Unretired Writer
Welcome! Thanks for stopping by. Here, you’ll find stuff and nonsense about me and my writing life. For 35 years (until July 1, 2025), I was an English professor. Now retired, my passion is writing short stories and novels (and poetry occasionally). Feel free to explore my work and how you might get your hands and eyes on it. I’d be happy, too, if you’d follow me on social media and subscribe to my Substack blog, ODD (Old Dog Dumps): Dispatches from a Journeyman Writer. It’s totally free and always will be. The links you need are below.
Full BioMilksop Is Here, There, and Everywhere!
My Debut Novel, Milksop, Has Arrived
On May 23, 2026, my first novel, Milksop, was published by Chicken House Press. Here’s the announcement.
Milksop is Evan Mulder’s coming-of-age story, both funny and sad, kind of like him. I think you’ll love it. Reviewers have called it all sorts of good things, including tender and hilarious at the same time.
For more on Milksop and how you can get a copy, whether paperback or ebook, click the tab at the top of this page or this link.
If you’re curious about the journey of Milksop from acquisition to publication, I’ve written about it in my Substack blog, ODD (Old Dog Dumps): Dispatches from a Journeyman Writer. You might start with “Today’s ODDity: I’m Publishing My Debut Novel. I’m 64.”
The Latest from My Substack, Old Dog Dumps (ODD): Dispatches from a Journeyman Writer
In my latest ODD post, “Look Out! Milksop Released Today into the Wilds of Writing,” I celebrate publication day for my debut novel.
I share what inspired the novel and what my hopes are for my little paper boat—along with how you, dear reader, can help keep it afloat.
Here’s a taste of the post: “It began with a memory from 50 years ago. That memory became an image: a teenage boy from the city sits on a tractor in an unfamiliar farmyard. He can’t get the tractor started, even though the farmer showed this strange boy how to do it the night before. On a second tractor, the farmer is heading down the laneway. He doesn’t look back.”
Have a read, and if the spirit moves you, subscribe to ODD: it’s all free, all the time.
