Hello and Happy Friday,

I hope this mail finds you very well and writing better than ever. I ordered a much needed computer the other day. I don’t have my own or the one I had is broken, obsolete, so I have to use one where I can. So I ordered one and I'm looking forward to it's arrival. Will it make me write better? Of course not, it may make my writing worst in some instances where I’ll overlook words or miss information because for one: I don’t see one-hundred percent and looking at a computer screen for a long time will tax my eyesight. And second, I find it easier to overlook what I’ve incorrectly written on the computer than I do when I write my novels out. I’m more careful writing them out and I believe its because I can easily read and re-read what’s on paper without having to mentally adjust my brain—my eyesight—to the glare of the computer and how words are written on it. Also, when you write in a notebook its easy to pick it up and put your pencil to your work, but when you’re on the computer you have to boot it up, wait for it to go through its machinations, find your folder, get to the text and get started—a lot going on when you think about it.

I’m looking forward to getting my new computer and putting my new novel on it and for one important reason; it means the writing with pen is over, I’m moving to the next phase and close to the novel being officially done and this is very, very good. Yeah.

Keep writing, it’s really the only thing you can do.

If you have any comments or suggestions please e-mail me at my new address: mathewsla@hotmail.com

Until next time, God willing,

Hello and Happy Friday,

I received an e-mail from a very nice fellow writer named Cindy, who is finishing up her second novel; that's always good news from a writer. Well, she mentioned how much she likes Stephen King novels and as you know I’m a huge fan too; he’s in my top three. It was surprising and ironic how she mentioned Mr. King because I’m right now reading the latest novel by his wife, Tabitha King and it’s a good one. The novel is called Candles Burning and it puts you in the mind of the work of another one of my favorite writers, Truman Capote, aided by a touch of Tennessee Williams with it’s southern backdrop and flare.

It’s funny how some writers can be so good, but so quiet; their work not given a parade or other fanfare (and to be married to a world-wide-writing-phenom on top of it yet they toil on and keep writing terrific work. I think it’s because they know they’re good, steady and don’t have to please anyone but themselves; so write what they choose and send it out when they want, an enviable place to be right. Most of us are writers like that I believe--or try to be--we want to please ourselves totally with our writing, more than we want to please any one else because we work so hard on trying to get it just right, again for ourselves.

I like the “quiet writers” like Tabitha King because I know when I stumble across one of her rare novels, I’m going to grab it up because there is no doubt in my mind it’s going to be well-written, with great details, believable characters and a terrific story line; adjectives we want other writers to someday say about our work don't we.

“Many books require no thought from those who read them, and for a very simple reason; they made no such demand upon those who wrote them.” – Charles Caleb Colton

If you have any comments or suggestions please e-mail me at my new address: mathewsla@hotmail.com

Until next time, God willing,

Hello on a Tuesday,

I just wanted to keep in touch and hope you're writing. I just wanted to say hello and to keep up with reading as well as the writing, its the only way to go.

Talk to you on Friday.

If you have any comments or suggestions I have a new e-mail address at: mathewsla@hotmail.com

Until next time, God willing.

Hello and Happy Friday,

You know Stephen King is one of my favorite writer's, he's in the top 4 and he has just made it to number two because of a comment he made about the writer Stephanie Meyers; that she isn't a very good writer, especially compared to J.K. Rowling who is an excellent writer. I am so glad he said this out loud. It's funny how you may think this writer or that writer is not very good but you'll never say it out loud or at least I wouldn't for a few reasons: 1) What do I know? They're published writers with known publishing houses and maybe I'm wrong and just not sophisticated enough to know a good writer from a bad one. 2) I'm jealous of the writer so I'll immediately say the work is not very good. 3) I'm just not a fan of the genre so wouldn't have a positive review any way.

But when someone like Stephen King backs your belief a popular writer is not a very good writer despite all the hype, you're thrilled, because if any one should know it would be a great writer, right? Someone who is a publishing and everything else phenom like Mr. King, who on top of it is very well read and a former English teacher, so who should know good writing from bad better than he does.

I know this is not a world turning event, yet it did make me smile to learn he'd said this and that other folks agreed. It made me feel that I had a chance out there with my work and that I may know a little bit about what is good or bad writing and that I use this bit of knowledge to judge my own work, deciding when its good or bad then trying to make it all good.

Keep writing, no matter what. Have I said this before?

If you have any comments or suggestions please e-mail me at my new address: shabazzl@adasbcc.org.

Until next time, God willing,

Lori