May 2025

Hello Friends, 

My day job, as a Dean, consists of finding ways to grow my program while putting out fires in the day-to-day running of that program, with a dash of scheduling. The growing and problem-solving part of the job is fun. Sure, I don’t love to put out fires, but there is a sense of satisfaction that I didn’t let it spread out of control. I don’t really love the scheduling part. It involves a lot of focus and the use of Excel spreadsheets. I can make the focus happen through the use of copious amounts of caffeine and some music piped into my brain via my over-the-ear headphones, but the spreadsheets are anathema to me. I had a breakdown using them in the late 90s, and I’ve never really recovered. There is just a mental block for me, but of course, I am required to use them, and so, I do something that not everyone seems to do these days; I ask for help. In fact, I ask for help when it comes to all of the things listed above.

Gasp! Shock! 

I don’t know when it became uncouth to admit that we don’t know something. Ben Folds wrote a biting, yet brilliant song (just so you know, this song is PG-13 with a bit of salty language) about this back in 2005, so it isn’t something that only happened in the social media age. I wish I could put my finger on the exact moment when saying “I don’t know” was a sign of weakness, so I could point to it and work to disprove this one statement. Of course, as Maria Konnikova pointed out back in 2014, in her biting, yet brilliant article, people don’t want to change their beliefs. They would rather be wrong, while thinking they are right, than admit to being wrong. 

While I certainly can’t write a song like Folds, nor can I write like Konnikova, I can do what they both do, I can work with others to make sure that I have someone there to tell me how to improve. Konnikova wrote a book about learning to play poker. She eventually got so good that she became a pro and won tournaments. Totally amazing. However, the thing is, she lost a lot before she ever won. She hired a coach. She played. She got her butt kicked, and then she went back at it again. In Folds’ memoir, he goes into detail about all of his failures as a songwriter and musician. He took lessons. He asked for help. He got better. He eventually became the creative director at the Kennedy Center. He recently quit, for all the reasons you might expect he did.

None of us really do anything alone. Maybe there are some people who live in a cabin in the woods, using materials they cut down by themselves, but even then, they likely didn’t make the saw, or the nails, or the stove they installed, or the barrel they use to collect water, so…you get it. While some of us may be more introverted than others, we are all in this together. I don’t build the roads, or pick the fruit, or put out literal fires. 

Everything is collaboration, and by working together, we get better. We improve when we ask for help. When I develop a new class, I get multiple opinions, AND then the curriculum committee has a say, and then the whole campus community has a say before the course can be let loose in the wild. People can say that I “designed” that class, but I didn’t do it alone. I’m writing this, but my wife will read it before you do. I write my books, and she reads those before you do as well. Honestly, you should all be super thankful that she does. I know I am.

So, friends, what was the last collaboration you had that you know made your final product? I would love to hear about it.

Notes from my bookshelf

I came across a memoir from Richie Ramone, who played on three really amazing Ramones’ albums. He has always sort of been the outcast of the group, so it was nice to hear his story. I listened to it as an audiobook, and he read it, so literally, I heard his story. Even if you don’t care about The Ramones (no judgement from me if you don’t), his story was compelling. 

Walter Hill is a screenwriter and director who has made a lot of films I really like. He has done thrillers, comedies, and westerns. All of them lean hard on the action while making sure the characters feel real. I discovered that one of his old scripts had been adapted into a comic book by Matz, who is a comic book legend. I was blown away. The Triggerman is an excellent comic that really, really needs to be a film. Like the rest of Hill’s work, it is not for everyone, but it was certainly for me. 

Notes from my headphones

Since all of my books have playlists (you can easily access them here) and music is such a huge part of my life in general, and my writing process in particular, I wanted to add this segment to the newsletter.  It won’t be comprehensive, of course, but just some nuggets of fun. Plus, the word “notes” has a totally different meaning here, so double the fun.

This month, as I’ve been working on Haunting Northanger, I have been listening to music that I think Cat Morland might like. I knew for sure she would love The Linda Lindas, and it turns out she does. They are a pop-punk band from California. They were just kids when they started, and I am pretty sure at least two of them are still in high school, so they are kids. Here is a link to their NPR Tiny Desk Concert. It is magic because they did it in a library. Don’t worry. The library was closed at the time. 

The band that sort of surprised me, that has triggered all kinds of Cat neurons in my brain, is another band from California, but they are significantly older and much less punk-ish. I was listening to music on random, and Cake came on, and boy, did all the Catty goodness come flooding in. If you don’t know, they are a bunch of sardonic hippies, who I’ve always loved. Here is a video of people hearing Cake for the first time, so if that is you, you will be able to relate.

Notes from my keyboard

I have been incredibly busy with work, so my writing hasn’t been as robust as I would like, but as I figure out Cat’s soundtrack, the story is coming together. In fact, it is working so well that I am already thinking about how to get her into the sixth book, in a cameo role. I didn’t actually start book four last year until June, so the fact that I have a few thousand words done already makes me feel like I am on solid ground. I feel hopeful and look forward to sharing more about it as I go. 

I started a new web series called Fireside Chats with A.R. Farina, where I spend a few minutes, twice a month, talking about books in general and Jane Austen in particular. You can watch and subscribe here.  

If you didn’t get a chance to pick up the ARC of Universal Truth, you can follow this link to Booksprout. I just ask that you give a review in return.  

Thank you again for being a subscriber.

ARF