false 1721555 71479 J. Conrad Guest ]]> 53 male Northville, MI 11/2008 12/2009 1353304 Jeff LeJeune 2930513 Erma Odrach 60441 Nicholas D. Kristof 143 35 29 true 5662290 read 1 true 3771050 currently-reading 5 true 3771049 to-read http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/229013-birth-of-a-novel http://photo.goodreads.com/groups/1241666347p2/18340.jpg 1721555 J. http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1256142704p2/1721555.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1721555-j Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:43:29 -0700
To read the remainder of this article, click http://secondwindpub.wordpress.com/2009/... ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/225841-adding-memories-and-deleting-them http://photo.goodreads.com/groups/1241666347p2/18340.jpg 1721555 J. http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1256142704p2/1721555.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1721555-j Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:06:52 -0700
I understand there is a drug that can do just that—erase a traumatic experience from one's recollection. Of course this has caused quite a stir and much debate. Would such a drug have helped my father overcome the post traumatic stress he endured after serving in World War II? Would victims of any violent attack be helped to live a normal life? Indeed they might, but at what cost?

We are, after all, who we are, the good and the bad, the result of the life we live. We certainly learn from the choices we make as well as from the choices others make for us, the burns we sustain along the way, and those hurts we inflict upon others. Hopefully, regret for yesterday helps us to make better choices tomorrow.

If writers write what they know, in large part from personal experience, what sort of book would result if we had only happy memories from which to draw?]]> http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/219659-on-finding-time-to-write http://photo.goodreads.com/groups/1241666347p2/18340.jpg 1721555 J. http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1256142704p2/1721555.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1721555-j Sun, 04 Oct 2009 05:01:25 -0700 Renee wrote: "My goal is publication, but I've decided to be realistic. Not all of your work will be published, unless of course you are very lucky. I know that not everything can be a gem..."

A famous writer (I can't recall who--something I failed to write down!) once said, "If you don't write for publication, what's the point?"

I agree with that. Not that there's anything wrong with keeping a journal if you don't desire to publish; but when one spends hundreds, thousands of hours on a text, the next logical step is to publish.

Good luck with all your literary endeavors.]]> http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/58134-talk-about-your-books-here http://photo.goodreads.com/groups/1221035269p2/8322.jpg 1721555 J. http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1256142704p2/1721555.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1721555-j Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:58:56 -0700
You know Backstop. He plays the catcher’s position for any team in any city in America with a major league ball club. You cheer him when he delivers, and boo him when he doesn’t.

Told in his own words during the seventh and deciding game of the World Series, Backstop chronicles his rookie season, takes the reader to Chicago, where he finds romance, and reveals the heartbreak he endured in the aftermath of his one indiscretion.

You’ll cheer for Backstop, both on and off the field, as he plays the most important game of his career, haunted by the ghost of his father, and fights to win back the heart of the woman he loves more than the game.

Read the prologue at www.jconradguest.com]]> http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/207840-best-and-worst http://photo.goodreads.com/groups/1241666347p2/18340.jpg 1721555 J. http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1256142704p2/1721555.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1721555-j Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:20:20 -0700 The Angel's Game

I wrote a review of this book that appears here (on my page), Amazon and in the summer edition of The Smoking Poet.]]>