​Before there were handprints of Nicholas Cage and Adam Sandler (!!), there were classic film stars in the Chinese Theater Forecourt. 

As the story goes, silent film actress Mary Pickford, who invested in the theater, helped give co-owner Sid Grauman the idea for the footprints in 1927 when he accidentally stepped in wet concrete. He said it was "...pure accident. I walked right into it. While we were building the theatre, I accidentally happened to step in some soft concrete. And there it was. So, Mary put her foot into it too."

If you took a shot for every synonym, well, you'd be spifflicated. Or dead.

Back when people had an unhealthy preoccupation with animal parts...

When "sh*t" just isn't cutting it anymore.

Before people had two left feet...

I'm happy to finally have my book on Amazon up for pre-order. What's the point of the pre-order option? Mainly, it helps to drum up interest in the work before it actually goes live. All pre-order sales go toward an author's first week of purchases, which in turn helps the book's ranking. Well-ranked books are more likely to appear as suggested titles when someone is browsing through book options. 

For self-published authors, pre-orders also do something else: provide a final deadline. Amazon is strict about meeting all pre-order deadlines, so it can be good motivation for getting that manuscript put to bed. During the three weeks of my pre-order phase, I'll be doing a final pass to catch any typos or inconsistencies, then finally upload it and call it a day.

Want to be a stud/studette? Help a brother out and pre-order your copy of The Sixteen Burdens between now and Oct. 30. Thanks for your support!

Corrections are easily the least fun part of the writing process. BUT it means the end is near. This book had two great proofreaders, Tino Duran and Dyanne Khalaf. For good measure, I took a week to read the entire manuscript out loud. I'm now a little horse. Neigh.

Writing is never done. I think it's half the reason deadlines exist. Without a defined end point, it's too easy to write and re-write for an eternity.

A great photo of a young Houdini with his mother and his wife, Bess. This was in 1907, so Houdini would have been about 33 and at the peak of his career. Houdini was close to his family and loved his wife fiercely. You can see on the photo that Houdini called the women "my two sweethearts."

Houdini and Bess really did meet in Coney Island, and Bess was originally courted by Houdini's brother, Dash. They married quickly and Bess became is permanent assistant in his shows. Although they both loved children and wanted them, it wasn't in the cards.