Quote of the Week

"Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit."

--- e.e. cummings

They Say it's Your Birthday!!

William Shakespeare
April 23, 1564 ~
April 23, 1616

• Playwright
• Actor
• Man of many "True Identities"

Whomever you may be,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WILL!!

"A man loves the meat in his youth that he cannot endure in his age."
--- Benedick, Much Ado About Nothing, Act 2, Scene 3

Quote of the Week

"The eyes of others our prisons; their thoughts our cages."

--- Virginia Woolf

Cozy No More

When one thinks of British mysteries, images of quaint little villages, older ladies and gentleman as the amateur sleuth and bloodless crimes usually come to mind right away. But according to Publisher's Weekly, the traditional British mystery is getting a makeover. As mentioned in the article "the noir traditions set down by Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett made their way across the Atlantic, seeping into the consciousness of a new generation of U.K. crime writers."

Huxtable goes Hip-Hop

It appears that Bill Cosby, yes Bill Cosby, will be releasing a hip-hop album some time in the next several weeks titled "Cosby Narratives Vol. 1: State of Emergency." A spokesperson for Cosby described the album as "unflinching look at life in the 21st century, but without the profanity, misogyny, violence and braggadocio."

"Yo, yo yo, word to the Jell-o." At any rate, I'm interested in hearing it.

Quote of the Week

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."

--- Scott Adams

In the beginning. . . .

Who ever said that coming up with the perfect opening was easy?

Quote of the Week

"Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old."

--- Franz Kafka

Odds and Ends

All in the family
This month, two second generation writers will all have new offerings.

• The Genius by Jesse Kellerman
• Zapped by Carol Higgins Clark

Novel Writing
There are numerous books on how to write a novel, so why aren't there any books that tell you how NOT to write a novel? Good news. Now there is. You can check it out here.

Happy Birthday Converse!
I'm sure at some point in their life, many people owned at least one pair of Chuck Taylor canvas sneakers. Today, there are a multitude of colors and patterns. It may be hard to believe, but it's been 100 years since Marquis Mills Converse began making simple, rubber-sole work shoes in a factory outside Boston that would eventually lead to one of the most popular shoes of all time. Shoes have always come and gone, but those Chucks were always there.

Quote of the Week

"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul - and sings the tunes without the words - and never stops at all."

--- Emily Dickinson