Narration provided by Wondervox

By Mark McNease

It feels increasingly like something we can’t get away from even if we want to.

As someone who embraces technology I think it’s important to consider the ongoing  controversies surrounding  AI (artificial intelligence). Forms of it have been around for a long time. Rudimentary applications have been used in everything from self-checkout kiosks in grocery stores, to voice activation and automatic teller machines (ATMs). And now it’s being introduced—imposed?—in ways we often don’t want, from typing Word documents with annoying AI ‘assistants’ popping up on the page,’ to emails and texts that insist on writing themselves. It feels increasingly like something we can’t get away from even if we want to.

As a one-man production studio, I consider AI a tool that helps me accomplish my goals and maintain an output. I would never ‘write’ a novel with AI, but I use it to generate images and to do the sorts of research I used to perform online with key words and a Wikipedia page. It’s my responsibility to make sure that information is correct, but the hunting and gathering is made tremendously easier with AI. I also find the technology exciting in many ways. I don’t think we will ever be replaced by AI, or even if that would be such a bad thing for the planet, but there is a lot of fear around it.

Along with a constant downpour, Saturday brought a successful book reading and speaker event in Lambertville, NJ, at my home-away-from home: Soupcon at Bucks on Bridge Coffee Shop.

I helped Tara Benedetti’s mother, Lynda Young, publish her daughter’s book of poetry and arranged for a reading and speaker on schizophrenia. Shea Dibley, VP of  NAMI Hunterdon, spoke to us after the readings about his own experience living with schizophrenia. It was a true success, and an opportunity be of service.

Some photos

I met Phillip Guirand recently at one of my workshops and he asked me to help him get his book out. It was a pleasure! And it looks great.

“In this stirring and deeply personal narrative, Phillip Guirand charts the harrowing descent and spiritual awakening of a man wrestling with the consequences of his choices. Set against the backdrop of addiction, fractured relationships, and a world quick to condemn, this powerful story follows one man’s fight to reclaim his soul. With raw honesty and emotional intensity, Guirand delves into the pain of brokenness and the long, uphill battle toward forgiveness—not only from others, but from within.

Phillip Guirand brings unmatched authenticity to this redemptive tale. Drawing from real experiences and universal struggles, he offers readers more than a story—he offers a mirror. Through heartbreak and healing, Guirand delivers a message of hope: no matter how far one falls, redemption is always within reach.”

All times are eastern (New Jersey) – 2 Hours in most cases
Register at the links below

IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS IN LAMBERTVILLE
NEW HOPE ADULT WRITERS GROUP
NEW HOPE LIBRARY JOURNALING GROUP
CLINTON ADULT WRITERS GROUP
JULY WORKSHOPS VIA ZOOM
IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS IN SEPTEMBER

ADULT WRITERS GROUPS (ONGOING)

EVERY 2ND  AND 4TH TUESDAY
Adult Writers Group
6:00 – 7:00 pm
Location: New Hope Free Library
93 W. Ferry Street, New Hope, PA
RSVP

LAST WEDNESDAY OF EACH MONTH
Adult Writers Group
6:00 – 7:00 pm
65 Halstead St, Clinton, Clinton, NJ
REGISTER AT THE LIBRARY WEBSITE

MONTHLY AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL JOURNALING
NEW HOPE LIBRARY
EVERY FIRST WEDENSDAY (STARING JULY 2)
REGISTER HERE

SUMMER SESSIONS IN JULY! 

Fiction Writing Essentials (2 hours via Zoom – limit 8)
Monday, July 7 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM eastern ($40)
Explore the ins, outs, and mechanics of writing fiction.
DETAILS AND REGISTRATION HERE

Self-Publishing with KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) (2 hours via Zoom – limit 6)
Monday, July 28 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM eastern ($40)
For anyone interested in the how-to of self-publishing.
DETAILS AND REGISTRATION HERE

This was one of my best workshop experiences yet: enthustiastic attendees who told me it could have gone another two hours. Several of them expressed interest in a self-publishing workshop and spoke to the program director about it afterward. Such a great morning.

May 3 is just around the corner! It’s a busy workshop month for me, kicking off with Fiction Writing Essentials in Bristol, PA. Support your local library!

“I’ve been working with Mark on my autobiography for several months. He is insightful, talented, and a wonderful asset in bringing my life’s story to the page. He made it possible and pleasant. And fun!” – K.C.

CLICK TO ENTER

For U.S. residents only, per Goodreads

Win 1 of 100 copies of ‘Night Flight to Murder Town: A Marshall James Thriller.’

Marshall James returns for one more walk down murder’s memory lane in ‘Night Flight to Murder Town, Book  4’. Marshall is thinking of leaving New York City with his husband for a new life away from the hectic pace of the nation’s largest city. But how did he get here in the first place? After three stories detailing his harrowing Hollywood past, where lovers, losers, and a serial killer or two nearly ended his life before he could make something of it, he finally tells us how and why he left LaLa Land for Gotham.

It was 1991 and a Christmas card showed up in the mail. An old flame was inviting him to make the move. L.A. had become a ghost town for Marshall and he was ready to get as far away as he could, as fast as a plane would take him. He caught a night flight to New York, and he soon found himself on a new and deadly path to a future he never saw coming.
Money laundering, drug dealing, murder, and high stakes crimes by high-profile people all welcome him with a lethal embrace. It’s an origin story like no How did he end up here? Why did he stay? And is love possible after all that death and destruction? Find out in Night Flight to Murder Town. You’ll need to fasten your seat belts for this one.