Trial and Error in the Comic Novel

In the Distance the town of Meadowhawk, Nevada I soon discover whether a situation is inherently funny. If it isn’t funny it becomes clear that the scene will depend on characterization. If character and circumstances fail next is to write a funny line to try and carry the scene. Then, after being dissatisfied […]

Comedy as Balancing Act

Comedy requires concision. As I’ve been building my story I’ve had to battle filling in enough narrative to make the mind’s eye see the scene while maintaining the pace of the story so as not to derail the momentum. It is a brutal dance of first building the chapter and then removing anything that does […]

Marginally Deplorable….

Up and About… I am reminded of the path to our final destination. Writing a comedy is a perilous affair. It does not depend on inspiration. It does not depend on careful planning. It is more like waiting for a bus to arrive that keeps to no set schedule. HOT SPRING HONEYMOON “Everyone […]

Sunday aboard our Sailboat

What about a gentle breeze, warm sun and our dear friends Lori and RJ aboard our yacht Sweet Seas for an afternoon of conversation? While basking in the light, dining on guacamole, eating enlightened chips… toss in a beer, a glass of wine, steady beats from our favorite jazz station…. We do a […]

A Day in the Year of a Life of an Author…

The Sycamores of Calella, Spain February 2013 Sixteen months ago I put my second novel Bankrupt Heart on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I printed off 50 copies and those have been distributed to influential helpers or sold to fiction readers. At the same time I began plotting my third novel, a comedy with the […]

The Western Writer

I prepare for Australia. It is looming. Like all of us born in California my life is full and not one more thing may be added now. Still, I am unsettled from another clever interview with an author who grew up in Idaho and describes herself as a “western writer”. We may all say where […]

All About Bankrupt Heart

Bankrupt Heart A Novel by Dana Smith Bankrupt Heart explores the journey a man begins under some duress when his life on one fateful day vanishes. But wait! This is only where the story begins. Victoria, Ry’s long term life partner, a composer-pianist on tour in London is not only not coming back, but is […]

Children at the Brink

I was running with the wind again. Headed north with Lacey riding shotgun. We had dinner in Ashland Saturday night. Sunday stopped in Eugene for breakfast. I’d been the producer of the street performing program at the Eugene Celebration for a bunch of years. Downtown Eugene has gone from bad to worse in the last […]

Eternity Ringing in my Ears

My 1967 Ford pickup truck was home. It took some practice to get the kinks out. Simplicity was the key. When I got the truck it had a V-8 and when I finished it had an inline 6 cylinder 240 cubic inch motor. Matched weighted forged pistons, steel timing gears, special camshaft profile, roller rockers, […]

Hand in Glove

Handsome, a physical specimen, educated with grace and manners but are we capable as California/artist/performer/author of being debonair? Is our style too casual, too wash and wear, with silk and linen missing from our closet? The Bordeaux is one continent and one ocean removed. We go to the Napa Valley. It is all so downscale. […]