Voting in Taiwan

Mornings are my writing time, and usually I am left alone until Jack barks at the back door to let me know it is time for a walk. One morning last week, however, Manyu needed to vent, so she came to me at my writing table to complain. She was mad because Taiwan’s...

First Snow

I woke up to the first significant snowfall of the year. It was a gentle snow, and clumps of it stuck to the trees. Snow-covered branches are beautiful, and ordinarily the maple tree just outside my window would have held my full attention. This morning, however, I...

Goals, No Goals

Manyu worries Clare has no goals for the future. I, on the other hand, don’t think Clare should have much in the way of goals just out of college. I would prefer she didn’t wait until her late thirties to start a career or a family, but better that than having...

Election Day

My reading habits, in terms of genres, follow a pattern. First I go on a crime fiction spree and read detective novels until my brain starts mixing up the storylines. I switch over to classic literature and read a Steinbeck or a Twain, maybe a Cather or Stegner. I...
Steven Simpson