For Writers and Readers

less is often MORE

Where my Zoe now lives, in a tower on the fifth floor and overlooking the Charles River.

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana, philosopher, 1853-1952

While I researched and wrote The Biggest Liar in Los Angeles , set in 1926, I learned that the common people in L.A.mostly got around on trolleys and busses.

On Election Day of that year, Sister Aimee Semple McPherson delivered her verdict as to who was the city's biggest liar, and Harry Chandler, publisher of the Los Angeles Times, got his way and made a dirty fortune, having convinced voters the city needed a new train station rather than the proposed network of elevated railways. The Times attacked the elevated railways for blocking out the California sun and in general being antithetical to the ethos of Los Angeles.

Apparently Mr. Chandler believed the Los Angeles ethos means oil wells, cars galore, and the roads they require. So his Times backed a slew of road construction bond measures. Besides, Chandler (who would later become an inspiration for the infamous Noah Cross of the film Chinatown), owned property quite suitable for the new train station.

Whenever I find myself in a Southern California traffic jam, I take a moment to remember Harry Chandler.

Was he the biggest liar in Los Angeles? G o here for the answer.

LEO TOLSTOY AND ME

Used to be, a writer's job was to write and find a publisher who would then edit and market his or her books.

Things changed. These days, all except a chosen few writers are expected to market their own work.

So I prowl around looking for marketing advice, and once in a while I find a valuable resource, like Reedsy. If you write and can use some help marketing, check them out.

This is a big week for Hickey Family crime novels. The Vagabond Virgins ebook will get released on Saturday, February 13. And The Good Know Nothing is on currently sale for a ridiculous bargain price.

Here's a clip from an article all who shop or sell at Amazon should read:

"Like virtually all successful Amazon sellers, she purchased fulfillment and storage services from the company because the algorithms would bury her listings if she fulfilled orders herself."

Sure, I like free shipping and next day delivery, but come on Bezos, wake up and ask yourself how much money and power does a guy need.

"It is not just that the United States is becoming a more secular nation. It is that Americans’ secularization is, at least in part, a backlash to the employment of religion for partisan ends. The widely held perception that religion is partisan has contributed to the turn away from religious affiliation." From the New York Times; David Campbell, quoted in “The Capitol Insurrection was as Christian Nationalist as It Gets”