The Writer’s Library

For many years I wrote about fiction, story, belief, ordinary life, and the questions that shaped my work. More than two thousand essays remain here—not because every one represents my current thinking, but because together they tell the story of a writer learning over time.

Search for a subject, browse by month and year, or begin with the most recent writing below.


Search the Library


Browse by Month


Browse by Topic


Browse the Shelves

The archive begins with the most recent writing. Use the numbered pages below to move backward through time.

  • What a joke

    Here’s the link to this article. STEVE SCHMIDT AUG 25, 2023 It is hard to sort through the surreality and absurdity of the FOX-hosted MAGA/GOP debate for the…

    Read Essay

  • The Boaz Stranger–Chapter 38

    Ray spent all day Friday and half of Saturday plotting the best way to rid his world of Billy and Buddy James. Ray had left three messages at…

    Read Essay

  • 08/24/23 Biking & Listening

    Biking is something else I both love and hate. It takes a lot of effort but does provide good exercise and most days over an hour to listen…

    Read Essay

  • Steve Schmidt reacts to the 2024 Republican Presidential Debate on Fox News | The Warning

    Read Essay

  • The Boaz Stranger–Chapter 37

    As promised, the back door was open. I wondered if Kyla’s late ‘need to use your bathroom’ trick was the reason. I walked into a long narrow den…

    Read Essay

  • 08/23/23 Biking & Listening

    Biking is something else I both love and hate. It takes a lot of effort but does provide good exercise and most days over an hour to listen…

    Read Essay

  • The Sweep and Force of Section Three

    Why Donald J. Trump is disqualified to run for the presidency.

    Read Essay

  • What is ‘woke’? It’s my trigger word

    Here’s the link to this article. by JONATHAN MS PEARCE AUG 19, 2023 Overview: “Woke” is either the new “libtard” or it means nothing. Either way, it triggers me……

    Read Essay

  • The Boaz Stranger–Chapter 36

    Lillian and I had given Kyla a half-hour head start. She was dropping by Jane’s house and the two of them were going to Gadsden to see a…

    Read Essay

  • 08/22/23 Biking & Listening

    Biking is something else I both love and hate. It takes a lot of effort but does provide good exercise and most days over an hour to listen…

    Read Essay