Published in One Table, One World·PinnedMember-onlyHow a Garden Snail Taught Me the Meaning of LifeFood and family and feelings of loss — It must’ve been 1987, because I think I was six years old. I remember the atmosphere like it was yesterday, although I’m foggy on the details — I was so young. The essence of that atmosphere was the scent and feel of recent, heavy rain. I honestly can’t tell you…Loss8 min readLoss8 min read
Published in The Writing Cooperative·May 16, 2021Member-onlyHow to Stop Your Plot from Spiraling Out of ControlDon’t let that mustang run away with your story — We’ve all been there: You’re in the thrall of inspiration, fingers whirring away, an idea comes to you, another one, oh man another one about a giant squid in a spaceship with tulips sprouting from its ears — Before you know it, your plot looks worse than a bowl of…Writing5 min readWriting5 min read
Published in The Startup·Apr 28, 2021Member-onlyHow to Leverage Luck to Succeed as a FreelancerTurn every victory into a stepping stone. — It took me seventeen years as a freelancer to learn what is probably Freelancing 101 for most people. Or maybe it isn’t, which is why I’m laying it out here. Success knocked at my door, and it came smelling of roses. Last year, everything changed for me. Success knocked at…Freelancing6 min readFreelancing6 min read
Published in The Dad Vault·Mar 14, 2020Member-onlyBeing an Expectant Father During the COVID-19 PandemicTrying to stay calm, baby due any moment now — Our baby will be born any day now. The official due date was March 12, although we’ve been anticipating labor for the last three weeks. Germany’s COVID-19 cases spiked around February 27. I have to go shopping today. I’ve been avoiding it for days, but there’s no denying the fridge…Fatherhood10 min readFatherhood10 min read
Published in The Haven·Mar 10, 2020Member-onlyHow I Electrocuted Myself 7 Times and Finally Became SupermanMy poor mother — I was five or six years old, holding the Christmas tree lights cable in my hands. “Get back from that Christmas tree, Paulo!” my poor mother yelled, terrified. We had been to this rodeo before. She laughed nervously. “Yes, yes,” she said to my aunt. “He shocked himself just the…Humor4 min readHumor4 min read
Published in Farewell Alarms·Mar 1, 2020Member-only5 Awesome Bookstores in Lisbon for English-Speaking Writers and BibliophilesHidden gems and open secrets — I haven’t been to Lisbon in over a year, and I am melancholic with saudades — a mostly untranslatable Portuguese word encompassing sorrow, nostalgia, and the essence of what it means to be Portuguese. I took a seventeen-day trip there in 2016 and walked my feet off, researching a novel…Travel7 min readTravel7 min read
Published in One Table, One World·Feb 26, 2020Member-onlyRemembering a Place That Will Soon Be ForgottenMemories of a childhood road, and working through change — I will forever associate the uphill, cobblestoned walk of the Rua dos Pescadores thoroughfare in Costa da Caparica, Portugal, with the rich scent of grilling chouriço, the fresh aroma of creamy Caldo Verde soup, and the whiff of the ocean waiting for me just over the hill’s summit. Leather-skinned street…Food11 min readFood11 min read
Published in Lessons from History·Feb 18, 2020Member-onlyThe Bostonian Singer Who Married a Portuguese King and Had Her Inheritance Taken From HerLisbon owes much of its tourism today to her — It reads like a typical chapter of Portuguese history — by which I mean it reads like a melodramatic soap opera replete with intrigue, betrayal, the good guys being duped, and the bad guys walking off with all the loot. Welcome to Portuguese History 101. Her name was Elise Friedericke…History7 min readHistory7 min read
Published in The Brave Writer·Feb 18, 2020Member-onlyHow I Finally Obliterated My Three-Year Writer’s BlockRacing down the highway of creativity with no more obstacles on the road. — Between 2013 and 2016 I published over a million words of fiction and wrote over thirty books. I received fan mail, garnered hundreds of five-star ratings and dozens of glowing reviews. I earned some money and was having a ball as a writer. Then it all came crashing down. The…Writing8 min readWriting8 min read
Published in The Dad Vault·Feb 14, 2020Member-onlyDear Twenty-Month-Old Daughter, I’m Sorry You Didn’t Get My Email TodayReminding myself what it means to be a good father and a good husband — Dear baby girl, I shouldn’t be writing this. I should be writing you an email instead. I’ve been telling you in the last ten mails that I’ll write more often, that I’m taking notes and I’ll catch them all up one of these days. …Writing10 min readWriting10 min read
