Saying Goodbye to Borders
Today was not a good day. I made my last purchase at Borders, well, Borders.com, using up the balance on a gift card my girlfriend gave me. As I navigated their unwieldy website, I couldn’t help but remember my first times at the store, and how regretful I am at its closing. [Cue Corny Flashback Music] I remember shopping at the Borders in the White Flint Mall in Rockville. You took an escalator to the second floor, which deposited you right on the shop floor….
Guest Post: Writing the E-Book
This week, my good friend and author Liz Funk agreed to guest post. She has just written a great new ebook, Coming of Age in a Crap Economy, available here. I read an advance copy and loved it; Liz offers relevant advice and support to anyone dealing with fallout from the Great Recession. I have been very curious about e-publishing lately, and asked her to share her experience. So, without further ado, I turn the blog over to Liz. * * * It made…
Two Bookstores
Los Angeles has just about everything, but it doesn’t have that many great bookstores. Sure, there’s Book Soup in West Hollywood, and out in Pasadena there is Vroman’s. But if you live in West LA like me you’re hard pressed to find anything more than a storefront in a strip mall or a Barnes & Noble. I could rattle off a couple of independent video stores I like that are mere walking distance from my apartment, but as for books, forget it. It may be…
On Bellbottoms and Being Dated
Hollywood has certainly benefited from new technology. I mean, we’ve made it a long way from silents to Technicolor IMAX 3D THX sensations. Every aspect has improved, that is, except screenwriting. The number of nineties movies I’ve seen where the hero whips out a huge cell phone or a milk crate-sized laptop are countless. Not only does it take me out of the movie’s “high-tech reality” it also provides a sort of inappropriate comic relief: “Man, does Arnold look like a loser with that giant…
Query Letters DO Work
This is a quick note to tell you exciting news. I have another article up—this one is in an LA print magazine called Working World. It’s a two-page feature on “How to Avoid Online Job Scams.” When the link appears on their website, I’ll add it to the blog, but for now you’ll have to pick it up here in LA. I found this opportunity through, yes, a query letter. For those not in the know, a query letter is a quick missive (usually an…
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