And He Will Write For Life There’s the one with a reproduction of the famous Japanese artwork called the “The Great Wave of Kanagawa” on the cover, given to me by my sister-in-law. That one stays on my night stand where I record my dreams and make lists. There’s the leatherbound one Randy, my friend…
Here for the Magic
A Writing Dad’s Life – Part 9
Lost in the Moment There’s a picture of me as a young boy, standing in a baseball field at dusk. I was about 11-years-old, wearing gray sweatpants and a blue-collared shirt. I had a clean haircut, almost a flat top, the style a remnant of a late summer buzz cut. It was September, and though…
Acceptance!
A Writing Dad’s Life – Part 8
Labor of Love Writers always remember their first. Acceptance that is. After the work is done, and IF we feel we’re finally ready to share it with the world, we send out our stuff. Submitting stories to literary magazine is bit like applying for a job. You must research the journal, read the editors’ bios,…
The Dying Art
A Writing Dad’s Life – Part 7
Empathy. Mercy. Grace. One of the finest literary magazines out there must be Tin House, a beautiful quarterly headquartered in Portland, Oregon. It began its amazing run in the literary world in 1999 featuring and discovering fabulous writers, in addition to hosting an annual summer writers’ workshop, plus, it was and still is known as…
Discovered!
A Writing Dad’s Life – Part 6
Leaning In You’ve likely heard the stories of actors, models, and musicians being discovered, right? They’re going about their business working in restaurants, street fairs, and munitions factories, then suddenly an agent or photographer finds them, plucks them from the muck, and makes them a star. It’s not quite the same for writers. We toil…
Praise For The Teachers
A Writing Dad’s Life – Part 5
That Push on The Swing Fall 2010. New Orleans, Louisiana. I was in a hotel room for a work conference, and while my colleagues were out living it up in the French Quarter, I was having an existential crisis. I was two semesters into my MFA in Writing program and had just received a packet…
The Beauty and The Curse
A Writing Dad’s Life – Part 4
Something Close to Empathy One of my first professional writer friends, Josh Goldfaden—may he rest in peace—inadvertently helped me decide to pursue an MFA in Writing. Out to lunch with him one day, when I shared I was both considering schools and whether to attend one at all, he said, “If you’re serious about writing,…
A Writer’s Life for Me
A Writing Dad’s Life – Part 3
Once and For All I remember the exact moment, location, time of day, and who I was with when I knew I was going to be a writer. Let me back up. I always knew I was going to be a writer. The first moment of awareness was in fourth grade when Mrs. Cordova said…
‘Slip Soul’ Author Taylor Garcia Talks About His Novel’s Layered Stories Anchored in Social Justice
A long-time contributor to The Good Men Project, Taylor Garcia's first novel touches on many big societal issues like toxic masculinity, immigration, racism, and sexism.
A long-time contributor to The Good Men Project, Taylor Garcia’s first novel touches on many big societal issues like toxic masculinity, immigration, racism, and sexism.
‘Slip Soul’ Chapter 1: Otay Mesa Detention Center
An excerpt from the new novel by Taylor García.
An excerpt from the new novel by Taylor García.
‘Slip Soul’ — A Story Within a Story by Taylor García
Taylor Garcia's first novel is influenced by the rise of toxic masculinity, hatred toward immigrants, plus women’s continual fight for both equity and equality.
Taylor Garcia’s first novel is influenced by the rise of toxic masculinity, hatred toward immigrants, plus women’s continual fight for both equity and equality.
One Word At A Time
A Writing Dad’s Life – Part 2
Buena Suerte In one week from today, something amazing will happen. I will become a published book author. There will a book out there with my name on it. All of it—every single word—written by me. I still don’t believe it. I stand back, ever-amazed that I did it. That I got one past the…
The Janitor Inside My Head
A Writing Dad’s Life – Part 1
In Such A Way Victor Hugo, the world-renowned French author of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Misérables, was famously quoted saying, “A writer is a world trapped in a person.” As someone who has written my whole life, I fully relate to this quote. Much of my brain power is spent thinking about…
Forks in The Road
Life @ The Intersection of Socio-Politics & Parenting
The Sound of Their Freedom Independence Day morning, my family and I emerged from a motel in the sleepy tip-of-the-Pacific-Northwest town of Port Angeles. The fog was thick and the air was crisp and we were hungry. Despite many businesses being closed for the holiday, we found a coffee house/Crossfit gym that was open and…
The Cruella DeVil Mystique: Toxic Femininity?
Life @ The Intersection of Socio-Politics & Parenting
Hungry Imaginations Our first movie in the theater after 18-months of social distancing was Cruella, Walt Disney’s live-action, PG-13, feature film that tells the backstory of one of the most infamous screen villains of this and previous generations. I was wary of taking my young boys to see it, one because of the rating, and…
Which Human’s Rights?
Life @ The Intersection of Socio-Politics & Parenting
The Ultimate Question The yard sign stood out in the idyllic neighborhood. Its purple background and flowing script typeface helped its message resonate. “Humans begin in the womb, so protect their rights.” Okay, that’s a fair argument. For the folks on the political spectrum that uphold human rights above all else, the statement on this…