The past year, for me, as for many of you, as been busy. One of the effects of that is that I haven't blogged. But that's changing now.

Many of you are aspiring writers, some of whom I've taught at workshops and seminars, or spoken to at school assemblies or even in the coffee shop. This is my way of continuing the dialogues we may have begun at those events and meetings.

So...where I'm coming from:

Writing is all I do professionally. My "day job" is full-time writing, or "freelance writing," which includes books (I'm currently co-authoring the autobiography of Bernie Kosar, the legendary NFL quarterback. But freelance writing, in my case, includes creative writing. That's something I'll be writing about soon: How I balance creative writing with freelance work.

As soon as the autobiography is finished, I'll be devoting more time to other creative writing projects, in addition to my freelance work. Next up is a nonfiction book that I'm keeping under wraps. I think many of you will be interested. And, of course, fiction in the form of novels, short stories and maybe a screenplay.

I'l write about what I'm reading (and sometimes why I'm reading it), and perhaps you'll share with me your reading suggestions.

I'll be slowly filling up my events schedule. I have an upcoming event in Cleveland Heights on January 19, which I'll be talking about soon.

Other projects are on the boards, too. But this blog will focus on writing. Whether you're a part or full-time writer, a reader, or interested in the literary life, this blog's for you. I'll share the wisdom of writers, past and present, of different genres, including from sources that are not available online. I'll offer my own advice, and talk about my own challenges with being a working writer.

About the Comments section. I do post comments, once they've been approved by the site administrators. This is an Authors Guild site, and thankfully the AG's standards are higher than those of many sites and periodicals that rely on click-throughs to generate revenue. This is not one of those sites. They � and I � have zero tolerance for trolling, racism, and attacks on ideas or people. This blog is about writing, not ranting. The AG still requires courtesy and respect, and so do I. So there is an oasis of that in the virtual world, after all. Your civil words � even if there are disagreements � will be safe here.

See you again soon, and please stop back.