After working at KVET News in Austin, I tried to ‘move-on-up,’ and landed at KIKK in Houston, but didn’t always grab the brass ring. In the holiday spirit, find your muse and share it where you can!

Being a writer is the best part of my life. I’ve written news for the radio and even jingles (radio/TV commercials). Experience has taught me to use great equipment and hire superior talent.

Back in the '80s, digital audio was in its infancy. This is the sound of a Neumann U47. The VO and the singer both. The music was made entirely with a Synclavier which played digital samples from a piano-like keyboard.

I read the voice and wrote and produced this spot at Cook Sound & Picture Works in Houston. I hired a Cook Synclavier master keyboard player and a talented singer and went off to face the big league. What great fun! I miss those days. I think it was circa 1989.

“Ole Smiley” won a national Silver Microphone award for “best production never aired.” I did it on spec for Purina. Unfortunately, they never used it. Purina had an ad agency with a hard lock on the creativity door. I still think it would sell a lot of dog chow! I wrote several episodes with the alter ego, Ole Smiley. In one he went up Vail Mountain in Colorado and took down an albino snow bear. “That’s my dog!“

Sometimes when I’m in a slump while writing my next novel, “Murder on the Moon” I look back at past works to get a smile, if nothing else. They’re not all impressionable, but you have to find your muse where you can.

I’m content now to write books. I hope, in some way, they bring excellent memories to my readers. Thank you for being a fan and a friend. Happy holidays. Enjoy.

#happyholidays #authorThought #thatsMyDog #writersBecomeAuthors