J.Michael Martinez

Occasionally I hear from friends and family who have read my latest blog: “You sure had a laugh at someone else’s expense, Mike. But can...

I recently underwent my annual physical examination with Dr. John S. Carr, my primary care physician. Approaching age 50, I recognize the...

Ah, what a joy it is to see the world through the eyes of a child. I spend most of my days and nights struggling to improve myself. I...

Chapter 18 As state and federal law enforcement officials pieced together what happened that afternoon in the Parkwood Cemetery, everyone...

Here is Chapter 13 of Dreaming Out Loud, the book about my mother’s stroke. Chapter 13 Now that mom has returned from the nursing home,...

On August 6, I posted a blog about my mother on her 73rd birthday titled “Remembering the Pluff Mud Queen.” In response, I received more...

I have felt virtuous of late. It concerns my love for animals and my decision to save the life of an orphaned puppy. Almost every Sunday...

Although she died more than five years ago, I have been thinking a great deal about my mother of late. Today (August 6) is her 73rd...

I started writing a blog on my website in July 2011. Since a year has passed, I thought it would be instructive to reflect back on my ups...

In recent years, I have been conscious of time passing. One moment, I was safely ensconced in high school, and the next I was galloping...

So here is a lesson on compromise in the publishing game. In previous blogs, I have warned writers about the numerous changes — large and...

And now, for your reading pleasure, here are chapters 13 through 17 of The Day of the Gun. Chapter 13 Parkwood Cemetery dated from the...

We were arrested, my mother and I, on a hazy, humid Sunday afternoon in October when I was fourteen years old. She was 37. Handcuffed,...

And now, for your reading pleasure, here are chapters 7-12 of The Day of the Gun. Chapter 7 Arthur Foster McLean — “Mac” to his friends...

On a rainy afternoon 25 years ago, I graduated from Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia. The date was May 11, 1987. Emory...

William Faulkner once observed that “The past isn’t dead. It isn’t even past.” That wry observation seems especially appropriate for...

On April 4, I attended a huge plastics trade show in Orlando, Florida, known as the National Plastics Exposition (NPE) 2012. Scheduled...

And now, for your reading pleasure, here are chapters 3-6 of The Day of the Gun. Chapter 3 As the body of the one man who might be called...

“She was packing a pair of 38s — and a gun.” For years I have threatened to “sell out” in my writing career. Invariably, whenever I utter...

Most of the time when I deal with undergraduate students, I fear for the future. The life of the mind may not be dead, but it appears to...