Hello David, My name is John. The only thing about me that's important for you to know other than my name is that I'm old enough to be your father, and I am writing this with the best of intentions. I'd like to help you if possible, not hurt you. I truly have your best interests at heart, whether you choose to believe it or not. So I'm going to speak to you as your father should be doing, and as if I were speaking to my own son--who is actually ten years older than you. I'm offering you the same advice I would give Matthew, if he were in the same situation as you at this moment: please, for the love of God, stop talking. Why in the hell your own parents haven't already had this conversation with you is another topic and possibly beyond my comprehension. But Hillary Clinton once claimed that it takes a village to raise a child, so for once in my life, I'm going to pretend she actually knew what she was talking about, and assume that writing this letter is a good idea. In my opinion, you must learn to choose your words very carefully, before you speak. Why? Because people are currently listening to you. You've got just about everyone's attention. That can work against you. This cliche that sounds like an ominous warning is actually a truth I learned as a child--be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. If you wanted to be famous, consider that goal achieved. You have gone through a very stressful and traumatic experience, one about which I can empathize, at least to some degree. When I was about your age, I got into a heated argument … [Read more...]
A red-faced blue nation
Recently a friend of mine referred to me as a journalist and a political writer, but I am neither. Normally I would have been very flattered, if it weren't for my extremely low opinion of contemporary journalism. First and foremost, I am a novelist who writes detective fiction. I have also written several nonfiction books, and, of course, I blog here at my website. The more liberal members of my family seem to think I'm some rabid right-wing Republican who has been brainwashed by Rush Limbaugh. I do admit that I enjoy listening to Limbaugh's show occasionally. I think he can be pretty funny, and admire Rush for overcoming some really serious adversity -- the total loss of his hearing, and somehow managed to continue his career, with the help of a cochlear implant. I also think he's very smart, patriotic, and quite entertaining. But I don't agree with everything Rush says. Just most of what he says, and practically everything he says about liberal politicians. I don't really consider myself a Republican -- I'm more of a Libertarian who tends to vote Republican in most major elections, but certainly not someone willing to write checks to help fund the party. Currently, I don't make enough money that I feel like I can afford to throw any of it away on a political party. After all, my wife and I are about to be hit hard by Obamacare. I am not a person who refuses to vote for a candidate simply because they are a Democrat. In fact, I've voted for more than one common sensical Democrat in my career as a voter. I believe the last one was Zell Miller. Most … [Read more...]
Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims
I'm not jealous that the first book produced by Rush Limbaugh since 1993, called Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims: Time-Travel Adventures with Exceptional Americans, immediately took the top spot on the Amazon hard cover bestseller list. His new book has already reached #152 overall in the Kindle store, #1 in its category for Teen/Young Adult historical fiction -- on first day it was officially available for sale. Nor am I jealous that Rush Revere has received twice as many reviews on the first day of release as all five of my books put together -- mostly because I'm glad that I don't have to contend with his vicious critics, who seem to resent him for breathing. Twelve of the initial forty-one reviewers of Rush Revere only gave the book a one-star rating. Those uber-negative reviews were obviously written by snarky and intolerant liberals. At least one of them was honest enough to begin his review by saying: "Did I read the book? No..." Then how can you review it? None of the most negative reviews were of the "Amazon Verified Purchase" variety. About half of the five-star reviews were verified -- but in fairness, I don't know how the pro-Limbaugh fans have had enough time to read the book and write a review, either. Remember, it was only released today. There is absolutely no reason for me to envy Rush Limbaugh's success selling books on Amazon. In our capitalist society, demand is the only constraint on the total size of the economic pie. My problem isn't that Rush's radio listeners prefer his book to mine. My biggest problem is that his … [Read more...]
