Dog Ear

This came from the Writers Group as discussed last week. It was one of the best short stories I’d ever heard. And the crushing critique was one of the most spot-on, thermal-exhaust-port bullseyes I’d ever witnessed. The story in an abbreviated nutshell: A man has a living fantasy of the climactic moment of grace in his life, that of driving to the perfect fishing spot in a vintage 1957 Chevy. So he puts a couple of years into the project. He buys an old beater and rebuilds it tires up, turning it into a shining vehicular fantasy. Oilstained and weary […]

I read today how Barnes and Noble is cutting back and closing 450 to 500 stores in the coming years. Whereas the death of this Goliath should fill me with smug satisfaction (given how many mom-n-bob nooky bookstores it killed), it doesn’t. Actually, it fills me with a cold dread. A chilling wave of digitalization, of buying whatever whenever, is washing over us. So what’s the difference between being served by a teenage Goth punk in a used bookstore as opposed to the same studded wonder doing it in a chain store? One is a sign of hip and trendy urban […]

My wife and I share a strange little habit, one carried over from my bachelor days. We like to go to dinner and read. We usually go this at fast food joints, quiet places during off times when we can sit in our corner and read our respective books. Then, over desert frostees or brownies or whatever, we’ll chat about what we’ve read. Last time over at Wendy’s, an old lady got up and said how nice it was to see people reading. She even mentioned how nice it was that I was reading The Three Musketeers. We chatted with […]

Sunday was an op session, and then Downton Abbey in the evening. Monday, work and then the train club bi-laws committee way, way over on the other side of town. And then over to the club to work building flats in Jacksonville and fuss with an alarm test way too late. Also, a fan wanted to see a sample of an unpublished book, so I had to prep that up and post it. Tuesday, ordinarily my night off, the parents are in town for diner so it’s work, then way, way over to the other side of town again.  If […]

Welcome to all those who fell down Thomas Lucas’ rabbit hole. I’m Robert Raymond, an Orlando writer, and I’ve had two books of historic fiction published. Fire and Bronze is the romantic story of Princess Elisha’s struggle to found Carthage, a tale full of sailing and sex and swords. And Early Retyrement is a time-travel novel with a twist (mainly that my chrononaut doesn’t know the history of when he’s fallen or any technological tricks to assent to heroic greatness). Both are available in my link at the bottom of this page. I’m also shopping Indigo, a mid-air collision of Jonathan […]

This is the follow-up edition to Thomas Lucas’ blog hop. He proposed ten questions to help curious readers get to know me. Also, he asked to provide links to five authors’ blogs that I know. Since I am a recluse in the finest Hemingway tradition, I could come up with two. They will follow the important things (which are about me). So here are my answers to these questions ten:  1: What is the working title of your book?   Indigo    2: Where did the idea come from for the book? The story is an adventure tale of crows. One […]

I‘ve got a new passion. The air adventures of Jimmy Allen… Someone sent me a link to dumb.com, a massive collection of just about everything. Here, I found old radio programs, zillions of them. Since a lot of what I do at work takes 4% of my brain, I found myself listening in. Jimmy Allen has become my addiction. It’s the story of a telegraph delivery boy who saves an airliner (how? don’t know) from hijacking. For this, he is given a scholarship to flight school where he meets Speed Robertson, an ace pilot and solid mentor. The stories are […]

If you are a writer, you’ll need to learn to deal with defeat. Right now I’m dealing with it, and its not about writing. There is a corporate 5K that I’m trying to train for, as mentioned in my general blog HERE. I’m really pissed about this. I’ve followed everyone’s advice. I’ve stretched and paced and breathed and even eaten mustard. I went from being okay (and then hurting myself) to nearly getting back to where I started (and hurting myself). Two days ago, I barely knocked off a mile and my muscle behind my left calf started screaming. Tonight […]

I’m a writer and I stand by that. It’s what I am, from my off-beat views and off-cuff comments to my crazy hair to my lunchtime laptop sessions. Everyone knows I’m a writer (with the possible exception of agents – sigh). But this is what I do, babe. So it’s not surprising that people take notice of this. A while back, one of my Indian coworkers asked if I might chat with his son about writing. I was given samples of his school work (which wasn’t bad) and asked to give him suggestions. So we chatted – he was a […]