MerckWorks

For a long time I neglected my painting and sculpture, even though I had once been as obsessive about them as my writing. In the last few years I have returned to my painting, first to illustrate my 2 children’s books and later to do pro-bono work for local animal welfare groups. Now I am [...]

Is a novel a product like a vacuum cleaner? If one invents a new vacuum cleaner then markets it to make an honest living, he is hailed as an inventor, entrepreneur, an example of American free enterprise, a beneficiary of the homemaker. If a writer self-publishes his novel it is referred to as “vanity publishing”, [...]

I believe the ability to write well is a wonderful gift from God. But I believe it can become a killing gift. The angst of the unpublished author is legendary. Scott Fitzgerald wrote of it in his novel (later film) The Last Time I Saw Paris. Here the writer becomes an alcoholic, his wife dies [...]