Author Archives: John Swinburn

About John Swinburn

"Love not what you are but what you may become."― Miguel de Cervantes

Venom and Good Cheer

Posted on June 2, 2017 by John Swinburn

There’s a lot to be angry about today. Rage courses through my veins in place of blood. But if I let that venomous fluid take hold, the day and the world will lay in ruins in a matter of hours. So, instead, … Continue reading →

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Guilt by Reason of Aforethought

Posted on June 1, 2017 by John Swinburn

This may seem like I’m stereotyping. Okay, I’m stereotyping. I’ll admit that up front, before the reader gets to that point at which I am clearly stereotyping. So, there will be no condemnation of the fact that I’m unwittingly stereotyping … Continue reading →

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Crooked Little Thought Paths

Posted on May 31, 2017 by John Swinburn

I spent the morning writing, then editing, then writing chapter one of the book I’ve been contemplating for a while. I should not edit at this stage, but I had to, because I’ve not settled precisely on the sequence of … Continue reading →

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Biblical Insights from Nonbelievers

Posted on May 30, 2017 by John Swinburn

The insight service day before yesterday at the Unitarian Universalist Village Church was among the more thought-provoking I’ve heard (and I’ve heard some that inspired me to give serious thought to some pretty complex issues). The presentation, given by a man … Continue reading →

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Restaurant Customer Service

Posted on May 30, 2017 by John Swinburn

A series of posts on a Facebook group (Hot Springs Restaurant Reviews) during the past few days offer two very different perspectives on what constitutes acceptable levels of service. The original conversations began when a few people complained about experiences … Continue reading →

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Scythe

Posted on May 29, 2017 by John Swinburn

Clarvan Strang looked older than his forty years. Too many seasons in the sun had robbed his skin of youth. Knotted brown leather with wrinkled rivers of gathered hide covered every square inch of skin that shirts and pants and overalls hadn’t … Continue reading →

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Enter the Animal

Posted on May 28, 2017 by John Swinburn

Enter the animal. He prowls like a cat. But he’s a monster unknown. He’s a creature prehistoric, an enigma that stalks the night looking for victims to satisfy his appetite for fresh flesh and streaming blood. The sky darkens and leaves in … Continue reading →

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This Post Has No Title, Nor Message

Posted on May 27, 2017 by John Swinburn

A medical bill, associated with my recent colonoscopy, arrived in today’s mail. It was for pathology work. I logged on to my medical records to find details of the pathology report. As I already knew, the pathology exam found nothing … Continue reading →

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The Process of Words and Food

Posted on May 26, 2017 by John Swinburn

Last night, we attended our fourth (is that right?) Wines of the World dinner at Coronado Center. The theme country for the night was Portugal. After beginning with a far-too-sweet-for-my-taste port, the wines ramped up in interest and quality. Two … Continue reading →

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Seeking

Posted on May 25, 2017 by John Swinburn

We long for connections, intersections, kisses; spaces between our fears and acceptance, between the unknown and the richness of knowledge so deep we cannot comprehend its wingspan. We long for beauty in the absence of truth. Modesty tells us to hide our … Continue reading →

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Bitter Woman

Posted on May 24, 2017 by John Swinburn

Her smile conceals savage fury of infinite intensity. Look closely enough and you’ll see bitterness escaping from the upturned corners of her mouth. Beware the simmering anger, hidden beneath her engaging grin, capable of erupting in full-throated rage. In an instant, the acrimony growing … Continue reading →

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Ribbons of Thought

Posted on May 24, 2017 by John Swinburn

Material for books continues to spill from my fingers, onto the keyboard, and then splash across my computer screen. I’ve created a half-dozen plots in the last few days alone; every time I begin writing on one of the novels-in-waiting, … Continue reading →

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Coincidental Crime

Posted on May 23, 2017 by John Swinburn

Last week, I read a fiction short-story aloud to an audience, as part of the local writers’ group program called L’Audible Art. My story, entitled Urban Dear Hunt, revolved around a woman’s murder of her adulterous husband by shooting an … Continue reading →

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Shattered

Posted on May 23, 2017 by John Swinburn

He looks in the mirror and sees a man he does not recognize. The man in the mirror is older than the man who used to look back at him. This man’s face bears evidence of age beyond the years he knows its possessor … Continue reading →

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Food Flash

Posted on May 22, 2017 by John Swinburn

My Sunday was, by and large, a happy event. I logged three beers at the Flying Saucer in Little Rock, had a nice lunch at the same place, and enjoyed a scoop of ice cream at Kilwin’s, a place to which … Continue reading →

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Foods of England

Posted on May 21, 2017 by John Swinburn

I stumbled across a website this morning that I want to memorialize here for future reference. It’s The Foods of England Project (http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk), a site that attempts to amass a list, along with recipes (which they call receipts) and the … Continue reading →

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Aha

Posted on May 21, 2017 by John Swinburn

I’m late in writing this morning because I’ve been thinking, the kind of thinking with which writing would interfere. Most of the time, writing propels my thoughts, but some thoughts require me to abandon writing for a while so I … Continue reading →

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Morphing

Posted on May 20, 2017 by John Swinburn

We sometimes vent frustrations in ways that make sense only to us. Others look at us as if we’d stopped on the side of the road, spread a tablecloth on the ground, taken out a knife and fork, and dined on … Continue reading →

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A Little Music That Moves Me

Posted on May 18, 2017 by John Swinburn

Just listen and let the music take you where you need to go. These are courtesy of Spotify. I love so many types of music; these inadequately represent my taste. They don’t even begin to touch the depth of my … Continue reading →

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Serendipity in a New Way

Posted on May 18, 2017 by John Swinburn

It’s almost midnight. I should be in bed, but I’m not. Instead, I’m reflecting on the day just ending, stunned that the frenetic pace led to something so smooth. The morning started with coffee with friends who happen to be … Continue reading →

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Coursing

Posted on May 17, 2017 by John Swinburn

A rancid, acidic stew is coursing through our nation’s veins, sickening the heart and gut of the country that once offered the world promise and served as an imperfect, but hopeful, model for humanity. Today, that ugly slurry—a foul mixture of … Continue reading →

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Bird Talk

Posted on May 16, 2017 by John Swinburn

I’m looking out a side window near the front of my home, from which I can see the nearest neighbor’s house and a house on the other side of the street in front of yet another neighbor’s place a few … Continue reading →

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Plotting

Posted on May 15, 2017 by John Swinburn

While conducting some research for a fiction writing project, I read material from the Union of Concerned Scientists about “close calls” involving nuclear weapons. The numbers and scope of incidents that could have triggered nuclear war are chilling. One article mentioned … Continue reading →

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I’m Writing in My Brain

Posted on May 13, 2017 by John Swinburn

For reasons unknown, early this morning and late this afternoon have been monstrously productive for me with respect to ideas for a novel. I’ve spent hours documenting details of several characters and some fundamental outlines of the plot. I don’t … Continue reading →

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Travel the World

Posted on May 13, 2017 by John Swinburn

I just watched a YouTube video in which Emmanuel Macron, the newly-elected President of France, invited U.S. climate scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to come to France to pursue their work on climate change. In my opinion, the invitation was a … Continue reading →

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