A morning brew in a solid container reassures me that I can live confidently — “Would you like your coffee in a to-go cup or a mug?” I appreciated that question from the owner of the small coffee shop where I used to sit and write. “A mug, please.” After I became a regular they always gave me a mug. The boutique shop seated less…

My guide to the fiction, marketing, relationship articles and more that I’ve written — Publications Hey Don: The Days of Don Simkovich Two-minute life lessons So Cal Live Work Play Stories from Southern California related to home and health, career and entrepreneurship, and recreation Stone Cold Crime Stories True Crime and Crime-Thriller Fiction featuring background information collected for the Tom Stone Detective stories available on…

Writing was my way of heading into the thick of the action — I was in early grade school when the NBC Nightly News splashed videos and images of the Vietnam War across the television screen. My parents were typically busy upstairs while I watched in our basement’s family room. What intrigued me was how journalists could cover fights in the jungle and…

Police found a sad sight in the largest urban park in the country — NBC LA reported that on Aug. 9, police found a body burning and hanging from a tree in the popular Griffith Park. Detective Michael Ventura told the local station that there were no indications of foul play and at the time the victim was not identified. It’s being ruled a…

Jack Reacher lives outside boundaries, but you can’t formulate his character — Open a Jack Reacher novel and you’re going to find him in a variety of places: Stuck on a bus during a snowstorm with senior citizens in South Dakota Beating up protection racketeers in New York City Trudging through a small southern town, getting tossed in jail and working to…

A story I wrote for a client in 2016 is still visible — Content marketing is like stocking grocery store shelves with products that remain fresh and consumable for years to come. What you write today may take 3 months to 6 months or longer to bear fruit — and it can continue bearing fruit for years to come. I was shocked when…

Turn the pages of this thriller novel for a great summer reading price Lurking in the waters of the Channel Islands off the coast of Malibu and Ventura County is a narco-sub, manned by forced labor. Human trafficking and drugs. Lives to be lost and millions to be made. Subterfuge…

Authorities say $10 million is the base amount and could reach 10 times higher — This update on the July 11 Brinks truck heist is compiled from different sources. The Brinks armored truck heist could add up to be the largest heist in history. On July 11, 2am, two personnel driving a Brinks armored truck pulled into the Flying J truck stop on the 5…