There is a lot of "soup" in my brain that eventually results in a novel. In Genealogy, I spent a lot of time doing research to get the historical portions "right" in a fictional way. Hmmm... Elliott drinks a gin and tonic... Could he have ice? How available was ice in the Philippines in 1916? And down that rabbit hole I went. But there is a lot of "stuff" that doesn't come from intentional research. It often comes from public radio, specifically Morning Edition, All Thing

Genealogy is now available! Read it today in paperback and on Kindle. On September 1, 1915, Erwin F. K. stepped aboard a train destined for Seattle, Washington, and settled in the observation car. He noticed a woman select a magazine from a stand and was taken by her. That evening, there was a mix-up with their Pullman berths and Erwin met my great-grandmother. ​ Five days later, he sailed for the Philippines and she remained in Seattle. ​ Over four long years and throughou

Q: How do you eat an elephant? A: One bite at a time. Q: How do you write a novel? A: One careful word typed after another 70,000 times. For me that takes about a year to do. And over that course of a year, what's hard for me to is to keep motivated. To keep focused. To not give up. To continue the slow slog, the grind that threatens to wear you down until you give out. I've published three novels. A fourth is in the works. Two simple things keep me going. Here the

Life in Wood Hall after the Woodlings have been put to bed: Mrs. Wood types away on her Macbook and then stops to giggle. Said giggle interrupts Mr. Wood’s viewing of Behind the Scenes of the Making of the Documentary about Joshua Oppenheimer’s Third and As-Yet Unfinished Film about Indonesia. Or maybe it was Shaqtin’ a Fool’s “Best of JaVale McGee” Special. Regardless of the program specifics, the giggle caused Mr. Wood to hit the pause button and ask, “I’m trying to watch