The worst grade I ever got in graduate school wasn't an F or even a zero; it was "crucifixion." No, I wasn't strung up on a wooden scaffold to be slowly suffocated. But my professor did write on the back of my paper, "If you submitted this to any historical journal, YOU WOULD BE CRUCIFIED!"... Continue Reading →
As a Greek storyteller and history buff, you know I had to offer my take on the latest Greek epic to grace the silver screen. And I am happy to say, Christopher Nolan delivers. While it is far from the Lord of the Rings-perfection audiences were hoping to see, this version of The Odyssey ranks... Continue Reading →
Note: So I guess I made the mistake of posting this piece on Reddit (you know, the forum for informed and nuanced discourse) and pretty much got downvoted to oblivion. As expected, the discussion revolved around the contentious issue of Helen's historicity, entirely missing the point of this piece, namely that I will see the... Continue Reading →
A worrying trend I am noticing these days is that would-be WRITERS are no longer reading. It's bad enough that your average Joe is either too stupid or too lazy to pick up a book, but now even aspiring authors are becoming functionally illiterate (which may explain Trumpism and the popularity of Dungeon Crawler Carl,... Continue Reading →
I can’t believe how stupid this book is! I wouldn’t have wanted to write this even if it had made me as successful as Dinniman. I mourn for all the trees wasted printing this book. These were my initial, honest-to-goodness thoughts upon reading Dungeon Crawler Carl. Now, I only picked this up because I was... Continue Reading →
THIS IS A SCAM ALERT!!! I was almost taken in by a scam the other day—something I never thought would happen to me, because I am fairly paranoid when it comes to online interactions. If you so much as DM "hello" to me, I am going to get suspicious. Over the years, I have had... Continue Reading →
Ironically, I used AI to help me condense this podcast (below), only to prove how it can never actually replace a genuine author who has mastered the art of storytelling. Even when the text is sourced directly from my own words, the condensed writing feels stilted and lifeless. Much of it was actually incomprehensible, in... Continue Reading →
In this podcast below, I give you not one, not two, but a whopping 25 book reviews! These are all books I read before starting this blog 15 years ago that I never got a chance to share. Reading (and reading a lot) is a crucial part of being an author. It's truly the only... Continue Reading →
You get to thinking of the Earth as an organism, a living thing. You get to worry about it, care for it, wish it well. National boundaries are as invisible as meridians of longitude, or the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. The boundaries are arbitrary. The planet is real. Carl Sagan Carl Sagan was a... Continue Reading →
Clear your calendars, folks, I have exciting news! I will be attending the 2nd annual Tarpon Springs Book Festival right here in beautiful Tarpon Springs, Florida! Last year's event was a total SMASH — My most successful signing event to date. This is a great opportunity to meet me in person, pick my brain about... Continue Reading →
The Art of Storytelling 
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