A trip to my Starbucks #204 It is the summer of 1992. In my “Starbucks novel”, Tripio, Jay works at a Starbucks store #204 located on north side of Chicago on the corner of Clark, Diversey and Broadway. In Tripio, for the sake of brevity and authenticity, I refer to it simply as store #204, …
This is a repost for National Coffee Day 2025 – To submit a query, please use the form below. Please fill out all fields. If an agent wishes to read your submission, he or she will contact you in response to your query, usually within 6-8 weeks. Which agent would like to submit to? …
Well, I paused and leaned into the question, “You have to grind away until you find a way.” That will be my response one of these days when I’m asked how I become a global literary superstar. Until then, I will rerun the pretend interview in my head. What is not pretend is that everything …
Rosenberg’s critique shifted the emphasis from the object to the struggle itself, with the finished painting being only the physical manifestation, a kind of residue, of the actual work of art, which was in the act or process of the painting’s creation. Action Writing? So, my novels are residue? I’ll take that. I’ll take whatever …
I find myself more and more often referring to writing as a meditative practice. It much easier on me. It asks so much less of me, asks me to maintain much less. And it stops people from asking me follow up questions to which I would most likely give even more confusing replies. So it …
Thinking is hard. Reacting isn’t. Working on something of any worth requires intention and attention. Producing activity is easy. I am not sure about all you all, but I have hard time sitting still. Somewhere inside me a little voice with a big mouth is telling me that I have to be doing something. The …
I was finally able to revise and upgrade the cover of my first novel, Tripio. It had been bugging me for years, like something your doctor would mention at your yearly check-up. Not life threatening, or even painful, but maybe you should do something about it. And so, the process never made it to the …
I am on a break from writing, having just finished The Travels of the Trier. I would even use the word sabbatical, since I wrote Travels on the heels of The Trier goes to London, after writing The Trier, revising Ironjaws, revising Back outta the World, and writing Tripio. Included in all those were edits, …
I’m writing this blog post mostly because I don’t have a book in my head at the moment. It has been a while. I remember after finished The Trier I told myself I would take a break before starting the next one. Not to be. I made no deal with myself as I moved onto …
This was a pleasant surprise in my inbox yesterday. I am not alone! I have maintained for years that the best part of being an independent author is that you get to make all the decisions about your work. That is also the worst. It really means that you have to do it, not just …
Coffee Novelist 
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