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The Twist Podcast 341: Slava Ukraine, Unfunny Comics, and Our Twist Election Hot Takes
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose for an election special. Plus we stand with Ukraine, and demolish “Comedian” Shane Gillis.
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New from Your Write Path: Your Life, Your Story, Your Legacy
Your Life, Your Story, Your Legacy
Every life holds a story worth keeping, and too many are lost because we didn’t write them down. With Life Writing, I help people turn their memories into a finished book their families can hold, share, and pass down for generations.
After facilitating journaling and writing workshops for the past three years, I’m now offering to help you get your legacy down on paper. If you’d like to include photos, audio of you own narration, and even video, consider reaching out.
As a two-time Emmy Award–winning writer, author of fifteen novels, and a Certified Guided Autobiography Instructor, I’ve spent my career shaping stories. I’m still an author, still a workshop guide, and still here for whatever you’d like to accomplish.
From First Idea to Finished Book
With patience and time, listening carefully to what you want, I’ll guide you through every step:
- Finding your story. Together we explore the memories, people, and turning points that matter most, and uncover the themes that tie your life together.
- Building the outline. We shape those memories into a clear structure, so the project feels manageable instead of overwhelming.
- Writing it down. Write it yourself with my coaching and feedback, or let me help draft it from our conversations, in your voice.
- Editing and polishing. Careful editing makes your story read smoothly while keeping it unmistakably yours.
- Creating the book. I’m able to handle design, cover, and publishing through my own imprint, so you end with a real, professionally printed book, whether you want 10 copies or 50. It’s your story, and your choice.
Whether you want to preserve family history, share hard-won lessons, or simply make sense of the road you’ve traveled, you don’t have to do it alone. Your life is a story, and you’re the storyteller.
Let’s Begin
Contact me through through Your Write Path to talk about your legacy book.
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From the Book Bin: Anne Cleeves’ Matthew Venn Returns in ‘The Dying Light’
The Dying Light
Publisher : Minotaur Books
Publication date : September 29, 2026
Print length : 384 pagesI’ll admit to not having read an Ann Cleeves book before the first Matthew Venn mystery or even seen one of the ubquitous BritishTV shows based on her stories. Having a gay detective in a mainstream mystery got my attention, and I ‘ve looked forward to each book in the series. The newest doesn’t disappoint.
Some background on Cleeves: She’s given us two of the most-loved detectives in British crime fiction. Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez of Shetland both made the leap from page to screen and found devoted audiences. With The Dying Light, the fourth book in her Matthew Venn Two Rivers series, she brings back the quiet Detective Inspector Matthew Venn, and the result is one of the most absorbing entries yet.
The Story
It’s the height of a punishing heatwave in North Devon, England. A young woman named Lottie is found dead in the swimming pool of Tide House, a luxurious holiday home. Her best friend, Hannah, is missing. The house belongs to Hannah’s father, Paul Armstrong, a rising political star, and the press descends almost immediately.
The two girls had come to Devon to celebrate the end of their exams, and they hadn’t made many friends. They disrupted a folk music festival on a neighboring farm and mocked the locals in videos they posted online. That gives Venn a long list of people with a grudge, and a community that has no intention of making his job easy. As the heat builds and a second tragedy strikes, Venn and his team find that some of the holidaymakers have closer ties to the Armstrongs than anyone admitted.
Cleeves is a master of the closed-community mystery, and she uses the festival, the farm, and the holiday crowd to set locals against outsiders. The suspects are many and plausible, and the ending lands with a genuine surprise.
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This Week’s Journaling Theme: Your Personal Operating Manual
NOTE: I have a few writing workshops coming up. Questions? Contact me.
STILL HERE: An Online Introductory Workshop for LGBT+ Journalers (Nov. 18 & 20)
CHAPTER BY CHAPTER: Writing Our Lives – a 6 Week Journaling Workshop
NEW: A Biweekly Online Writers Group for LGBT+ Writers
I love this one. It’s fun to do, and it’s a good way to clarify who we are, what we need, and how we see ourselves.
Your Very Own Operating Instructions
Manuals, warnings, and fine print for a human being.
Every appliance comes with a manual nobody reads until something breaks. The setup steps, the care warnings in small print, the troubleshooting section that assumes you already know what “Error 4” means. This theme asks us to produce that manual for ourselves. It could be humorous, it could be very serious (remember to take daily meds that keep you alive), it could be both.
Consider it in detail. No part of your “proper care and maintenance” manual for yourself is too small. Write it as if you’re leaving it for the next you.
Prompts
Setup & Requirements. Every device needs the right conditions to run. What do you need at the start of a day to function properly—sleep, quiet, coffee, a specific kind of company or its absence? Write your “setup instructions,” as literally as you can manage.
Recommended Care. What keeps you running well over time, and what voids the warranty? Write your care label—the “machine wash cold, do not tumble dry” of being you. Include at least one instruction most people would find surprising.
Known Malfunctions. Every model has its quirks. What goes wrong with you, under what conditions, and what’s the fix, if there is one? Write this as a troubleshooting section: symptom (foul mood), likely cause (restless sleep), recommended action (daily nap).
Fine Print. The disclaimers nobody reads: what you are not responsible for, what happens with extended use, what this model was never actually designed to do no matter how often it’s asked. Write the warning label you’d put on yourself if you were required by law to be honest about it.
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Around the House: Fall Prep for Everyone
Whether you own a house or rent an apartment, here’s a simple checklist to get you through the season.
By LGBTSr
It’s not yet winter-cold, but the mornings are inching that way. We have a house, and being a homeowner comes with seasonal preparations. The leaves are turning, the mornings are crisp, and the furnace is about to wake up from its summer nap. Fall is the best time to get your home ready for winter. It’s cool enough to work comfortably, and you’ll catch small problems before they turn into January emergencies.
Whether you own a house or rent an apartment, here’s a simple checklist to get you through the season. – Mark
For Everyone
- Test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Replace the batteries while you’re at it. Heating season is when CO problems are most likely, so don’t skip this one.
- Check for drafts. Hold your hand near windows and doors on a breezy day. Inexpensive weatherstripping or a draft stopper along the bottom of a door can make a real difference on your heating bill.
- Restock your emergency kit. Flashlights, fresh batteries, bottled water, a week of medications, and a phone charger that doesn’t need an outlet. Fall and winter storms can knock out power for days.
- Pull out the warm bedding. Swap in flannel sheets and an extra blanket now, before the first cold night catches you off guard.
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Coming Soon: LGBTQ+ Biweekly Online Writers Group Starts January 5
A Biweekly Online Writing Group for LGBTQ+ Writers
First and fourth Tuesday of the month. $20/month
Whether you’ve been writing for years or have never shared a word, there’s a seat for you here.
This biweekly online group brings LGBTQ+ writers together to share their work and support one another’s growth. Every form of writing is welcome: fiction, essays, poetry, life writing, or something that doesn’t fit neatly into any category.
Each session gives you time to read your writing aloud and receive thoughtful input from the group. Feedback is always constructive, given with care, and offered in the spirit of helping each writer do their best work. Bring a work in progress, a finished piece, or a few pages you’re not sure about yet.
This is a safe, non-judgmental space where every voice is respected and every writer is encouraged. Come to find your voice, move a project forward, or simply be among people who understand that our stories matter.
All experience levels welcome. Your stories belong here.
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Gift Certificates for Your Write Path – $40 Any Workshop
Every life is a story, and each of us is the storyteller.
Give someone you care about time, space, and community. This $40 gift certificate can be used toward any Your Write Path workshop, including fiction writing, character creation, self-publishing, journaling and more, in person or online over Zoom.
Your Write Path workshops are warm, welcoming, and built for writers at every level. It’s a meaningful gift for birthdays, holidays, retirements, or anyone who has ever said, “I’ve always wanted to write.” From the essentials of writing fiction, to character creation and self-publishing, to life writing and journaling, these workshops are for anyone with a desire to explore and express themselves through writing.
You’ll receive a downloadable PDF of the certificate with purchase. When redeeming, specify which workshop it’s for. Purchaser will receive confirmation from Mark at Your Write Path.
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The Twist 340: America’s Cornell Crisis, and a Review of Ann Cleeves’ Newest Matthew Venn Mystery
Join Mark and Rick for a retooled Twist as we talk about Cornell and America’s peak assault culture, catch up with happenings and news, and hear a review of Ann Cleeves’ newest, ‘The Dying Light.’
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Savvy Senior:
Planning a Simple, Affordable Funeral
Dear Savvy Senior,
I’d like to make my end-of-life arrangements, but I want to keep things simple and affordable. What are my options?
–86-Year-Old
Dear 86,
Smart thinking! Planning ahead can save your loved ones a lot of stress, and money. With a traditional burial averaging around $10,000 and a full-service cremation near $6,500, it’s easy to see why many seniors are looking for simpler, lower-cost ways to say goodbye.
The good news is, there are plenty of options that are dignified, straightforward, and much easier on your wallet. Here’s a look at some choices, depending on the kind of farewell you want.
Direct cremation
If cremation appeals to you, a direct cremation is the simplest – and usually the least expensive – option. It includes picking up the body, completing the required paperwork, the cremation itself, and returning the ashes to your family. There’s no embalming, formal viewing, or casket; a simple cardboard box called an “alternative container” is used to hold the remains.
Depending on where you live and which provider you choose, direct cremation typically costs $700 to $3,500. If you want extra services, ask for an itemized price list so you know exactly what you’re paying for. Funeral homes are required by law to provide this.
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Around the House: Should You Move Now, or Stay Put?
The passing of time makes many things more pressing, and that includes where we want to spend most, if not the rest, of our lives.
It’s almost October – again! Every month seems like it’s come back around faster and faster as the years pass. Holidays, too. Didn’t we just take the Christmas tree down?
The passing of time makes many things more pressing, and that includes where we want to spend most, if not the rest, of our lives. We live in a small house in the woods in rural New Jersey, not far from Lambertville and New Hope (PA), but six miles from a town. We’ve talked for several years about moving to a place where we could walk to a coffee shop, and have next door neighbors, and see people walking into town. More importanntly, it’s a small house on 26 acres of wooded land. It was a one-room house when it was built long ago, and it’s just not good for two aging men. Rickety stairs to the basement where the laundry machine is. One bedroom, with a makeshift guest room in the A-frame attic. Two cats. No writing room for me!
I keep saying now is the time to get serious about moving. I’ll be 68 in October, and I know I’ll have no desire to move when I’m 80. I also want to find a new house while we’re still at an age to really enjoy it. Decorating. Gardening. Make it special. And enjoying it for more than a few years before that whole assisted-living thing becomes a consideration.
And I think the time has come. Hopefully a year from now we’ll either be moved, or in the proccess of moving. So what are the things to consider as so many of us find ourselves at this crossroads?
When is the right time?
There’s no magic birthday. But there are signs. The stairs that used to be nothing are now something. The yard that was a pleasure is now a chore list. The house has rooms nobody goes into except to dust them (or not enough rooms at all). Maybe you’ve outgrown the place, or the neighborhood has changed around you, and home doesn’t feel like home anymore.
