Blog
The "Work" is the Reward
Don leans over the open hood of a car in his garage. It won’t start. Hasn’t moved in a year. But it will. In fact, when he is done with it, it may reach over 200 mph. After all, it has in the past. ...
Recapture Your Sense of "Wonder"
Perhaps Ralph Waldo Emerson, American philosopher, essayist, and poet said it best, “The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.” I witnessed this last week as my grandkids ...
The Clock You Never Hear Ticking
Ever notice this strange phenomenon? We seem to be able to control the speed of time. Watch the clock, and time slows down. Ignore it, and time flies.
When I retired, I could no longer hear the ...
Why I Wrote The Desert Between Us and Why You May ...
GOOD NEWS. The Desert Between Us is available for PRE-ORDER now. If you would like to order a copy or learn more about the plot line, click this link:
The Message Behind the Gift
This year I completed my third novel, THE CHRISTMAS PHOTOGRAPH. It speaks of the best and worst Christmas of the main character's life. The tragic thing is, his best and worst Christmas occurred on ...
Writing for the Soul
Two days ago was National Author's Day. It got me thinking about why I write. Jerry B. Jenkins, author of the Left Behind series said, "Whatever else the writing life offers, nothing compares with ...
Adopt the Pace of Nature
For years now, I’ve been writing this newsletter, PAUSE MORE. RUSH LESS. And for good reason, I’ve been trying to slow my life down, and if I’m honest, yours too, so we don’t miss life’s most ...
Observing Magical Moments
Magical moments. They’re all around us. The question is, do we notice them? What is a magical moment? To me, they are those ordinary moments we live in the present—but grow sweeter with time. We ...
Excerpt #1 -- The Christmas Photograph
In my last newsletter, I gave you an update on my third novel, a novella called The Christmas Photograph. I wanted to share a brief excerpt with you now.
The Christmas Photograph is a 40,000-word ...
Project Update: The Christmas Photograph
For the past few weeks, I’ve taken a short sabbatical from writing PAUSE MORE. RUSH LESS. I’ve enjoyed some vacation time with my family and finished the second self-edit of The Christmas Photograph ...
Echoes from the Past
I thought I heard my father’s voice the other day. I wasn’t dreaming. “Jim, get on the stick,” he said. It was his voice. His tone. His cadence. He used this phrase throughout his life with his six ...
Finding Light in the Darkness
Photo above: My parents, James and Rosemary Magruder, the day my father proposed to her. The look on her face says it all.
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Several years ago, I was reflecting on the passing of my mother when I ...