August 19th, 2022 When people get comfortable around me and my sobriety, they start to ask more complicated questions about it. The one they inevitably get to is: “Do you miss anything about drinking?” I do. Of course I do. Too much for a single post. But I want to talk about something that mightContinue reading “Not Too Little, Never Too Late”
Author Archives: dennisvogen
Accessible Excellence
August 18th, 2022 The most common thing said about my books comes across as backhanded, but I’ve come to realize it aligns with what I want to do as a writer so completely. The song goes: “I am not a big reader, but I really liked your book.” Usually followed by the encore of: “IContinue reading “Accessible Excellence”
Cold World Trailer
August 15th, 2022 It has not been a cold summer, but for my readers, it has been a Cold World summer. Some of the best reviews of my writing career have made their way to me from people who have discovered the secrets of this story set on Earth in 2222; Cold World is aContinue reading “Cold World Trailer”
silly
August 15th, 2022 “As for its being silly, I don’t mind that. Sometimes it’s great fun to be silly, like children playing statues and dying of laughter. And sometimes being silly breaks the even pace and lets you get a new start.” – The Winter of Our Discontent Being silly is natural to me, butContinue reading “silly”
We Will Meet As Strangers
August 13th, 2022 You read the words again. You’re young and you fall in love with the story, the first and last time you will fall in love. The plot thrills, the characters sing, the words pierce and they cut and they dig and find a place in your soul, creating a permanent home there.Continue reading “We Will Meet As Strangers”
No Judgement
August 11th, 2022 “Most of the things we love are the things that embarrass us,” wrote Helena Fitzgerald. It is terribly true, and I would add: the things we love THE MOST are the things that embarrass us, and the things that embarrass us tell us the most about ourselves and each other. I likeContinue reading “No Judgement”
In Dreams: The Sandman, Flip, and Push
August 8th, 2022 I finished the first season of The Sandman on Netflix this afternoon. As a massive Sandman fan, for years, I personally think it is a better-than-perfect adaptation of the source material. I also want to add how well the series is cast; Tom Sturridge as Dream is the single best casting choiceContinue reading “In Dreams: The Sandman, Flip, and Push”
A Kind Word & A Friendly Face
August 8th, 2022 “All they need is a kind word and a friendly face.” Kindness is like a thumb on a knot. I had a really insecure week. Not that the week wasn’t sure of what it was, but I’m not. I’ve just felt out of place and out of sorts, not myself, wobbly onContinue reading “A Kind Word & A Friendly Face”
Everyone as Puzzles
August 5th, 2022 A life’s journey is puzzling. I’ve made that idea near-literal. When you’re in recovery and an open book, people love to ask you about the ugliest parts of your story. “So what was your rock bottom?” I have never been fully comfortable with that phrase, at least when it comes to howContinue reading “Everyone as Puzzles”
What’s in a number?
August 2nd, 2022 Today, a friend asked me a great, big question: why? And how? Why am I a writer? How did I know I was a writer? Why and how am I the person that I am? And being put on the spot is wonderful, because you don’t know what you’re going to say,Continue reading “What’s in a number?”