“Guess your weight! Guess your age!” the carny’s side hustle pitch barked with enthusiasm. The hint of a playful southern drawl made it all the more alluring.
To this day, I love watching people play the “Guess Your Weight” game. There are several variations on this theme. The barker can guess your weight, or your age, or your birth month. With all those combinations, it’s got to be a surefire winner, right? And just look at those huge Continue Reading “The Side Hustle Juggle: How A Fair Game Taught Me The Secret To A Happy Life (Part I)”
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”