Three months ago to the date on the calendar, I almost died. I woke up a little after midnight that Monday morning because I had excruciating stomach pain. My wife drove me to our hospital’s emergency room where they x-rayed my stomach and then loaded me into an ambulance and sped me north to oneContinue reading Living
I recently had major surgery and spent two weeks in the hospital before the doctor sent me home to finish recuperating. I spent a lot of time in my hospital bed reading ebooks on my tablet and phone. But when I got home, I wanted to have some hard copy books to read while stuckContinue reading The New Two-Day Delivery Service
Let’s be silly for a moment or two. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. And I quote to the best of my knowledge, “While IContinue reading Life Spent Recuperating
I began drawing comic strips when I was in high school. I mentioned The Klutz in my last post. I featured it in my notebooks, notes to friends, and on chalkboards when teachers weren’t around. The Burgess Bros. came next and became a common feature on many unattended chalkboards at my school. Fifi was aContinue reading Conroy’s Corner from the Archives [comic strip]
This archive features a tiny collection of my favorite Louie and Bruce comic strips that I drew many years ago. I began drawing comic strips when I was in high school, waaay back in the 1970s when dinosaurs still roamed the planet. The first serious strip I drew for teachers and classmates was The Klutz,Continue reading Louie and Bruce from the Archives [comic strip]
In an attempt not to be a stranger to everyone who follows my blog, I’m recycling some of my old blogs from years ago. I have many new followers since I began this venture in 2011, and I’m certain few of them have riffled through those blogs of yesteryear. This post features an acrylic wildlifeContinue reading Black Bear Painting from the Archives
My character, Vree Erikson, was born April 30 in Ridgewood PA (a town I call Ravenwood in my early stories) on Walpurgis Night, aka Witches Night. Her nickname Vree comes from her initials VRE from Verawenda Renee Erikson (also spelled Erickson in some of my stories). At the time of this writing, she is andContinue reading Vree’s Birthday [character development]
The majority of the people I write about have normal lives, oblivious to the magical all around them, hidden in plain sight. Dave Evans is one of them. He is part of my small-town urban fantasy world. I believe the urban fantasy story does not have to be rooted in the city. Urban fantasy canContinue reading A Story In Two Styles, part 2 [fiction]
I love writing stories. I began when I was around eight or nine years old and I have not stopped. I wrote the first draft of the following short story during 1972/73. It is an untypical baseball story featuring Dave Evans. When I wrote later drafts, I ended up with two that I liked. TheContinue reading A Story In Two Styles, part 1 [fiction]
I received notice earlier this week that I have been blogging at WordPress for 9 years. This prompted me to reflect on my blog’s look and changes during its near decade of existence. I didn’t call my blog Art~Writing~Life in 2011, but called it Creating New Worlds. My web address was my full name. TheContinue reading Nine Years Blogging at WordPress
I think all young writers began telling their stories in first-person point of view. I did, fifty years ago. I wrote many of my stories at school, but I did it at a different level than my classmates by making myself a character in my stories. A few teachers suggested I replace “me, Steve Campbell,Continue reading Introducing Owen [character development]
Before Ravenwood became a place in my stories, there was Myers Lake, named after Alice Myers, an old woman who lived alone in an ancient Victorian mansion at the lake. She had no living relatives and was always alone—well, she had several cats to keep her company and there was the local pastor who mowedContinue reading Finding Gems in Backstory [character development]
