The Renegade Writers Podcast, hosted by award winning and Distinguished Authors Ron Schultz and Sarah Lovett, is a podcast about and for fearless writers willing to challenge the status quo. These inspiring and lively interviews feature writers who are not simply producing fiction that defies social values, but motivates others to find the courage and heart to do so, as well. Renegade Writers are those writers willing to take a moral,...

Poetry plays a crucial role in Metal Viper. The poems of Dampa, a baker struggling to find meaning after the 2021 coup in Myanmar, are taped to the wall in front of the display cases of his bakery, for anyone to read. The fresh baked goods going out the door are wrapped in copies of his poems. It is when his shop is raided and Dampa and his 12-year-old son, Vika, were thrown into the dreaded Insein Prison for Dampa’s “seditious poetry,” that...

They do their work in some of the most dangerous places on earth. Their stories are filled and fraught with confronting the black holes in our societies, while serving the needs of those teetering on the brink of falling into those voids. My calling was not to be one of those courageous souls. It takes a certain kind of gumption I never possessed. My role was to plumb the depths of what compelled these people to journey into those dark places,...

Innovation comes from the root for “new” and “now,” which is definitely not what we think of  when we create more of the same. My intention with this brief essay is to look at how we dress up the new and now so it doesn’t freak out the seemingly “tried and true.” I realize this may be a thankless task, but it wouldn’t be the first I have undertaken. As it turns out, the issue is not just envisioning what could be new and now. It’s how do I...

I spent the afternoon surrounded by the dead. It began with a visit to the Ricoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires. A must see in Buenos Aries. Whether or not it’s the number one attraction in this city of millions, I don’t know. I do know that if there’s a death attraction in any city we go to, my wife wants to visit it. We’ve been to the catacombs of Paris, the mummies of Guanajuato, High Gate Cemetery in London, Pere La Chaise in Paris, the...

From the annals of “you know you're old when…” We’re in the Miami airport, after a  full day of flying, on our way to our gate for our next flights to Montevideo, when we walk by a beautiful blonde-haired woman sitting in a restaurant drinking a tall, cold beer and I think to myself, God that beer looks good. When I shared this with Laura, we had a good laugh. Not only were we a bit punchy having left Portland at 5AM, but we were a little...

Publishing books is madness. Launching a new book publishing imprint is undoubtedly certifiable. The dinosaurs, extinct for lo these many years, knew when to get out. Publishers have yet to see the signs. However, that does not seem reason enough to not do it, and despite all evidence to the contrary, I have decided to launch a new publishing imprint. The madness is generational. My parents; my mother, father, step-father, and sister have all...

Somewhere along the line, I lost my joy. I didn’t realize I'd lost it. I've always considered myself to be a joyful person. I laugh easily. I make others laugh. I mean, I suspect I’m like most funny people, my wife gets tired of hearing some of my jokes, as I repeat an observation I think is particularly funny a few too many times. My daughter has started giving me a fake laugh at these moments. She refers to them as a “pity" laugh. There’s no...

Boredom has always been one of my worst enemies. Those long, hot, summer days when I would complain, "I've got nothing to do." Coming to terms with the boredom is not a challenge I face alone. We live in a country, a world consumed by the need for continual distraction. I share my struggles, not as solace for others who are similarly afflicted, but as a recognition that I can live differently. I have never been one for mundane tasks. I have...

Ego, Ergo, I Go As a practicing Buddhist, I am well aware that my attachment to me is the cause of much, if not all, of my suffering. It’s a tough one to not hold onto. Holding on sounds a bit too gentle of a description of what it is I do. Vice grip grasping might be closer to the point. Obviously, I love talking about me. Telling stories about me. Highlighting my achievements. Boasting, proclaiming, declaring, announcing, pronouncing,...

I have always been in a hurry. I was born six weeks premature and I’ve been racing through this life ever since. I couldn’t grow up fast enough, and when I finally did, I wanted to fill my time meeting and speaking with whomever in the world I wanted to meet and doing what I wanted to do. I’ve been extremely fortunate to have done just that. So, it wasn’t too surprising, after spending years trying to find a traditional publisher for my...

I was covering the Voyager fly-by of Saturn for Mankind magazine. OK, it wasn’t the most prestigious magazine, but it was a way to secure my credentials to get into JPL for the fly-by. It also allowed me to attend the daily press briefings and receive all the photos that were coming down from the spacecraft. There was little question in my mind that I was one of the least knowledgeable persons in the room. So, I was continually asking the other...