Author: Ron Rozelle

An interview I did with Allyn West III of the Houston Chronicle was just posted on their 'Gray Matters' page online. Allyn asked very good questions about General Houston, his marriage, his legacy, and the last years of his amazing life.  I hope my answers did them justice, and I look forward (I think) to … Continue reading Sam Houston Q&A / Houston Chronicle

    A moment of silence, please, for the recently departed. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer was 146; the Rocky Mountain News was three years older. They’re the latest additions to the roll of the honored dead, two of which were from hereabouts: The Dallas Times Herald (RIP 1991) and The Houston Post (1995). There was a … Continue reading Read all about it, while you still can

    During the yuletide seasons of my childhood, we took a break at the Methodist church from our usual repertoire of five or six old standards in the brown, threadbare Cokesbury hymnals and switched to an even shorter selection of Christmas carols. So, instead of “In the Garden” and “Yield Not to Temptation” and … Continue reading Regarding angels

  So.  Here’s my list of possibilities for your Christmas Eve reading with your family. What’s that?  You don’t do a Christmas Eve reading with your family?  Well, maybe it’s a good year to start. Here’s the scenario.  Lights twinkling on the tree, flames crackling and spitting in the fireplace, everybody settled into soft cushions, … Continue reading A holy night, a warm fire, and a story

  There’s a good chance that when you were in high school you were told by your senior English teacher to read a rambling bit of business called "Meditation 17", by John Donne. Don’t feel bad if you don’t remember it, because it’s hardly a riveting page-turner. Which is a moot point anyway since it … Continue reading Mr. Donne’s bell deserves another toll

    “Giving Thanks”, a beautiful book devoted entirely to the uniquely American holiday coming up this week, shows up on my coffee table every autumn. We’re into seasonal décor around our house, you see, and once I’ve gotten used to summer flowers and soft pastel throw pillows they suddenly disappear and I’m surrounded by … Continue reading A holiday filled with tradition, memories, family and food

  Every writer should have an animal story or two in their repertoire.  In fact, more than a few authors of every genre – horror, fantasy, espionage, whodunits, even vicious bloody epics full of pillage and carnage – wrote tender, heart-tugging accounts of important cats or dogs in their childhood. I never devoted an entire … Continue reading The curious case of the contemptuous canine

Writers, I’ve found, are usually creatures of habit. So, apparently, are butchers.  Let me explain. Every early morning when I settle into my study with a cup of coffee to write I do these things in this order: a quick check of email to see if my agent or the Pulitzer Prize committee has gotten … Continue reading Rituals are often good places to start, be it wordsmithing or butchering

  Since this occasional diatribe is supposed to have something to do with writing, reading and wordsmithing I bet the title made you think I’m about to deal with the importance of providing good transitions in writing. You know, those little cleverly written bridges that link what you’ve been writing about to what you’re about … Continue reading Transitions