is choosing your circle wisely. Excitement and thrill and fun are attractive, but they come at a very high cost. Choosing the people who will help lift you up and help you become […]

Read More

I am a creature of habit. I park the car in the same place at the airport. I sit in the same spot at church. I put the half and half in the door of the fridge, on the same shelf in the same spot. Facing the same way. I am borderline OCD. But these habits serve an important purpose. When I was young, I thought that routines were for lemmings, for the unthinking. But I’ve come to see them as the opposite. They free me to think about things that are far more important than remembering if I’ve brushed my teeth or […]

Read More

Welcome to Fiction Friday. Every Friday I share with y’all a glimpse into the mind of Zach the Zombie and some of his friends. Zach is taking a little bit of a break, so I want to tell you about something new.    Earlier this week, I saw an email from friend and mentor, Jeff Goins, talking about a new book, Dislocated, coming out next week (on Halloween) from his friend Max Andrew Dubinksy. Now, I’ve been really tired. I’ve been behind. The last thing I need is another thing to read and review on a deadline.   But I trust […]

Read More