MORGAN’ S CORNER
MORGAN ST. JAMES, EDITOR
This is the page where I always comment on any new features and articles that are particularly timely or informative. I also use the space to update readers on what might be going on in my professional or personal life.
A s always, a lot has happened in the three months since the last issue. Carolyn Howard-Johnson, the“ doing it frugally” book guru, has contributed many very helpful articles over the years. I am happy to say that beginning with this issue she will be a regular columnist.
Check out her article Ampersands: Pretty Is as Pretty Does beginning on Page. Most of us know what this little gadget is, but Carolyn discusses it in great detail. When should you use it, what purpose does it serve, and when might it be perceived as just a gimmick?
In the last issue I mentioned Ripped from the Headlines, presented twice this year in different venues— the Las Writers Group in May with co-presenter highprofile private eye Vito Collucci Jr. and at the Greater Los Angeles Writers Conference at the end of June. It is now confirmed that it will be presented again with Vito Collucci Jr. at the Clark County Library, 1440 E. Flamingo Rd. in Las Vegas on October 27 at 11:00am in the Jewel Box Theater.
If you are in Las Vegas or Henderson, and haven’ t seen it before check it out. Headlines are great resources as inspiration for both fiction and non-fiction books. Vito speaks about his own headlines being the basis for his books and I have coauthored a few true crime books as well as using headlines and news stories in fiction plots. The latest one was Payback where a case in the LA Times provided me with the plot twist I needed. More news about Dylan the Dog, our Associate Editor. No sooner did he recover from his surgeries than we had a very scary time. It turns out my beloved pooch has diabetes and I almost lost him. It was undetected and one morning he went into ketoacidosis which happens when the ketos in the system of a diabetic become uncontrollable. That triggers all sorts of awful things, but I won’ t go into details. In extreme cases ketoacidosis can be fatal.
So, our brave little Associate Editor was in the hospital for 5 days receiving intensive treatment.
Happy to say he is once again fully recovered. With insulin shots twice a day, he should be just fine. It was very hard for me
WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE PAGE 1 FALL 2018