irvinjgdm, Author at From the Write Side

Love Notes

Fab February is here, the shortest and, perhaps the dullest, of the calendar months. Except for the cultural touchstones that keep it interesting -- Valentine's Day, President's Day, National Heart Month, and the birthdays of those we hold dear. For writers like me, the month is an uninterrupted span of days to draft, revise, revisit, and polish existing work and to read and research for future endeavors. There is also, for football fans, the Super Bowl. Now, if my team isn't in it, I have [...]

By irvinjgdm|2023-01-31T17:50:35+00:00January 31st, 2023|Essays|0 Comments

C.J. BOX

I'm thrilled to welcome New York Times best-selling author and the writer inspiration for not one but two TV series C. J. BOX to my author nook. I met him at the PrimeCrime Writers Conference in Indianapolis in October of 2022 and was immediately taken by his gracious personality and his willingness to engage with the assembly of writers. Plus, I love a great western tale, and C.J. has crafted over thirty novels, which include the Joe Pickett and the Hoyt/Dewell series as well as [...]

By irvinjgdm|2023-01-31T18:02:19+00:00January 31st, 2023|Author of the Month|0 Comments

Resetting the Calendar

No one is happier than me to see 2022 disappear in the rearview mirror. I'm hoping that the new year brings more opportunities to share my writing, to create new stories, to see new places, and to welcome new friends into my life. To accomplish these goals, I first need to cleanse my workspace -- exterior and interior - of the accumulated baggage from the past twelve months. Therefore, I'm making a list... 1. Redo all sites and passwords* 2. Clean out all file folders [...]

By irvinjgdm|2022-12-31T15:28:46+00:00December 31st, 2022|Blog|0 Comments

Author of the Month: DOYLE BURKE

I live in a small town outside of Dayton, Ohio, a city known for the Wright Brothers, a slew of VIP patents for things like cash registers and cars, and a fair amount of sensational murders. Enter Doyle Burke, a local resident who became a Dayton Police Officer in 1978, rose to the rank of Homicide Detective and remained on the job for 22 years. When Burke retired from Dayton P.D., he took a job as Chief Investigator for the Warren County Coroner where he [...]

By irvinjgdm|2022-12-31T20:29:41+00:00December 31st, 2022|Author of the Month|0 Comments

December Girls

December girls stand arrow-straight, wear winter white, carmine and black, cool colors for red-hot thinkers, the doers in the darkest part of the year's final gasp. December girls love with fierce ambition and deep commitment, spend themselves on soul causes. They draw Sagittarian bows, release the fletched and sacred darts toward future fate not yet revealed, set their sights on a higher plane and soar, unsullied into the coming year. ~~~ May you join this December girl in welcoming a new year, new ventures, and [...]

By irvinjgdm|2022-11-30T18:35:56+00:00November 30th, 2022|Blog|0 Comments

December 2022 Author of the Month: JORDAN RILEY SWAN

Does the romance genre have room for male writers? Definitely, and this month's author -- Jordan Riley Swan -- is proof of that. Swan is the alter ego of Bernie Miller, a self-proclaimed 'wild word hunter' who also writes with a crew to produce romance novels as well as epic fantasy tomes. In addition to running successful business concerns and writing, Swan has served as president of the Central Ohio Fiction Writers organization. His interview provides a delightful glimpse into his world that includes dropping [...]

By irvinjgdm|2022-11-30T18:21:53+00:00November 30th, 2022|Author of the Month|0 Comments

November and Politics: Is it possible to do better?

November may be a dreary month, but I always feel energized by the essay opportunities it provides. After all, in the drabbest month, making a list of things to be grateful for lifts spirits. There is also the voting thing, which has become fraught with dissension and shows no sign of shifting back to the middle ground. And I serve as a poll worker, so training, which is now obligatory for volunteers in Ohio, demonstrates that even in a non-partisan environment, tension reveals itself. Several [...]

By irvinjgdm|2022-11-02T01:17:57+00:00October 31st, 2022|Blog, Uncategorized|0 Comments

November 2022 Author of the Month: MARISA DILLON

Joining the Central Ohio Fiction Writers group has been a positive experience for me, a chance to meet and bond with other authors, learn from the monthly presentations, and expand my list of books to read. I also had the privilege of working on the COFW Ignite the Flame Contest with the lovely Marisa Dillon, whose marketing expertise coupled with her writing provided a new direction for my own work. Dillon's novels are historical romance fiction set in Scotland. Her interest in writing about faraway [...]

By irvinjgdm|2022-10-31T17:39:55+00:00October 31st, 2022|Author of the Month|0 Comments

The Writer’s Way

Every season has a rhythm, an underlying purpose that drives the land and we who inhabit it. Take a moment to think about the rhythms you bring to each change, the cleaning and organizing, the planning and preparations. Just as the land scours itself in spring and fall, so do I. Just this week I finished the grand reorganization of my library, alphabetizing all the books shoved on top of the existing volumes and culling from the shelves those that wish to migrate to other [...]

By irvinjgdm|2022-10-12T20:44:28+00:00September 30th, 2022|Blog, Essays|0 Comments

October 2022 Author of the Month: CARLOS K. MARSHALL

Fall is definitely in the air around our neighborhood and so is the excitement surrounding this month's author, Carlos K. Marshall, whose debut achievement - God's Mighty Men The Christian Man's Guide to Love, Leadership and Life, is aimed at providing young Black men in our society with the support and foundation they need to achieve success in their personal and working lives. Janet Irvin: Welcome, Carlos. Let's start with getting to know you better. Can you share with us some of your early [...]

By irvinjgdm|2022-09-30T17:14:45+00:00September 30th, 2022|Author of the Month|0 Comments

Tales from My Reading and Writing Life

About irvinjgdm