grin and bare it
A blog by Matthew Dicks
Did they use straws to empty the pools?
Did you know that skateboard parks began with southern California skateboarders in the 1970’s known as Z-Boys, who would trespass into neighbor’s backyards, empty the pool and use it as a half pipe and concrete…
Read MoreIs it time for product placement in fiction?
A month after my first novel, SOMETHING MISSING, hit the store shelves, I began receiving the occasional but persistent email from readers asking and oftentimes accusing me of having made product placement deals during the writing…
Read MoreKnock! Knock!
For the third time this week, I have found myself in a single-person public restroom, door locked, conducting my business, when someone attempts to open the door, discovers it locked, and then knocks. Who are…
Read MoreThe backhanded compliment bio
Last night’s appearance at Posman Books in Chelsea Market went well, and the turnout was terrific. Anytime a bookseller must drag out more chairs and offer stools to a standing-room audience, you feel good. And…
Read MoreContest runner-up #2
Cheryl Harris entered my biography contest with this entry, which I adore, perhaps a little too much. Since author bios are ordinarily assumed to have been written in part by the author, this one was simply…
Read MoreName your kid after me or don’t. No middle ground.
I don’t understand people who think that naming their child after a grandparent or other relative only requires the use of the first letter in the name. “My son’s name is Mason. He’s named after…
Read MoreSusan Stamberg confirms that I’m not old man.
In a character analysis of Eric Cartman from South Park, NPR’s Susan Stamberg played a famous rant from the foul mouthed cartoon boy. She then said, “If you don’t recognize this voice, then you probably…
Read MoreThe Page 69 Test
Marshall McLuhan recommends that the book browser turn to page 69 of any book and read it. If you like that page, buy the book. It works. Following this theory, I have written a guest…
Read MoreIt seems like pandering, but I swear it’s not. She’s not angry at me nor have I done anything stupid as of late.
I was programming my DVR to record the upcoming season of Hard Knocks, the behind-the-scenes look at an NFL training camp. As I was finishing up, Elysha walked into the room and said, “Oh good. …
Read MoreBased upon King’s estimation, I’m a huge success!
Stephen King, in ON WRITING, writes: If you expect to succeed as a writer, rudeness should be the second to least of your concerns. The least of all: polite society and what it expects. If…
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