Ben East

Critical Mass

Aug 31, 2025

—

by

in AI, Blogs, Books, Fiction, Inspiration, Nature, Novel, publishing, Writing

My latest novel has achieved critical mass. I’m no longer inventing the figments of a void, but rather connecting the last pieces of a puzzle with finite space to go astray. All creative energy is bent toward that one objective.

Golden Nib, Blue Ribbon

Aug 24, 2025

—

by

Ben East

in publishing, Short Story, Virginia Writers Club, Writing

This spring I submitted the story to my local Virginia Writers Club chapter, the Northern VWC. Today I learned I won the blue ribbon for my Golden Nib submission.

Infinite Agents, Zero Answers

Aug 14, 2025

—

by

Ben East

in AI, Audio Books, Blogs, Bots, Google, Humor?, Identity, Podcast, Reading, Writing

The finest in storytelling as a coping mechanism for what happens to us in the real-world. Join me in an audio experience that turns a chat with AI into a satire of chatting with AI.

Bot Battle

Aug 5, 2025

—

by

Ben East

in AI, Bots, Corporation, Identity

Your schizophrenic mind imagines the bot and all its bot friends at the BigBotCorporation scraping your user data and related accounts to better understand what position you’re in to pay exorbitant fees and thereby charge you the maximum without scaring you off.

So Much More than a Sandwich

Aug 3, 2025

—

by

Ben East

in Blogs, Books, Crime, Newsletter, Virginia, Virginia Writers Club, Washington, Writing

Edgar Allan Poe Award nominee Diane Fanning shared her gathered wisdom from publishing 27 books. My favorite: Writing is not a competition. All writers walk in each other’s shoes and know the courage and resilience required to complete the ACT OF WRITING A BOOK.

Blocked Caller

Jul 30, 2025

—

by

Ben East

in AI, Family, Google, Humor?, Newsletter, Writing

You have a long history of resentment and loathing toward the telephone. Phone calls with the home warranty company, Chince, merely made you hate them all the more.

The Leak Business

Jul 20, 2025

—

by

Ben East

in Biking, chores, Cooking, Home Repair, Writing

Having not done this before, I’m hesitant to pull to hard. I don’t want to break something. We just had a new shower installed in this bathroom and wouldn’t it destroy me to have to redo the vanity? Ever been to a tile store? Some things in life we need less choice, not more.

Numb

Jul 17, 2025

—

by

Ben East

in Diplomacy, Foreign Affairs, Music, Politics, Washington

Down at the USA Jeans Factory today we produced a memo asking for reinstatement to the work we’re professionally trained to do while slogging over the work of individuals fired from doing the jobs they knew so well. I cannot put my finger on it now The child is grown, The dream is gone.