Several years ago, I read a medical expert’s analysis of James Joyce’s Ulysses.  He concluded that the book exhibited not genius but the workings of a diseased mind.  If the doctor’s theory had been  treated seriously, a number of  literary critics and scholars who claim to

A pet peeve of mine is “the critic,” even though I might qualify as one because I’ve scribbled a few lines about a book or two.  But I’m not talking about ordinary people expressing an opinion.   I’m talking about professionals who make a living posturing as literary expe

Winning the Pulitzer Prize won’t ensure a writer respect from a certain cadre of critics, those who owe their high perches to their employment rather than to any literary achievement.   For good or ill, these arbitrators of taste imagine they determine what passes for fine literat

Black Drop, the fourth novel in Susan Stoner’s Sage Adair mystery series hits the bookstores this month. Set in the Pacific Northwest during the 1900s, Adair, an undercover agent for the Labor movement, is the hot on the trail of a would-be assassin. President Theodore Roosevelt is

Whether it’s a box of cereal or George Clooney, branding is critical to break into the public eye. (See Blogs 1/21/13, & 8/2/13) But unless you’re a steer how do you manage it, especially if you’re a blogger working at home? I thought I’d find the answer in an article enti

While I was in public life, I wrote a pamphlet entitled, “Who’s Watching the Watchers.” The subject was media accountability. Hoping the industry would police itself struck me as naïve as thinking North Korea might give up its nuclear weapons. My proposal was to create a citize

I mentioned earlier that Susan Stoner, author of the Sage Adair mystery series, and I are preparing for our YouTube book program, “Just Read it.” Our first 5 airings begin with a review of top paperback sellers listed in the New York Times. Recently, she and I met to compare notes

 “…almost all critical judgment…is in the main built on prejudice.” So wrote British writer E. E. Kellett. (“What is Literature?” by Arthur Krystal, Harpers, March 2014, pg. 93) His pronouncement came as a relief, as I’d just read and hated two bestselling novels for my

Susan Stoner, author of the Sage Adair Historical Mystery Series and I were browsing through in a large, three-storied bookstore the other day when suddenly my friend paused and, looking down the aisle at the floor to ceiling shelves, uttered a deep sigh. “Gosh, there are a lot of b