Thursday, August 25, 2016

HOT, HOT, HOT! News to Bake Your Brain

Boy, is it HOT! Bet you haven't heard that before. LOL


Well, the weather is going to cool down a bit this week. Out here in Aberdeen we'll see a twenty degree dip from the 80's. But we're not here to talk about the weather.

Things are heating up on the home front. We continue to work on the renovation of Harbor House (still quite enough to keep us busy) as well as active promotion. We were in the newspaper this week and last week we were on the radio. There are a few other media things lined up and we're about a month out to open.

We continue to find good deals on some of the furnishings we need. Now we just need 30+ folding chairs, LOL (and a few other things).

In other news:

My lovely wife is getting a book together for publication. And I have a new idea (a book of my poems and Ruth's photos). However, most of my writing (other than ad copy and press releases) has been set aside while we get Harbor House off the ground.

I'm working on a play (39 Steps) at the Driftwood Players Theatre; building sets and working on a lighting effect. That's in my free time. LOL

That be it for now.

If you'd like to know how the IndieGoGo goes you can click here.


Friday, August 12, 2016

The Story of How I Came to Writing and Why My Wife and I are Starting the Harbor House Writing Center

Scoops Ice Cream and Espresso in Aberdeen, Wash. 2016, really.

Harbor House really is the result of our own journeys as writers. For me it went something like this:


As far back as I can remember I’ve been a storyteller. In grade school I would put on shows that I wrote, or make films I scripted to amuse friends and family. People seemed to like my work and that gave me a great sense of satisfaction.

In time I discovered that I was a decent storyteller, but not a very good master of written English. I lacked grammar and spelling skills and so I received a lot of red ink and little encourage from my teachers in those days. Unfortunately, red ink often earns a lower grade, not to mention parental ire. I felt like a failure and my interests shifted to music and theater.

It wasn’t until I went to university in my thirties that my passion for writing was recognized and encouraged. It was there that I began to actually care about parsing a sentence and communicating well. I graduated from WSU in 1999 with a humanities BA and a Professional Writing Certificate. Then, while pursuing a career in multimedia, I wrote my first book and self-published it in 2005. That felt really good and the book opened many doors for me. Suddenly, I was speaking at conferences across the nation! I wasn’t a failure at writing after all.

One of the things that I learned in college, besides the mechanics of writing, was that it wasn’t those mechanics that made you a valuable writer—it was the ability to engage an audience. Sure, form was important, but no one is ever recognized for having good form. You get recognized for crafting compelling, moving and memorable stories.

Well, after awhile my multimedia career fizzled out and, in 2007, I decided to return to school where I studied more about writing. In 2009, I earned a second BA and then tried to find time to write. There were false starts, episodes of self-doubt and a string of rejections as I labored over three disparate projects, trying to find my niche and voice. I used the time to hone my craft by working in journalism and commercial writing (as well as other odd jobs that my heart was never in).

What I really wanted to do was write my own stuff!

Besides, having Asperger’s—a form of high-performance autism—I was taxed greatly by the social environments that were part of what was expected in the work world. At the end of the day I was mentally spent and found it hard to tackle my own projects.

Finally, in 2012, I set everything aside to boldly pursue writing full-time. I self-published my second book while trying to attract a publisher to other works. The rejections and self-doubt continued, but I didn’t let them tear me down. I found encouragers and supporters—other writers and authors—to cheer me on. And I cheered them on, too!

Four years and ten more books later...

I’ve learned a few things and I am more passionate about writing than ever. And now I want to share the journey and the joy, the encouragement and the experience, the insight and the inspiration with other writers struggling to hone their own skills and find their own voice.

A year ago my wife, who has her Masters of Fine Arts Degree in Creative Writing, approached me with the idea that we could open a writing center. The idea stuck. How we ended up in Aberdeen, Washington to do that? Well, that's another story.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

NEWS: Upcoming Harbor House Radio Interview

I'll be sharing about Harbor House on http://www.kxro.com/ radio, 7:40 a.m., Friday (08/12). 15-20 minute segment.


I'll be joining Kyle Pauley, along with News Director Daniel Hargrove and Pat Anderson for an interview on the Morning News Show.

For those out of the area you can tune in live on the Internet at this link above (play button is at the top, near the the menu bar).

Friday, August 5, 2016

PUMPED: The Newest Harbor House Writing Center News and More!

Hello Friends. Thanks for joining me again. I'm pretty pumped today!


I got a new book in the mail that I've wanted for a long time. Well, I wanted it before it was available. It's newly published and we don't have a bookstore where I live, so I had to order it online. I've read excerpts and just had to have it. It's Hearing God in Conversation by Samuel C. Williamson.

Plus another book just came out I hafta get, it's The Long Journey to Jake Palmer by Christy Award winner James L. Rubart--my favorite author. So, I'm pumped about getting that soon.

Plus, last night my wife and I got the Harbor House website online and it is lookin' gooood. Be sure and check that out. We've been working on that, but we're also working on the physical building. My son and I just finished building a window seat into the bay window and the next step is covering it. Anyway, I am transferring most of the news about that to that blog,

And then there's the fact that...

I got the IndieGoGo campaign for the Harbor House up and running this morning AND we got our first backer contribution! Which means you can go-go there right now and get all the news about this exciting project.

Here's the video (but please, do go to the site and make a pledge--there's lots of cool swag):


Okay, nuff said. Now I'm going to go work on another refinishing project. Sigh. LOL

Thursday, August 4, 2016

The HARBOR HOUSE Writing Center Website is Live; IndieGoGo Campaign to Begin Soon

The Harbor House website is now live at: http://harborhousewriters.blogspot.com/ AND we've set the Grand Opening Gala for Sept. 24. Here's the info:


Changes and updates are happening daily. Watch the new website for information.