You, like everyone else, entered this world naked and exposed. You had nothing more than basic instincts, your very essence still tethered to your mother.
From that moment, however, upon that very solid foundation, a life was built. It blossomed into a life beyond compare, beyond the dreams of your parents, perhaps even beyond what you could imagine once you were able to imagine.
And it was all because you were the son of a bricklayer.
A man erecting the foundation for a new building recently said, “There aren’t many Continue Reading “Ode To The Son Of A Bricklayer”
What The Trowel Binds
I want Nick Stello, the protagonist of Dead Load, to be relatable. Yes, he has the familiar action-thriller backstory of a mysterious past catching up with him. But I wanted Nick to be an ordinary guy in the present. At least before the action begins.
To achieve this, I needed to pick an occupation that would absorb him. He needed to (and wanted to) forget the past. This required a certain kind of work he could credibly immerse himself in without appearing to be a workaholic.
I could have made him a fiction writer, but how many stories are about writers? (Spoiler alert: Too many. And that trope fatigues me to no end.)
No, I needed to pick a skilled trade. Craftsmen are like artists. We appreciate that because it means they take their work seriously. Sometimes too seriously, to the point where the Continue Reading “What The Trowel Binds”