James Piper, Author

Thursday, March 9th, 2017 ... I fight my insecurities and doubts and I withdraw farther away from people and life ... I n November 2016 I started work on a new novel with the working title: The Deep Blue Cage. A few weeks after I started, I stopped. I was feeling too depressed about everything including the idea of writing a new novel. It happens to me at various times, with varying degrees, and it is debilitating. The ultimate issue was: Why bother? Why bother write another novel no one will read and no one will care about. I also found I was dreading the writing process more and more. It was painful to think about. I walked away and focused on other things. Or tried to. That didn’t work either. I felt trapped and unsure where I should head, what I should do. I even asked the big question, what the hell is life about anyway. There’s no one answer to this question despite the proclamations of some and because I believe I can think critically, can reason, I look ...

Monday, September 17, 2012 Breathe—Verb. To breathe. Breath—Noun. A breath. Breathe Breath Posted 2012/09/17 at 19h17ET in Words , Writing .

Tuesday, September 11, 2012 ON TO—Put the water on to boil, I’m making haggis. ONTO—The cat jumped onto a pillow filled with wrenches. Onto On Posted 2012/09/11 at 19h45ET in Words , Writing .

Sunday, September 9, 2012 CLOTHES—She’s so beautiful. I imagine her without any clothes, but then, her closet and dresser would be empty. CLOTH—A noun. A cloth to wipe up… CLOTHE—Verb. To clothe her doll, she stole… Clothes Cloth Clothe Posted 2012/09/09 at 20h14ET in Words , Writing .

Thursday, September 6, 2012 A homonym. FAIRY—A fairy tale. A fairy godmother. Fairy—not a long, long way to run. FERRY—A boat or ship to transport drunken Swedes back home from Copenhagen. It’s the Danish beer. Fairy Ferry Samantha the Swimming Fairy by Daisy Meadows Evening Ferry by Katherine Towler Posted 2012/09/06 at 5h02ET in Words , Writing .

Wednesday, September 5, 2012 ... if it's not the cat then what is it ... L ast night I was out back, sitting in the hot tub. It was dark. Cloudy skies. Not much light except for the one in the tub. I'm relaxing and thinking. The noise of the whirling water drowning out most sounds. I'm in a zone when I look up to see the faint image of an animal’s face approaching the edge of the hot tub—its nose almost touching the wooden deck. It moved closer as if wanting to sniff the water. In the darkness, I thought it was our cat and I wondered how it got out of the house, but as it moved closer, looking as if it might jump into the water, might jump at me, I realized the face was far too large, too wide—the body too big. It wasn’t our cat, it was a racoon. At least I thought it was a racoon. Not wanting to learn more, I swung my arm through the water. A wave rose up and drenched the deck. When the water settled I looked around and couldn’t find the creature. Maybe my ...

Sunday, September 2, 2012 Another homonym. TAUGHT—I learned my students? No. I taut my students? No. I teached my students? No. I taught my students. Ah, maybe. TAUT—The trapdoor of the scaffold gave way and the hangman’s noose went taut. Taught Taut What Barbie Taught Me about Wearing a Plastic Smile by Riley Wilkinson A Taut Rope by Fred L. Cook Posted 2012/09/02 at 10h19ET in Words , Writing .