Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Rising Tide in South Louisiana 

I have to admit, it’s a strange and wonderful thing to hear podcasters, journalists, writers, and librarians repeating the phrase “a renaissance in South Louisiana literature” back to me. It’s something I’ve written and said hundreds of times over the last couple years, but there’s a special power in the words when other people speakContinue reading “The Rising Tide in South Louisiana “

Lessons Learned From My First Podcast

I’m in the middle of cooking dinner, and so I need to make this short. Lucky you. Still, I do have value to offer my nameless brethren out there in the early stages of building a creative enterprise. Everybody has a first podcast. And Jan Swift, host of the Discover Lafayette, was my first. IfContinue reading “Lessons Learned From My First Podcast”

Telling Stories

Over the weekend I converted a broom closet in our house to a little voice recording studio. By converted I mean I took all the random crap out of the room and hung a rug over the door. Works like a charm, actually.  The re-purposed room is a part of my decision to buckle downContinue reading “Telling Stories”

Let the Good Times Roll!A Record of Outreach & Engagement in Acadiana

A Strange Kind of Symmetry.   I don’t know what it’s like to write about South Louisiana from inside the state. It was 1999 when I started writing The Broad Stroke, my still unpublished first novel set on a fictitious version of the very real college campus that people now call the University of LouisianaContinue reading “Let the Good Times Roll!A Record of Outreach & Engagement in Acadiana“

Standing Up to the Sick Lure of Stand Up

“You can’t just go out there and put it in their ass.” Joey Diaz giving stand up advice to Eddie Bravo Among the handful of public engagements I had in Acadiana this October, the four-ish minutes I spent on stage for open mic night at the Jefferson Street Pub were the most intense. The thingContinue reading “Standing Up to the Sick Lure of Stand Up”

A Quick Note from the Trenches

I’ve been delinquent on my Monday blogs, friends. Sorry about that. South Louisiana is getting the best of me! The last couple weeks have been a whirling dervish of meeting new readers, fellow writers, and spreading the good word of New Bayou Books. A reading event at the Calcasieu Parish Library in Sulphur (photo below).Continue reading “A Quick Note from the Trenches”

Reality and Imagination are Fixing to Clash

“I spent some time in New Orleans. I had to live on rice and beans. I hitched to Texas when the sun was beating down. Won’t nothing bring you down like your hometown.” Steve Earle Well, the week has finally arrived. I’m headed back to South Louisiana for an extended soaking of all that isContinue reading “Reality and Imagination are Fixing to Clash”

Note to Future Self

Be good to your future self. Me and JP I’ve been reading and listening to some psychology and philosophical texts and thinkers recently. Jordan Peterson. Sam Harris. Kieran Setiya. Others. I don’t understand them all, but as I approach the half-century mark, some things are starting to come into the light. One interesting shift isContinue reading “Note to Future Self”

I’m Telling You, this Timer Thing is Golden

The timer is a powerful tool of productivity. I’m telling you, it’s almost magic. I’ve talked about the power of timers before, but I’m taking another run at it for two reasons. First, timers have gotten more sophisticated recently. I work on a standard PC style laptop that runs whatever the latest version of WindowsContinue reading “I’m Telling You, this Timer Thing is Golden”