I'm currently revising Book 3 in my supernatural thriller series. In the first quarter of the story, one character takes a swipe at another for being a "true believer". (The characters are Eric Holmes and Cyril Woods for those who are following the Awakening series.) I run into this phrase in my other profession, law, as well. Typically I defend companies or corporations against lawsuits, and on a few occasions my colleagues and I have referred to the lawyers on the other side as true believers,...
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law
Live to Work or Work to Live: Thoughts on Work/Life Balance
The other day on a podcast, entrepreneur and author Joanna Penn said something like you only worry about work/life balance when you dislike what you do. This caught my ear. My feelings about how work fits in my life, or how it "should" fit, have changed during the last six months, partly because I've shifted professionally so that most of my work time relates to my thriller writing. Even so, I'm not sure I completely agree with Joanna's comment. During the 14+ years when the majority of my work ...
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Critiquee’s Choice or The Truth About Praise and Blame
In my other life as a lawyer, my colleagues and I have a running joke. One day your client says you are the best attorney in the world, worth every penny (that would be the day you win a trial, an appeal, or a crucial motion), the next day you have no idea what you're doing and it's unbelievable you graduated law school (that would be the day the judge rules against you). Sometimes it's the same client sending those conflicting messages. As the author of Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff notes, if you...
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Sin, Sex and the Art of Persuasive Writing
My parents used to subscribe to a Catholic magazine with a column for young adults. When I was in high school, I read one of the columns that advised teenagers that the Bible clearly showed pre-marital sex was wrong - just look at the Sixth and Ninth commandments. I didn't remember anything in the Ten Commandments about pre-marital sex. I checked my parents' Bible (no Internet at that time, so I used the index - remember those?). The Sixth Commandment prohibits adultery. The ...
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