Grammar sucks...

I've been going through my "author proofs" on the homestretch to getting the book printed and my editor is very busy saving me from myself. I was an English major in college, but I must have slept through all the grammar stuff because the Chicago Manual of Style might as well be written in Russian because it's that foreign to me. I'm not really sure why tenses have to match anyway. And it's okay that I call a character by one name and then change their name later in the story. The reader can figure that out right?

Now I know why NO ONE should ever be self-published. You need a professional to save you from yourself. And Karl, you are my hero!

What do you do?

I still have to think about that answer when asked. Sure, I've been paid for my writing but I'd hardly say I'm making a living at it. So can I honestly say I'm a writer? I'm not one to quibble about such things usually, but I am a guy that likes a bit of honesty in a conversation. I certainly don't want to mislead anyone. But it's not like I'm telling them I play for the Minnesota Twins - although I caught an orange as it rolled off the counter - I could still play in the show....

Shit, I'm telling people I'm a writer. I wrote a freaking novel for pity's sake! And I'm writing another one too so there! But it still feels kinda weird saying it out loud....

First Blog....

I’m a writer, but music plays a huge role in my life. And because I write about the Caribbean, it stands to reason that I would be a fan of Jimmy Buffett. And those of you of like mind will certainly get the not so subtle reference to one of the man's songs in the title of my blog. But I get the impression he’s not the suing type so we’ll let it ride for now….

I wonder if other writers work the same way. That is, turn on iTunes and listen while they write. The image of the solitary writer at his desk with the ticking grandfather clock the only sound in the room is not how this writer writes. I don’t like chaos – but silence is deafening to me. Odd as it might sound, I can’t hear anything else but the silence. So how do you write? Are you the ticking grandfather clock type? Or perhaps you too like a little Caribbean soul.