Author Archives: mike

9 Ways To Get More from Your Kindle Fire

Posted on June 22, 2012 by mike

Consider Amazon Prime Membership:  The Amazon Prime membership program offers free two-day shipping for all products sold by Amazon.com (but NOT products sold through Amazon by third parties), free instant streaming of many movies and television shows, and access to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off

MemoryStick Found in Curacao

Posted on February 7, 2012 by mike

I just returned from a cruise to Grand Turk, La Romana (Dominican Republic), Aruba, and Curacao.  While touring the Curacao Liquor factory in Curacao, I happened to notice a Sony MemoryStick Pro Duo (512MB) lying on the ground near a … Continue reading →

Posted in Life | Comments Off

My NaNoWriMo 2011 Experience

Posted on November 30, 2011 by mike

For the last three years, I’ve participated in the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) challenge run by The Office of Letters and Light.  And for the third time, I’ve managed to win by creating 50,000 words of original fiction between … Continue reading →

Posted in My Writing | Comments Off

Review: Immediate Fiction by Jerry Cleaver

Posted on September 21, 2011 by mike

Jerry Cleaver is the creator of Chicago’s most successful writers’ workshop, the Writers’ Loft, and has been teaching writing for many years.  His Immediate Fiction: A Complete Writing Course is an inexpensive, portable version of what he teaches on his … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , | Comments Off

Review of WhiteSmoke 2011

Posted on September 17, 2011 by mike

WhiteSmoke 2011 is described on the vendor’s web site as “World-Leading English Writing Software.”  It contains tools for spelling, grammar checking, punctuation, style, and structure.  For reasons that aren’t quite clear, it also contains full-text translation capabilities and a multilingual … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing Software | Tagged , | Comments Off

How to Write an Essay Easily

Posted on August 15, 2011 by mike

Writing, in general, is something many people find difficult.  Stringing together words and sentences is something they struggle with.  Writing an essay can seem like a difficult task.  But it doesn’t have to be that way.  In this tutorial, I’ll … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing Tips | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Apple’s Effect on Book Publishing

Posted on August 14, 2011 by mike

Apple and five leading publishers have been served with a lawsuit alleging that they have conspired to keep electronic book (eBook) pricing artificially high, and that they used their power to prevent Amazon from establishing “pro-consumer” eBook pricing.  According to … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing Tips | Comments Off

SEO for Authors

Posted on August 13, 2011 by mike

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the art of helping search engines like Google or Bing identify what the content on your site is about, so that people searching for the kind of information you’re … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing Tips | Tagged , , | Comments Off

Why Self-Publish?

Posted on July 24, 2011 by mike

A heated debate is raging in the community of professional authors on whether self-publishing is a good idea.  On one side are authors who have always worked through traditional publishers to offer their works.  On the other side are authors … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing Tips | Tagged , , | Comments Off

Has the World Changed or Have I Changed?

Posted on July 16, 2011 by mike

It’s no secret to those who know me that I’m a fan of the singer Morrissey and his former band, The Smiths.  In the song “The Queen is Dead“, Morrissey (or his alter-ego) claims to have learned that he is … Continue reading →

Posted in Life | Comments Off