Jump Starting Your Inner Novelist: Published! (Book) - 8/5/2015 10:18:14 AM
Did you forget to mention your co-author and his contribution, Julius? You also have an older entry here that you need to delete (it's on another page).
Dennis, your editor and co-author
Philadelphia Voices: Andre McCarter Monday Memoires (Short Story) - 7/12/2017 4:46:41 AM
Your interview with Andre (Magician) from Philly, gives some insight into the life of inner-city basketball players. Without those basketball courts to keep kids busy, they might have drifted into other activities that weren't as healthy.
Although you tried to get him to tell you funny stories, he always seem to want to tell you about the struggle to win and get ahead in a very competitive environment. It was rather strange that it was funny when he succeeded and funny when he didn't. He was so serious about basketball that it seemed like he didn't even have a laugh while he played. I was amazed at his recollection of names from the past. Those guys made a real impression on him. And his coaches. He gave them a lot of credit for his success. He certainly was a "good guy."
My dad was an avid basketball fan and played a good game at 5 foot 11. Starting high school I was a scrawny 80 pounds and 5 foot 4, so I opted for wrestling over being outclassed on the basketball court. It seemed that being tall mattered, and I ended up 5 foot 8 and 120 pounds. I could shoot pretty well and dribbled fairly well, but I couldn't compete with the weight and height of other basketball players and even had my left ear swell up when I ran into the hard midsection of my wrestling coach in college, trying to dribble around him on our nightly game to shake off the tension of wrestling and lose a little water weight.
Ron
Enjoy the PROLOGUE to Philly Style and Philly Profile! (Short Story) - 7/15/2016 11:38:19 PM
Your prologue is fast-paced as Walter's sprint. You piqued the reader's interest as to what was in the telephone message for him to go to Norristown.
Monday Memories: My ringside encounter with Mohammad Ali (Short Story) - 6/7/2016 6:40:03 AM
That was a great experience and you have a wonderful way of relating it. It is strange how youthful exuberance sometimes misses opportunities like meeting Don King and Howard Cosell, if only briefly.
The fact that you had to physically carry film that had to be developed in a dark room and then, was probably only black and white shows how far technology has come. Now, in your short lifetime, anyone with a smart phone can take an athletic movie of great significance and put it on the Internet almost instantly, soon resulting in millions of views that would make a newspaper magnet envious in those days.
As for the power and presence of heavyweight boxers, my dad was big and strong and a former Golden Gloves boxer… Had the cauliflower ears to prove it. While I may have been able to take a punch, I always shied away from being hit in any sport and wrestled instead. I guess that's why boxing is so attractive to men… its brutality close-up.
Ron
Monday Memories: My ringside encounter with Mohammad Ali (Short Story) - 6/7/2016 3:51:57 AM
Fine story about a legend. And happily, he seems actually to have been larger than life himself. I know he was a wonder to me in the Sixties, especially his stance against the war. And when the US Supreme Court unanimously reversed his conviction, that renewed my faith in the USA.
Julius J.E.Thompson Philadelphia Bulletin Memories! (Short Story) - 6/2/2016 5:19:32 PM
Great memories! Although I favored the sports staff of the Daily News -- Sandy Grady, Larry Merchant and Jack McKinney -- in Philadelphia nearly everyone read the Bulletin.
Today, we remember it fondly.
Gerry
Julius J.E.Thompson Philadelphia Bulletin Memories! (Short Story) - 5/30/2016 5:48:10 AM
I never was much of a sports fan, although my father was and always read the sports section in the newspaper before anything else. I participated in individual sports in high school and was grateful when our local newspaper printed a picture of me pole vaulting with a broken left wrist (in practice, before the meet) at our first out-of-town indoor track meet in the spring of my junior year. Instead of a picture of one of the stars like the football player looking up at me, they printed this picture of me doing a very poor job because I already was affected by a untreated spinal injury six months before.
http://ronhullauthor.com/Before-After-Paralysis/ron-polevault-mar60.jpg
Wonderful memories…
Ron
Why should you really read my books? (Short Story) - 5/4/2016 5:43:25 AM
Your article in the stories section seems to offer good advice to upcoming authors. Makes it look like the route that I've taken is definitely not the route one should take to be successful.
Ron
Do One Thing Everyday That Scares You! (Short Story) - 4/9/2016 10:56:46 AM
You certainly have "grabbed the bull by the horns." I've always liked new things, but much of the Internet hype and social media stuff is not promotion… It's a time waster. And, if you spend money to have it done, it can be costly. A blog is not in me. But, it looks like you have good help so that all you have to do is content and your help takes over getting it out there. More power to you.
Ron
Do One Thing Everyday That Scares You! (Short Story) - 4/9/2016 12:22:28 AM
Sound advice! While I haven't forayed into the video and podcast scenario, each day I'm embarking along my journey to become more visible as a writer. Best wishes with your daily ventures.
God Bless The Charleston Nine! (Short Story) - 6/21/2015 10:52:49 AM
excellent words, hard to fathom how someone so young as the shooter could fellowship and then take a gun and begin to shoot.
even when our faith is strong; what heartache for the families of those who died
God Bless The Charleston Nine! (Short Story) - 6/20/2015 7:46:01 AM
You live near Stone Mountain? From my 3 years living in Atlanta, I heard that it was a symbol of hatred of colored people.
That old hatred still runs deep in some people's minds and it's hard to believe that a 21-year-old would harbor such hatred. But, I have discerned that the coming-of-age of some young people causes them to experiment with extremes as if their young minds do not have enough experience discern bad when they embrace it.
A young black man about the same age who regularly attended noontime Bible study on our floor at TSU here in Houston, went out one night shot a white student from the University of Houston in a library and killed him. He then went to a nearby police station and shot officer Vaughan in the eye giving him brain damage. His motive was: "I wanted to kill white people." As a white person with an office on the same floor of the building where this student worked, it was probably fortunate that I never knew him although I'm sure he knew me. I could've been his first victim.
You are absolutely right. When people are oppressed I find they seek solace in religion. That's probably why so many Muslims are so religious… They are oppressed. Extremism of any kind, religious or otherwise, combined with mental illness, is a recipe for disaster.
Ron
The Inner-City Blues: Philadelphia Blazers still live in Philly Style! (Short Story) - 5/29/2015 6:31:47 AM
Good for you! For being there for those guys and helping shape them. I have no biological children either, but I often think that my graduate students and student helpers were shaped partly by my mentorship. While many have become successful, one, in particular, Ed Malone, has been very successful.
Ed runs a hotshot trucking service here in Houston, has developed a program called Man of Principle, http://manofprinciple.org, for young people, has written a book, and is currently developing a movie production company producing the story of his life on film.
Ron
A Brownstone in Brooklyn Approach 15th Anniversary! (Short Story) - 4/26/2015 4:30:11 AM
I admire your tenacity and diligence to get your story told! May "A Brownstone in Brooklyn" live on for many more years.
Fever: Little Willie John's Fast Life, Mysterious Death...Birth of Soul... (Short Story) - 4/22/2015 5:11:02 AM
I grew up with that music. Often I didn't know if it was a black or white group or individual singing the song… I just dug it. I remember distinctly when a friend told me to listen to a new singer… Little Stevie Wonder singing, "Fingertips Part 2." I thought I knew all the singers of that era, but was surprised to read this and discover Little Willie John, and that I had never heard of him before.
By reading, we learn something new every day. Thank you.
Ron
What is Stream of Consciousness in a novel? Help! (Short Story) - 4/10/2015 9:27:43 AM
Another great article about a subject that every fiction writer should understand. I recall a critic very disturbed at my description of the thoughts of my character in my second novel, telling me that I needed to improve my "character development."
I think stream of consciousness is important for developing a character, but not the only thing. I remember putting down Moby Dick after attempting to read the first chapter because of all the psychological crap that was being presented. And I found Henry Miller's writing in the Tropic of Cancer, Capricorn, et al, to be almost indiscernible psychobabble until he suddenly got razor-sharp when describing sexual behavior. And, I never understood why anyone would consider James Joyce's work as important because it was almost entirely all stream of consciousness that left me kind of unconscious (very sleepy while reading).
Ron
Enjoy the PROLOGUE to Philly Style and Philly Profile! (Short Story) - 4/4/2015 12:19:36 AM
Fluid writing style. Plenty of concrete detail that defines the character and street names of cities I'm not familiar with. I feel as if I'm witnessing Walter with binoculars from a distance. I know who he is, but it's not enough. Without some stream-of-consciousness I can't sympathize with his death. He's just an accident victim on the evening news.
Cheryl Holloway J.E.Thompson Blog Interview! (Article) - 5/6/2015 5:07:32 PM
Ronald, thank you for your insightful comments. That's the reason my novels are still relevant today because the situations are still around us. I really enjoy your comments and your support. God Bless...Julius
Cheryl Holloway J.E.Thompson Blog Interview! (Article) - 5/6/2015 5:35:57 AM
Thank you for this interview showing us much about your background influenced your life and writing. It is obvious from what you said in the interview that your early life in Bedford Stuyvesant gave you the underpinnings that you needed for success as a teacher, coach and writer. I really enjoy reading what you write.
I recently saw a map showing the areas where racism still exists in the country. A disturbing side affect of the study was that in those areas where racism still is very strong, the health of black people is affected much more than in those places where racism is lower. For example, there was as much as a 15 year difference in lifespan between black men and white men in those areas. Something to think about.
Commentators in Baltimore said that one of the major problems in the area where the riots occurred was that there were no older black men as role models, only younger black men who, as one 16-year-old discovered, only had his mother to remind him to be civil.
Ron
Thompson On...Being a Successful 21st Century Author! (Article) - 2/22/2015 7:29:09 AM
Some good points. I had to leave the pencil/pen and paper behind nearly 20 years ago. So I use the computer almost entirely, like you seem to. I believe when you're referring to folders, you are not referring to the manila folders of my earlier office experience, but folders in the computer… I have thousands of them for my hundreds of thousands of files. As a result, I am well organized, like you… But still sometimes, have trouble finding things after writing so many documents and placing them in folders.
I recall Isaac Asimov, in his Opus 100, stating that he had "stacks" of his manuscripts. He would write on one stack for a while, and then when he got tired or ran out of ideas on that stack, he would find another that he could write to until he had completed another book. I write that way as well, and sometimes have three or four partially finished projects that I visit when I'm ready to write on them again.
Ron
Thompson On...Is finding a literary agent an Impossible Dream? (Article) - 2/21/2015 9:27:59 AM
Based on the way that the publishing industry is moving, I don't think agents, like stockbrokers, mean much anymore. You are on the right track by writing and publishing and promoting your work. Once one of your works goes viral for reasons you probably won't even know until after it happens, agents will probably be beating a path to your door. In the meantime, by keeping up the good fight, you stand a better chance of succeeding in your dream to be a well-known author.
Ron
JET Thoughts...A Reflection On The Sixties (Article) - 6/14/2014 7:39:09 AM
The 60s were, indeed, perhaps the most influential time in my life when I changed greatly while much of the world around me dragged its feet with change… Still does.
Ron
Thompson On...Writing Confidence! (Article) - 1/15/2011 8:29:03 AM
Julius, I love your article. Thanks for writing it, for it speaks to the same issue that I have experienced as a new and emerging writer, lack of confidence. At times, I feel like no one wants to hear what I have to say, and I wonder why I am trying to break into this territory. However, a little voice in me keeps feeding my creative faculties, so I continue typing out my ideas. Because of your article, I have found a renewed sense of confidence. I appreciate you for writing this beautiful article. I am going to write until I can't write any more.
Five-Star Book Review: Ghost of Atlanta (Article) - 12/4/2010 5:06:13 AM
Thanks for this Julius! I share with you my 5 STAR REVIEW of ORCHARD PARK by TOM FAHY - review is on his AuthorsDen site. Here is a brilliantly written review of O.P. that recently appeared on amazon.com:
"In the year 2010, when we were told the novel was in decline, when the literati kept circling round their Franzens and Foers, hoping for a miracle, along came a young writer named Tom Fahy who was not inducted by the Curia, worked entirely in his own realm, and spun new literary gold. Orchard Park, Fahy's debut novel, is unlike anything you will have read. Drawn from deepest mineral deposits, a noble, ancient voice, a complete absence of falsity or corruption, and a crystalline beauty of prose--Orchard Park is a work of true genius.
May he walk protected in a field of falsely crowned geniuses, whose work, unlike his, is written through faint jaundice. Fahy works with and through a clean spirit, like a reed flute. There will be passages where you have to put the book down, in amazement.
He will break your heart and give it back to you. Though self-published now, I believe he is as great a writer as this country has ever produced, and maybe, just maybe, those events are mysteriously related." –Trond W. Sibelius
May our reviews contribute to the sales of many books for these authors!
All the best,
Linden
