Self Publishing for Fun and Profit

I spent most of my career in sales. When I retired to devote myself full time to writing, I did not expect that my experience would translate meaningfully into my new venture, especially when I decided on self publishing. Writing is art, after all, and not to be sullied with coarser toil like selling stuff.…

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Stepparent. Not a Role to Be Undertaken Lightly.

#stepparent  #stepchild  #blendingfamilies Over the years, Matt and I grew closer and closer. When Melinda decided to pursue an MBA at night school, Matt and I prepared, shared, and cleaned up after the evening meal twice a week—no big productions. We had a great time. Today, I love him as I do my own sons. We…

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Deadly Portfolio Detective James Raker Resigns Melville County.

John J. Hohn and dog Jessie I ran into Detective James Raker on the streets in Charles City yesterday. Readers will recall that Raker was the detective who lead the investigation into the rash of murders on Pelican Bay of Lake Heron last summer. Local papers dubbed the murder spree as Deadly Portfolio, a title…

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The Best Time to Buy or Sell in the Stock Market.

As a retired financial advisor, the question that I am asked most often is, “Is it safe now to get into the stock market?” I answer, “No. It’s never safe to get into the market.” When the market is falling, I hear, “Do you think I should get out?” Again, “No.” Investing isn’t like swimming…

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Christmas Once Again. An Agnostic Salute to Its Passing

#christmas  #agnostic Agnostics can rejoice at Christmas. Christmas is one brief period of the year when Christians at least pay lip service to establishing peace on earth. They do it, of course, against a backdrop of carnage in the Middle East where life for the ordinary citizens in several countries is a never-ending nightmare, where…

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Death and Taxes — Life Certainties

Life contains its certainties. Gravity is one. Death is another. Recently, the GOP majority proved that taxes are not, at least for the wealthy few in the nation. Most everything else is open to further investigation. Life certainties would seem to be the province of science. But theories are advanced only to be disproved and…

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Internet Sales Require Trust Building Skills of the Salesperson

Recently, I was asked if my experience as a successful career salesperson transferred into the world of Internet sales, an area in which I am actively promoting my novel, Deadly Portfolio: A Killing in Hedge Funds. My initial response was that no, that it did not. Then I began to think about it. My publisher…

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