by mike | Apr 16, 2018 | California, Life, Travel, Uncategorized |
I arrived in California to stay about forty-five years ago. Jacqueline, my bride, did the same over three decades past. Yet neither of us, during all that time, set foot in Yosemite National Park, one of this country’s most memorable landmarks, and for sure the gem of...
by mike | Apr 12, 2018 | Books, California, Editing, Ghosts, Horror, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing |
During my 200+ years as a writing coach, I’ve seen it all when it comes to manuscripts by wanna-be authors. Issues with plotting, characterization, dialogue, pacing, and all other elements of a novel come to mind—oftentimes in glaringly high definition and even IMAX....
by mike | Mar 29, 2018 | Books, California, Ghosts, Horror, Paranormal, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing |
I first ran this post in 2014, around the time I reissued my two ghost stories. This one tells the tale of many benign ghosts—and one murderous spirit—in the Anza-Borrego Desert. PRAISE FOR FIRE DANCE: “Sirota returns…with this atmospheric tale of horror in the...
by mike | Mar 12, 2018 | Books, California, Editing, Fantasy, Humor, Publishing, Science Fiction, Uncategorized, Writing |
Bicycling Through Space and Time, the first book of my comedy/science fiction series featuring cosmic bike rider Jack Miller, was initially not supposed to get published. I wrote the three books during the late 1980s-early ’90s with the idea of preserving my sanity...
by mike | Oct 23, 2017 | Books, California, Ghosts, Horror, Horror Movies, Native Americans, Uncategorized, Writing |
With Halloween nearly upon us, I’d like to share a creepy scene from The Burning Ground, one of my four horror novels. This is the final scene in chapter one, which takes place in 1849. (The balance of the story is contemporary.) The setup: gold has been discovered in...
by mike | Oct 16, 2017 | California, Life, Travel, Uncategorized |
Last week being the second week in October, Jacqueline and I made our annual trip to Idyllwild, a mile-high town in Southern California’s San Jacinto Mountains. My bride’s birthday occurs during this time, and we’ve been driving up to Idyllwild for years to celebrate...
