grin and bare it
A blog by Matthew Dicks
Empires fall
If you’re a history buff, or more importantly, if you appreciate how media can convey a complex idea, this is for you. If you are none of these things, you should be, so watch it…
Read MoreA Thanksgiving offering
In honor of Thanksgiving, I offer a gift for all of you who look forward to football just as much as you do the turkey, and probably more. If you are a serious football fan,…
Read MoreIn need of a copyeditor. And a brain.
In suggesting that the shooting at Ford Hood be labeled a terrorist attack (and implying that the Obama administration rejected the label for political reasons), former Bush press secretary Dana Perino said no terrorists attacked…
Read MoreMusic critics: A dying breed?
It occurs to me that the music critic is a relatively useless profession, providing the reader with meaningless information fairly regularly. Theatre and movie critics can help you decide if you want to invest two…
Read MoreWrite like Palin!
Slate is hosting a writing contest in which readers are asked to write like Sarah Palin. Brilliant. I wish I knew who at Slate should be credited with this idea. The goal is to write…
Read MoreWaiting is the worst
My favorite literary agent in the whole world (and one of my favorite people in the world) is Taryn Fagerness. I am proud to call her my agent and my friend. She is a brilliant…
Read MoreTackle football one more time. Please?
The previous week has been quite interesting in terms of my athletic accomplishments. Last Sunday, I played nine holes of golf and beat my friend, Jeff, for the first time. Granted, he played poorly, and…
Read MoreNew website up and running
My new author website debuts this morning at matthewdicks.com. Everything you might want to know about me and my books, including a link to this blog, can be found there. I am still filling out…
Read MoreI hope he’s right
Sometimes, I worry that I might have entered the publishing world at the wrong time. Falling book sales, an unsettled eBook market, and the decline of the independent bookstore have caused massive upheavals in the…
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