Category Archives: Uncategorized

Here’s the unedited version of my interview in FAR with Finnish American author, Tim Jollymore. MM: Kiitos for doing this, Tim. Let’s start with your surname. Jollymore certainly doesn’t seem to be Finnish and yet, we run into each other at … Continue reading →

Tito: The Story from Inside by Milovan Djilas (1981. Phoenix. ISBN 1-84212-047-6) In my continuing research regarding my manuscript, Slovenci (The Slovenians), I picked up my second book by one of Josip Broz’s (Tito’s) understudies. Here, Djilas, writing after his fall from grace … Continue reading →

Surface Displacements by Sheila Packa (2022. Wildwood River Press. ISBN 978-1-947787-36-0 I woke to an acre of mayflies a lace of water lilies and weeds before and after nudges of waves coming to and from the island a cloud on … Continue reading →

Land Without Justice by Milovan Djilas (1958. Harcourt. ISBN 978-1-15-648117) Just so you know. I’m in the process of trying to write a second historical novel regarding Slovenia from the 1930s to present day. My first effort, The Legacy, was well … Continue reading →

Too Much and Never Enough by Mary Trump (2020. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-9821-4146-2) I get it, Dr. Trump. I really do. After spending time reading your analyses of your uncle, former president (and hopefully, soon-to-be convicted felon) Donald J. Trump, … Continue reading →

Today, my local paper, the Duluth News Tribune, published my rather lengthy (what did you expect from a novelist?) rumination on the writing life. You can read the edited version here: https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/opinion/columns/local-view-how-does-an-author-know-when-its-time-to-rest-the-pen. Or the unedited version here:                                                             A WRITER’S JOURNEY … Continue reading →

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (2017. Audible. B074F3BX79) I’ll confess. Before I listened to this audio version of Ng’s novel, I watched the Hulu series adapted from the book. I’d suggest reading or listening to the story first, then watching … Continue reading →

Invisible Child by Andrea Elliot (2021. Random House. ISBN 978-0-8129-8694-5) Full disclosure: I worked in the area of child protection for the State of Minnesota as a District Court Judge. Every 8 weeks, I did child protection cases as part of … Continue reading →

                                    INTERVIEW WITH JOHN SIMON MM: Though you live in Helsinki, where were you born? Where did you grow up? What’s your ethnic/religious background? JS: I was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1943 and grew up in typically suburban Pleasantville, … Continue reading →

                                                                        FOR MOM Those of you who knew Barbara, or as her Kobe relatives called her, “Jean”, know she was a fastidious woman, always dressed to the nines, always ready for the next big party or event. But there … Continue reading →