Mostly It's Fun

But It Isn't A Hobby

Riley’s hobby is tearing the carpet off the stairs

Webster’s dictionary defines a hobby “as a pursuit outside one’s regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation.” AI calls a hobby a leisure activity done for pleasure, rather than profit, as opposed to a business where the intent is to make money.

When one no longer has a “regular occupation” (like me, thanks to my USPS more than decent pension) it’s easy to assume that their pursuits are hobbies especially when those pursuits don’t appear to result in financial gain.

But I tend to bristle when folks call my writing a hobby. I do find enormous pleasure in this “leisure activity” but sitting for hours in front of a blank page or screen, moving words and punctuation around and then back again, isn’t exactly “relaxing.”

Those brilliant and fully formed ideas in my brain never quite morph into what I was going for in my first, or second, or thirtieth draft. I start to wonder if I’m just wasting my time. Who would even publish this crap and who is going to read it? No one reads anymore anyway, if you believe the news.

I’d call my work a vocation or a calling that I’d do regardless of whether I’m making money or not (I’m not) and that I feel compelled to do regardless. And please don’t tell my CPA that writing is my hobby. She’s managed so far to convince the IRS that I’m running a business.

This has been a good year for me in getting my words out in print. Gracias to The Ear Magazine for including a poem of mine in Volume 28, to Cindy Eastman for including a short essay in Grief Like Yours, to Gunpowder Press for including a micro essay in Women in a Golden State, and to Gina Rae Duran and Flower Song Press for including a short story in The White Picket Fence.

My thrifty father would ask, “Did they pay you?” (one of them did!) Regardless, I’m very grateful for the ink and paper.

I’m honored that my poem “Power Plant” was selected by Orange County’s Poet Laureate, Gustavo Hernandes, for the upcoming Bright As Life: Southern California Poets exhibition at the Huntington Beach Art Center, 538 Main Street, HB.

The poem is about my mom dropping my brothers and me off in front of the power plant on Pacific Coast Highway to spend a day at the beach, back in 1967.

The opening reception is on December 9^th from five to eight p.m. at the Art Center. As you know, I’m often quite critical of my hometown but I am very excited to have my words up on the wall at the Art Center, which is one of the best places in Surf City. Maybe I can get a photo of me with the mayor.

Or not.

If you’re in the area, please stop by.

Save the date for the first annual Laguna Beach LitFest on Saturday, January 10, 2026, at the Laguna Beach Community & Susi Q Center, 380 3rd St, Laguna Beach, California.

You can register here for the craft workshops, panels, and presentations. Lisa Alvarez is the keynote speaker. I’m doing a workshop on writing characters. More announcements are forthcoming.

There’s a reception at 3 p.m. that is free and open to the public. The inaugural LitFest Leader 2026 Award will be presented to award-winning author, Guggenheim Fellow and Chapman University professor Richard Bausch. Local authors and LitFest guest presenters (like me!) will be on hand to sell their books and visit with guests.

RSVP here for the reception.

Jeff Bezos doesn’t need any more of your Black Friday money. You can still shop in your pj’s and support your favorite independent bookstore (like LibroMobile) by heading over to Bookshop.org. They’re currently offering free shipping and 25 percent off certain books.

Photo by Lina Trochez on Unsplash

I’m very grateful for the readers of this newsletter. If anyone (US only) would like a copy of one the four journals pictured above with Riley, let me know. I have extras to share.