Getting Ready to Vote

I received my mail-in ballot last week, along with the voter information pamphlets that explain the various propositions we’re voting on and give the candidate statements. I like to spread all the materials out on my dining table. I read over everything, check online with a few trusted news sources if I have questions, then mark […]

Star Gazing

I was unable to catch a glimpse of Comet Neowise back in July, but trying to spot it caused me to pay a lot more attention to the night sky. Now, I’m not in the greatest location for star watching. I rent a two-story condo in a small complex and either my neighbors or strategically placed […]

The October Issue of The KierDevil News Is Out!

Get a peek into my writer’s brain as I comment on some old plot notes I made on the SSU series back in 2007. The October 2020 edition of my KierDevils newsletter went out on Thursday, October 1st.  If you’re a subscriber and don’t see it in your Inbox, please check your Spam or Junk folder. For […]

I Can Change the Weather

One of my quirks as a writer is that once I’ve written details into a story, I tend to believe that’s the way it is. For example, in this draft of WAR: Retaliation, there’s a once-in-a-century storm about to hit. The wind is racing through the city. The clouds are roiling overhead. But having a too-dangerous-to-drive-in storm […]

Blood on the Page

They say that a good writer bleeds onto the page. Figuratively, of course. So, what does it mean when a reader literally leaves blood on the page?Disclaimer: No, this wasn’t some blood sacrifice on my part. I’ve somehow become Queen of the Paper Cuts. I swear that at the office all I have to do is be near […]

Obsessed with AQI

Like many Californians during fire season, I’m currently obsessed with the Air Quality Index (AQI). I spend my day constantly checking to see what level we’re at, so I can decide whether it’s safe to talk a walk or whether just running to the grocery store requires an N95 mask to protect against the particulate […]

If I wanted Las Vegas heat…

I’d have moved to Las Vegas. Or returned to West Africa. While we didn’t quite get to the 112F predicted yesterday, we did get up to 109F today. That’s the hottest temperature I remember since moving to California in 1999.To help reduce the heat in my bedroom, which gets the afternoon sun, I went out and bought […]

The September Issue of The KierDevil News Is Out!

It’s funny typos time again! The September 2020 edition of my KierDevils newsletter went out on Thursday, September 3rd.  If you’re a subscriber and don’t see it in your Inbox, please check your Spam or Junk folder. For Gmail users, it might also be on your Promotions tab. If my emails are consistently ending up in your spam […]

Accentuate the Positive

I recently heard a podcast interview with Tank Sinatra. The takeaway is that our brains are wired to focus on the negative. In order to maintain balance in a world that shoves negative news at us in a never-ending stream, we need to actively seek out good news. To assist with this, he’s created a […]

To Breathe or Not to Breathe?

When we’re stressed, one of the easiest ways to calm down is to take a deep breath. Yet what if the air isn’t safe to breathe? We’re afraid to breathe when in close proximity to others due to COVID-19. Here in California, wildfire smoke has turned the air toxic. As I’m writing this, the air quality at […]