Clara's Chronicles - Dear Dad

Where Pets Came From

A newly discovered chapter in the Book of Genesis has provided the answer to that age-old question: "Where did pets come from?"

One day, Adam and Eve said, "Lord, when we were in the garden, you walked with us every day. Now we do not see you anymore. We are lonesome here, and it is difficult for us to be happy all by ourselves."

And God said, "No problem. I will create a companion for you that will be with you forever and will be loyal to you no matter how selfish or childish or unlovable you may be. This new companion will accept you as you are and will love you, in spite of yourselves."

And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam and Eve.

And it was a good animal.

And God was pleased.

And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and Eve, and he wagged his tail.

And Adam said, "Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom and I cannot think of a name for this new animal."

And God said, "No problem. Because I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him Dog."

And Dog lived with Adam and Eve and was a companion to them and loved them.

And they were comforted.

And God was pleased.

And Dog was content and wagged his tail.

After a while, it came to pass that an angel approached the Lord and said, "Lord, Adam and Eve have become filled with pride. They strut and preen like peacocks and they believe they are worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught them that they are loved, but perhaps too well."

And God said, "No problem. I will create for them a companion who will be with them forever and who will see them as they are. This companion will remind them of their limitations, so they will know that they are not always worthy of adoration."

And God created Cat to be a companion to Adam and Eve.

And Cat would not obey them. And when Adam and Eve gazed into Cat's eyes, they were reminded that they were not the supreme beings.

And Adam and Eve learned humility.

And they were greatly improved.

And God was pleased.

And Dog was happy.

And Cat didn't give a shit one way or the other.

On Writing - Analogies

Analogy \A*nal"o*gy\, n.: a comparison between one thing and another, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification.

Analogies are important tools in the writer's toolbox. They do a lot of work in a few words, provide simple descriptions people can relate to, and help hold a reader's attention when it might be lagging. But some writers go way too far when developing analogies. Here are a few examples:

He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

She caught your eye like one of those pointy hook latches that used to dangle from screen doors and would fly up whenever you banged the door open again.

McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty Bag filled with vegetable soup.

From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.

Her hair glistened in the rain like nose hair after a sneeze.

The hailstones leaped from the pavement like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.

Her date was pleasant enough, but she knew that if her life was a movie he would be buried in the credits as something like "Second Tall Man."

The politician was gone but unnoticed, like the period after the Dr. on a Dr Pepper can.

They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.

The thunder was ominous sounding, much like the sound of a thin sheet of metal being shaken backstage during the storm scene in a play.

His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

Opabin Plateau - Chip Phillips

Professor Carbuncle - meaningless words

Being a certified curmudgeon and a professor of pontifical vituperation, I tend to notice things like unnecessary word repetition, and lately I’ve become extraordinarily irritated at the overuse, misuse, and often downright stupid inclusion of unnecessary words and silly phrases on radio, TV and in videos.

For example, when did it become a rule that every answer and question during an interview had to begin with or include the totally useless word “So?”

“So, when did you become aware of the odd sex life of the male, Ethiopian cockroach?”

“So, I was sitting on a bench in the park one day, when a male, Ethiopian cockroach approached me and demanded sex.” 

“Really? That’s, odd. So tell me more.”

“So, I was minding my own business, when this ugly little bug scurried up my leg, climbed on my shoulder and started whispering sweet nothings in my ear.”

Seriously, folks, listen to any interview nowadays, and you’re liable to hear the unnecessary word “so” dozens of times. And if they removed it, not only would that irritating earworm go away, but nothing whatsoever would be lost. Read the above exchange without it and you'll see what I mean.

And whatever happened to “You’re welcome.”? My mother always told me that when somebody thanks you, the polite response was “You’re welcome.” But today, no one being interviewed acknowledges the host’s thanks with this simple, courteous response. Instead, they all say “Thanks for having me,” as if they’d just been had. And in the case of a female, that sounds, you know, a little bit lewd. These guests are supposedly intelligent folks: experts, professors, researchers, politicians, famous authors, and so on. If they decide not to say “You’re welcome,” you’d think at least one of them could come up with something that doesn’t parrot every other interviewee on the planet.  

Finally, there’s the oft-repeated and incredibly dumb sounding term “moderate-to-severe.” We constantly hear this silly word grouping in the commercials Big Pharma airs for their latest miracle drugs. Apparently the executives who approve these ads (the guys who are so smart they make a gazillion dollars a week) are unaware that only an illiterate nincompoop would speak that way in real life.

“My moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis—irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, depression, overactive bladder—” are words that would never cross the lips of any person with half a brain. Think about it, have you ever said or heard anyone say “moderate-to-severe” when describing a medical condition? For that matter, have you ever heard any sane person speak out loud about these embarrassing maladies?

And if that isn’t bad enough to make you cringe, after they show you scenes of tranquil nature hikes or sea-and-surf intimacies, while a sincere-sounding voiceover tells you how wonderful and effective their drug is, they point out that it can cause everything from brain hemorrhages to massive heart attacks, limb detachment, and terminal cancer.

Luthier's Corner - Rosette

For those not familiar with the term, a rosette (as it applies to an acoustic guitar) is the decorative ring that encircles the sound hole. Depending on the type of guitar, the rosette can be anything from a single band, to the beautiful mosaic designs you see on the finest classical and Flamenco instruments.

Many people mistakenly assume that these rosettes are painted; however, except in the case of some cheap imports, they are actually intricate wood inlays, sometimes consisting of pieces as small as 1/124 of an inch square (a little over twice the width of a human hair). If you find it difficult to believe that a luthier could position and glue together such tiny pieces of wood, you’re not alone—to do so one piece at a time would be extraordinarily difficult. Fortunately, there’s a technique that makes it a little easier, though it remains a very delicate process.

The technique predates the modern classical guitar (first devised by Antonio Torres around 1850) and is reported to have been originally developed on the Iberian Peninsula during the Nasrid dynasty of the 13th and 14th centuries. It involves the creation of mosaic tiles through a unique procedure not unlike making and slicing a log of hard salami.

Instead of using single pieces, the luthier cuts and dyes strips of wood, which are then assembled in a specific order, and glued into a log. The gluing operation is done using a press that forms the correct curves and side angles, so that when the log is sliced into tiles, each tile will fit perfectly with the one beside it to form the circular design. This circle is assembled between rings of wooden herringbone, created ahead of time in a similar way. Finally, the completed rosette is inlayed into the top of the guitar and sanded level with the surface.

In high-production shops, the entire design is assembled as a log, which can then be sliced into individual rosettes. But many traditional luthiers remain faithful to the old-school methodology of assembling each rosette by hand, which allows them to change the design with each guitar they build.

Beaver Falls - Jerry Cagle

Then Again Characters

For readers of my novel Then Again who may have wondered how the five main characters would appear in real life, I created these photorealistic images. Though based on descriptions in the novel, they were leavened with a healthy dose of imagination. Below each image are slightly edited excerpts from various descriptive passages in the book.

Aurélie told me her early childhood had been confusing. A precocious child with savant-like intelligence, she was speaking in complete sentences before she was one year old, and had mastered simple mathematics by age two. I asked about her adolescence, but she refused to go into detail, saying only that after a few years of teenage sexual rebellion and a couple of failed love affairs in her early twenties, she’d given up on finding a mate and become absorbed in her work with Heyoka. It was sad to think that such an intelligent and attractive woman was an old maid in the making, trapped in a loveless world of intellectual isolation. I remembered when I first saw her, being struck by her simple, almost peasant-like beauty. She was petite and slender, with auburn hair cropped in a short afro that framed a heart-shaped face. Her azure eyes, shadowed by long lashes, looked down on a delicate nose and a wide, generous mouth. Gone was the velvet beret that had held her hair in check, and the black-and-white waitress uniform she’d worn at the club had been replaced by stone-washed jeans and a loose-fitting t-shirt featuring a photograph of Jeff Bridges as ‘The Dude’ Lebowski. 

My first clear view of Heyoka Husereau D'Ailleboust nearly knocked me sober. For one thing, he was huge, and—probably due to an autonomic fright response—my senses sharpened and my bleary vision cleared. The smile was still there, but it now protruded from the lower half of a deeply weathered face the color and texture of ruddy sandstone carved by centuries of water erosion. His mountainous nose swept out and down like an undulating inverted ski slope and, in contrast to the smile, there was a notable downcast to his triangular eyes, the pupils of which resembled pools of liquid onyx. Taken as a whole, his countenance projected a combination of intelligence and humor, infused with a touch of melancholy.

I stood in front of the full-length door mirror and examined the updated version of my body. The growth spurt I remembered from my first life was nearly complete, and the results of my daily weight-lifting sessions were evident in the hardened muscles of my arms and chest. I hadn’t been paying much attention to these changes, and when I took a good look at my face, I was surprised to see a pretty handsome fellow looking back. That Paul-Newman look was beginning to appear in my slightly dimpled chin and downturned eyes. Though there was still a whisper of adolescence in my youthful posture and smile, all-in-all it wasn’t a bad look.

The screen began to show a montage of my solo career, starting in the early days after a couple of my songs had charted, and running through the decades that followed. Seeing the venues change from concert halls to small auditoriums to “intimate” nightclub settings was depressing, but even worse was watching my hair lose its color while my smooth, tanned skin faded to chalky parchment like a decomposing corpse.

Doris:
I’d always thought of Doris as a sort of female version of my dad; an efficient, yet friendly RN whose humorous manner and quick wit kept my fear of needles and other medical procedures at bay until the last possible moment. Now, however, I saw a different version, one that was not only sexually attractive, but whose smile and quirky attitude lent a certain element of intrigue to my childhood image of her as an untouchable adult. When she walked out of the cabana in a tight-fitting bathing suit, the dozen or so young interns tracked her with their eyes until she dived in and disappeared under the water. It was my first detailed look at her unadorned by her nurse’s uniform, and it revealed a body unlike those from my era, where six-pack-abs and lean, athletic figures were considered sexy. No, this was a body from the ‘50s, hourglass shaped, with a narrow waist and beautifully proportioned hips and breasts. When she emerged from the water and shook out her short, blond hair, the boys gathered around her in an embarrassing attempt to outdo one another with their antics.

Ellie:
Ellie, whose intelligence and beauty would one day outshine even her mother’s, was referred to by the gang as “Super Baby,” and no one ever complained about the fact that she spent almost all her waking hours—first crawling, then toddling—around the studio. When she wasn’t on the move, she would sit quietly, watching Jimmy and Sam operate the huge mixdown console, or looking out through the glass partition at the musicians as they played.

“You need to keep a closer eye on Ellie,” Aurélie said. “She’s a beautiful girl, Rix, and I don’t think you’ve noticed how fast she’s growing up. That wouldn’t be so much of a problem were it not for the fact that her intelligence makes her curious about everything, and it won’t be long before her curiosity turns to sex. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that an emotionally immature, sexually ripe virgin rubbing elbows with musicians and famous rock stars will be particularly vulnerable.”

She was right, I hadn’t even begun to think about such things, nor had I paid much attention to Ellie’s physical maturation. But now that I thought about it, there was the growth spurt and the recently appearing breasts. I hadn’t worried about her safety or wellbeing because of her intelligence and logical way of thinking. Plus, she had several dedicated protectors in the studio who’d been looking out for her almost since the day she was born. However, if she decided on her own to do something clandestine, she was so clever that no one would even suspect anything was going on.

How Cold Is It?

Killing Time

On Writing - Character Mutiny

Readers have a hard time believing it when a novelist claims her/his characters have hijacked the story and are taking it in a direction they didn’t initially intend. “How,” they say, “can a character you invented do something to your story that you didn’t plan?” The answer is simple: if you create a character, invent a back story, shape their personality, and make her/him believable, it’s only natural for that character to come to life on the page. In which case, you have a person to deal with, not a slave.

When planning a novel, I create detailed profiles for each of the main characters before I begin the writing process. Though most of the details never see print, these profiles allow me to get to know my characters on a ‘personal’ level: how they look, how their background shapes the way they act, what their opinions might be on any given subject, and so on. I even do this in a less- comprehensive way for characters I assume will play minor roles in the story (doormen, cab drivers, distant relatives, etc.). But occasionally one of these peripheral characters will jump up and say, ‘Wait a minute, you can’t relegate me to a minor role, I’m more important than that!’ I may disagree and try to push ahead with the story as I first envisioned it, but sometimes that character quickly becomes so intriguing, I have no choice but to write him/her into the deeper narrative.

A good example of this occurred in the first chapter of the novel I am currently writing, when a character named Kate, who was supposed to be a relatively unimportant assistant to the protagonist, suddenly asserted herself without my permission. I almost always base my characters on people I’ve seen or known, and I had based Kate’s profile on a young lady I’d met during my morning walks who had some interesting physical attributes. But rather than explain further, I will quote below some excerpts from that chapter that might help you better understand how her character evolved.

I was scheduled to meet the notorious expatriate’s assistant at the Key West Visitors Center on Big Pine Key, about 35 miles shy of the famous ‘Conch Republic’ itself. During our last phone conversation, Kate Wallinski had assured me that I would have no trouble recognizing her. “Just look for someone who resembles one of those stick figures we used to draw in kindergarten,” she said. And as I pulled into the parking lot, there she was, dressed in loose-fitting, canary yellow shorts and a colorful Jimmy Buffet-style shirt that hung on her toothpick frame like a wilted bandanna on a wire hanger. Anorexic would be a less than adequate way to describe her appearance, which, given my penchant for pithy journalistic commentary, I might have compared to a skeleton dipped in flesh-colored latex.

I parked next to the Mercedes G550 she was leaning on and took a moment to gather my thoughts before stepping out into the sweltering, late-summer heat. Silently admonishing myself not to look shocked, I nonetheless felt my eyes widen and my jaw drop as I approached her and accepted the bony hand she held out to me. A broad smile spread across her face—a quite pretty face, actually—indicating that she was used to such reactions.

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” she said with a chuckle that betrayed not a hint of embarrassment or rebuke. “Happens all the time. I’m Kate. And you must be Mike, the famous journalist.”

“I … uh, don’t know about the famous part,” I stammered. “But yes … yes. Mike Early. Pleased to meet you.”

Major Technological Breakthrough

We are proud to introduce the new Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge device, trade-named BOOK.

BOOK is a revolutionary breakthrough in technology: no wires, no headphones, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It’s so easy to use, even a child can operate it.

Compact and portable, BOOK can be used anywhere—even sitting in an armchair by the fire—yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a Kindle file or a flash drive.

Here’s how it works:

BOOK is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of (recyclable) paper called Pages, each capable of holding thousands of bits of information.

The Pages are locked together with a custom-fit device called a binder which keeps the sheets in their correct sequence.

Opaque Paper Technology (OPT) allows manufacturers to use both sides of the sheet, doubling the information density and cutting costs.

Experts are divided on the prospects for further increases in information density; for now, BOOKs with more information simply use more Pages.

Each Page is scanned optically, injecting the information directly into your brain. A flick of the finger takes you to the next Page.

BOOK may be taken up at any time and used merely by opening it.

BOOK never crashes or requires buffering, nor can it be infected with viruses, though like other display devices it can become unusable if dropped overboard. The “browse” feature allows you to move instantly to any Page and move forward or backward as you wish.

Many BOOKs come with an “index” feature, which pinpoints the exact location of any selected information for instant retrieval.

An optional “BOOKmark” accessory allows you to open BOOK to the exact place you left it in a previous session—even if it has been closed.  BOOKmarks fit universal design standards; thus, a single BOOKmark can be used in BOOKs by various manufacturers. Conversely, numerous BOOKmarks can be used in a single BOOK, if the user wants to store numerous views at once.

You can also make personal notes next to BOOK text entries with an optional programming tool, the Portable Erasable Nib Cryptic Intercommunication Language Stylus (PENCILS).

Portable, durable, and affordable, BOOK is being hailed as a precursor of a new entertainment wave.

BOOK’s appeal seems so certain that thousands of content creators have committed to the platform and investors are reportedly flocking to invest. Look for a flood of new titles soon.

Seagulls At Sunset - Sarasota, Florida

History Of The World

The following are direct quotes from K-12 student’s essays, submitted by teachers throughout the U.S.

The Bible is full of interesting caricatures. In the first book of the Bible, Guinessis, Adam and Eve were created from an apple. A snake was present at the time. God got tired of creating the world, so He took the Sabbath off.

Noah built an ark, which the animals came on to in pears. Noah's wife was called Joan of Ark. Lot's wife was a pillar of salt by day, but a ball of fire by night.

Ancient Egypt was inhabited by mummies, and they all wrote in hydraulics. They lived in the Sarah Dessert. The climate of the Sarah is such that the inhabitants have to live elsewhere.

The Jews were a proud people and throughout history they had trouble with the Genitals. Moses led the Hebrews to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread, which is bread made without any ingredients.

The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert. Afterwards, Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the Ten Amendments. Moses died before he ever reached Canada. David was a Hebrew king skilled at playing the liar. He fought the Finkelsteins, a race of people who lived in Bibical times. Solomon, one of David's sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.

The Greeks were a highly sculptured people, and without them we wouldn't have history. They invented three kinds of columns: Corinthian, ironic, and dorc. Socrates was a famous Greek teacher who went around giving people advice, so they killed him with an overdose of wedlock. After his death, his career suffered a dramatic decline.

Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption. When Mary heard that she was the mother of Jesus, she sang the Magna Carta. When the three wise guys from the east side arrived, they found Jesus in the manager. Later, St. John, the Blacksmith, capsized him.

The people who followed the Lord were called the 12 decibels.

One of the opossums was St. Matthew who was by profession a taximan. The epistles were the wives of the apostles. A Christian should have only one spouse. This is called monotony.

Then came the Middle Ages when King Alfred conquered the Dames. He had many brave knights who road on prancing horses and beautiful women. Joan of Arc was canonized by Bernard Shaw, and victims of the blue-bonnet plaque grew boobs on their necks. Finally, Magna Carta provided that no man should be hanged twice for the same offense.

In medieval times people were alliterate. During this time, people put on morality plays about ghosts, goblins, virgins, and other mythical creatures.

The Renaissance was an age in which Martin Luther was nailed to the church door for selling papal indulgences. He died a horrible death, being excommunicated by a bull.

It was painter Donatello's interest in the female nude that made him the father of the Renaissance, which was an age of great inventions and discoveries. Gutenberg invented the Bible, and another important invention was the circulation of the blood. Later, Sir Francis Drake circumcised the world with a 100-foot clipper.

Then came the enlightenment. Voltaire invented electricity and also wrote a book called Candy. Gravity was invented by Isaac Walton. It is chiefly noticeable in autumn, when the apples are falling off trees.

John Bach wrote a great many musical compositions and had a large number of children. In between, he practiced on an old spinster. Bach died from 1750 to the present. Bach was the most famous composer in the world, and so was Handle. Handle was half German, half Italian, and half English.

Beethoven wrote music even though he was deaf. He was so deaf he wrote loud music. Beethoven expired in 1827 and later died for this.

The nineteenth century was a time of a great many thoughts and Inventions. People stopped reproducing by hand and began reproducing by machine.

The invention of the steamboat caused a network of rivers. Then came the First World War, which ushered in a new error in the anals of human history.

Then Again #9

The Brits Love Their Pets

According to a recent study of 2,000 British cat and dog owners, more than half prefer spending time with their pets over spending time with other humans. Why? Because they don’t nag, never talk back and are always in a good mood. Not only that, but more than a third prefer their pets to their partners, saying their pet is a better listener, while 45-percent like the fact they are never judged or questioned by their cat or dog. In addition, a surprising 29-percent say their four-legged friend is better at snuggling, and 44-percent would rather cuddle up with them than they would with their better half.

“Whilst some of the findings of this research are on the surface rather surprising, what they actually demonstrate is just how much we Brits love our pets and why they’re such an important part of our families,” said Hannah Edwards, Senior Marketing Manager for Freshpet, which carried out the research using OnePoll.com. “Whether that means using our four-legged friends as a sounding board for our problems, cuddling up with them on the sofa in a quiet moment, or simply spending quality time with them and enjoying their unconditional love, it’s clear that our beloved pets mean the world to us ... even more at times than our life partners. Shockingly, when faced with the decision to choose a pet or a partner, 14-percent would rather spend the rest of their life with their pet.”

And if you think my photo-composited image above is a joke, you should know that once, on a visit to The Gambia in West Africa, the Queen was actually given a crocodile as a pet for Prince Andrew.

On Writing - Creative Loafing

Writers—especially fiction writers—are constantly alert to story possibilities and character ideas, whether at a baseball game, a restaurant, or riding on a rollercoaster. Often, we find ourselves contemplating stories at seemingly inappropriate times, such as when we’re entertaining guests, or watching a school play. A wandering mind is one of the hazards of creative thinking, and even though it is a common trait among serious writers, we sometimes have to suffer through the misconceptions of those around us.

When your spouse or significant other sees you sitting on the front steps, staring into space, it’s only natural for them to assume you are loafing. Most non-writers don’t understand that much of the writing process goes on silently, inside the mind, before your fingers ever touch a pen or a keyboard. It’s a good idea to explain this to those you live with, so you don’t end up feeling guilty every time your brain takes a time out from the world around you.

Though I don’t subscribe to the old adage that says you must set aside a certain time each day to do nothing but write, I do believe that writing something every day is healthy for a writer. This could be an entry in your journal or diary, some personal correspondence, or maybe a poem. After not writing for more than a couple of days, it’s hard to get the literary engine warmed up again.

Vacations are a good example. This is supposed to be a time when you leave your work behind and relax. That works fine if you are leaving behind a regular job, but writing puts you in the category of "artist," and most artists cannot actually leave their art behind when they go on a vacation, especially when the surroundings are creatively stimulating, as are most vacation spots.

A guitarist for example, would probably not leave his or her instrument behind when going to the mountains, and a painter would most likely take a sketchpad along when vacationing at the coast. Writers are no different. That’s why you should always carry a note pad, or some kind of recording device (your smart phone probably has a recording feature) in order to write down or record ideas, scenes, descriptions of characters you meet, and interesting snippets of conversation.

In many cases these random scribblings or recordings are never used. However, they act to keep the juices flowing at a low ebb, and make it easier to begin writing again once the vacation is over. This is not to say that you should never attempt to clear your mind of all things related to your writing career, but leisure, quiet, and soft ocean breezes are simply not conducive to doing this. Deliberate loafing invariably turns into "creative loafing," simply because it leaves the mind free to explore.

I’ve found that the best way to relax without thinking about writing is to involve yourself in activities that demand so much thought and/or physical exertion you have no choice but to give them your full attention. Such activities differ for each person, but might include things like hobbies that require concentration, good films, or competitive sports (except, perhaps, golf). Basically, anything that does not take on a monotonous flavor, like riding a bicycle, walking through the woods, swimming, or listening to familiar music.

Poetry and personal correspondence are also things that can take your mind off work. Though they are forms of writing, I think of them as the dessert portions of my career. Though I’ve written hundreds of poems, I’ve never tried to sell one, nor do I plan to try (I once entered a poetry contest, and the result convinced me that I wasn’t a poet). But writing poetry does allow me a freedom of style and content I do not normally have. The same freedom applies to personal correspondence. Not having to adhere to anyone’s rules provides a welcome relief from my normal routine. It is somewhat like the classical guitarist playing a little folk music at a campfire sing-along—not as taxing as a regular performance, but creatively stimulating and pleasant.

It is important to draw a balance between family, social life, and career. There are dozens of stories about writers whose obsession with work destroyed their most intimate relationships. Because a writer is free to work anytime, many are driven to work all the time, and this is no healthier than incessant loafing. The "workaholic" syndrome is not exclusive to corporate executives; writers, are just as susceptible to the pitfalls of overwork.

However you choose to relax, make sure you find some time every day to do so. Not only will it help clear the cobwebs from your mind, it will help keep you healthy. Too much work, as we all now know, can lead to several forms of stress-related illness and, though it used to be fashionable for writers to die young, early death (at least for me) has gone out of style.