Books, and the ideals and questions they can present, are banned for personal, ideological, political, or religious reasons. It is often said that to the victor goes the spoils; well, so, too, do the victors write the history books. When that “truth” is threatened the rhetoric and polemic monologues...
Don’t compromise yourself- you’re all you have. – John Grisham
For those that do not know, Second Story is a charity in Indianapolis that promotes literacy and helps kids to have Second Story is a community-based and volunteer-driven educational organization that helps young people in Indianapolis form positive attitudes about writing and improve their skills as writers—thus increasing their chances...
The is a new look and a new home for the Banned Books Awareness and Reading for Knowledge column.
The Banned Books Awareness and Reading for Knowledge Facebook page is just shy of 500 followers. As great as that is, the news is bittersweet. Within a few weeks of starting this project back in 2011 I was contacted by World.edu (then World Education Network) and offered to write...
Whoo hoo!!! The Mythic Indy anthology containing one of my short stories, The Incident at Methodist Station, is finally in print! Proceeds benefit the Second Story literacy campaign.
In light of how the last year ended and the new one began, I share some musings that I published on my Instagram account.
“Solstice” Freshly fallen snow hugs the ground like a blanket Anticipation of birth in the crisp winter air The Moon shines in the darkness secure in the future As the first rays of Sunlight signal the birth drawing near Women commanding over the power of nativity Men confident in...
Today I had the privilege of finally meeting Mitch Albom.
Albom has had a meteoric rise over the last 20 years, going from a hometown columnist for the Detroit Free Press (I still enjoy reading his pointed words every Sunday) to a novelist known around the world after successful titles such as Tuesdays with Morrie.
His latest inspirational tale, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto, was released last month and he has come home to the Detroit area on his book tour- this time at the Barnes and Noble store close to myself. Frankie Presto is a yarn about the power of talent to change our lives and is filled with Albom’s signature prose, known for its passion and inspiration.
I waited in line with Racheal, fresh off of my own memorable signing event last week, content to be just another fan. I went over what I would say to him when finally face-to-face.
I introduced myself and we chatted about Frankie, and I mentioned his words earlier regarding starting as a relative unknown outside of Michigan and that I am now where he was those many years ago. He asked what genre I work with and I told him about my non-fiction and my censorship and literacy cause. I also mentioned that I had a signing event recently for my sixth book. He smiled from ear-to-ear and said, “Six?! That’s a bookshelf! Congratulations!”
In this moment we were equals; kindred spirits with a shared love of the written word. I would have loved to talk to him in detail about the industry but other fans were waiting as eagerly as I was. He signed the book with a smile:
Yes, Mr. Albom, I have found my six strings. I shall play them for as long as I can.
It makes me smile to know something I’ve done can brighten someone’s day. The #AcrosstheGreatDivide momentum continues.