By 2010, Lou started to offer to do marketing work for some of his friends who ran large companies. He worked the phones relentlessly until he secured several contracts that did well enough for us to pay the rent on our condo — mostly on time.  And, he used frequent flier miles and hotel points […]

When I’m writing a fictional narrative, the story is so much more interesting if I come up with a clever or authentic way to weave an important detail or two into the narrative without it being too obvious. That way, when the detail ends up being the critical element of a surprising plot shift, the […]

After Lou’s big technology deal crashed and burned, we had to get real. It was time to face the facts. We couldn’t keep doing this anymore. We couldn’t keep trying to close little deals to pay our rent, and quite frankly, we simply couldn’t afford the rent we were paying in the first place. So […]