What would YOU do if you ruled the world?

My blog post is up over at the Girlfriends Book Club blog. It's called IF I RULED THE WORLD. Check it out.

ME AND BASEBALL A very short play

ME: It's not that I don't want the Yankees to win. It's just that I'd like the Red Sox to win, too.

MIKE:

ME: I have a lot of friends who are Red Sox fans.

MIKE:

ME: It means so much to them, you see.

MIKE:

ME: I guess I'm not what you'd call a true fan.

MIKE: Honey, you're the opposite of a fan.

Also at my t-shirt store ...

An original poem! (Well, using Dorothy Parker's "Resume" as a template. Consider it an homage.)

Click here to order. You can customize it for any style or color.

Why you don't have to worry about someone stealing your work

One of the most common questions I get from aspiring authors pertains to protecting their work from plagiarism. I can't speak for screenwriting, but in the publishing world it's a misplaced worry.

As a writer, you simply have to take a leap of faith that no one wants to steal your work. It just doesn't happen. Agents and editors are not sitting at their desks, rubbing their hands together as they await their next victim. Nor are other writers trolling the Internet looking for ideas to steal. I mean sure, you can probably find a few examples to prove me wrong. But you can also find examples of people choking to death on water. The point is that the odds are so astronomically low that they don't merit concern.

The sad truth behind this is that it is so difficult to make any money from writing that there's no incentive for theft. We all believe in our work, and cling to the hope that we have the next million dollar idea. But realistically, why would someone risk plagiarizing, only to have to spend a year researching and queryng agents, rewriting the letter again and again as it gets rejected? And that's not even considering how many months of rewrites will follow before there's even a slim chance at publication and an even slimmer chance of making any real money at it.

And one final point. As the author, you automatically own the copyright to your work and have legal protection. So try to relax and not let these fears get in your way.

Instead, worry about the real things ...  Are you creating believable characters your readers will care about? Are your storylines fresh and exciting?  Are your sentences exquisite and evocative? Is there enough coffee, vodka, or red wine in the house to get you through the week? (Water, as you know, can kill you.)

Now get back to work ...

Fresh Hell!

The news today is that I have created a store for wearable Dorothy Parker quotes! Note that each is customizable, so you can choose whatever quote you like and put it on a shirt of any style or color. Click here to check out all the products.

Hope you like these! I had a lot of fun with it.

make custom gifts at Zazzle

Big App Show!

As promised (threatened?) I'm still on hiatus from posting Friday updates, but I did want to share this with you. A few months ago I was interviewed via Skype by Adam Curry (yes, that Adam Curry) about THE OTHER LIFE. The interview is now available for viewing on your smartphone. If you have an iPhone, iPad or Droid, simply go to the app store and download The Big App Show, which is free. Pretty easy to find my interview from there.

It's a cool app in any case, as it lets you preview other apps before buying them.

Meanwhile, the interview is also posted online. So if you want to watch it on your computer, click here.

I hope you'll want to check it out, because Adam is a stellar interviewer. He's smart, earnest, down-to-earth and asks great questions. Also, he really likes my book!

Have a great weekend ...

According to Dorothy Parker ...

"Brevity is the soul of lingerie."

This Shakespeare-inspired quote is from a photo caption Dorothy Parker wrote when she was working at Vogue in 1915.

For daily quotes from Dorothy Parker, follow her on Facebook.