Mark Wahlberg Movie about Greg Scarpa Scheduled for Release A brief time in the life of Greg Scarpa is portrayed in a new movie starring Mark Wahlberg. The movie’s title, “By Any Means,” refers to the FBI’s urgent need to solve the murder of  Vernon Dahmer in 1966. The subject is covered in chapter 3...Read More

Four Good Books Have Taken My Attention Away from Writing I was lucky to receive three solid works of nonfiction this past Christmas. At the same time, I was unlucky to receive three solid works of nonfiction this past Christmas. I’ve read two of them, both from my daughter, and am working through a third,...Read More

Publisher WildBlue Press Has a New Promo Video for Greg Scarpa, Legendary Evil Click on the image to see the YouTube promotion that my publisher posted for Greg Scarpa, Legendary Evil. It hits the highlights nicely in an accessible format. Always grateful for an additional plug and the overall ongoing marketing efforts. Every bit helps!Read More

Staying Warm with a Story of Summer It was 17 degrees Fahrenheit here in Central Texas this morning with about an inch of snow on the ground. According to the weather app on my phone, the wind chill factor was 3 degrees. Bottom line – it’s cold as hell out. I realize that other parts...Read More

When Gems Come out of Hiding I’ve spent much of the last six months promoting Greg Scarpa, Legendary Evil, my first work of nonfiction. So far, so good. Sales have been steady, the book was a 2025 Independent Author Network Book of the Year finalist, and the detailed reviews of the book have been solid....Read More

The Practice of Writing and the Commitment to Running One of the executives at my publisher WildBlue Press is fond of comparing marketing a book to a marathon rather than a sprint. Based on my experience to date, about six months into the process, I would say he’s right. His comparison brought to mind the...Read More

Brett Butler, Manny Ramirez, and AAA Baseball  I wrote the following essay more than a dozen years ago. It was one of a series that I wrote in the summer of 2012 for the baseball section of an online fantasy sports outfit. This particular piece recalls a special night at a minor league game, a...Read More

Establishing a Book’s Purpose in the First Instance In retrospect, I probably should have included an introduction to Greg Scarpa, Legendary Evil that reads: “I consulted in excess of 300 potential sources including, but not limited to, thousands of pages of state and federal government documents, more than 120 newspaper and magazine articles, more than...Read More

Looking at 2026 as a Year of Focused Writing Directions I have found that a brisk walk is a great time to think through my writing issues whatever they are. Sometimes the issue needing attention is a plot point. Sometimes it’s a bit of dialog. Sometimes it’s a descriptive passage. Sometimes it’s a character’s backstory....Read More

2025 Was a Year of Personal Publishing Firsts On a professional level, 2025 was an exceptional year for me, a year of firsts. After querying more than 40 agents and publishers, I was offered a publication agreement for Greg Scarpa, Legendary Evil, my first work of nonfiction, by WildBlue Press. In late July, after several...Read More