What are your strategies for SEO? View all responses Hope, a Whistle, and a Prayer You can drive yourself a little crazy trying to keep up with everything out there today. AI. AI slop. SEO. Algorithms. Clicks. Views. Stop! Can we take a breath? What happened to good old-fashioned communication? A little honesty? A giggle or a laugh? Making something worthwhile and sharing it because you think someone else might enjoy it?

Tell us about your morning routine. View all responses I wake up naturally around 7 am. I check my mood. Usually, it is good. I make the bed and open the shutters: flip! Taz greets me with sweet nudges. I head to the kitchen, prepare her food, and make my coffee. My brain is already working on my Bad Doll story for the day.

If aliens arrived tomorrow, what’s the first thing you’d ask them? View all responses

What’s the most underrated life skill? View all responses Small Doll, Big Trouble, Lots of Love Bad Doll began with one small idea: What if a creepy little doll wandered into my living room while Taz and I were watching television and tugged on my blanket? Naturally, we screamed. I chased her. And just like that, a troublemaker was born.

What’s a moment in your life that made you feel truly alive? View all responses I feel truly alive standing at the threshold of change. There is something powerful about admitting, “This is no longer working for me,” and finding the courage to move in a different direction. That first step can be frightening, but so can staying where you are, knowing that something needs to change.

What are your favorite side-hustle ideas? View all responses I don’t know my favorite side hustle, but I do have a favorite side hustler: Taz. We are a team conquering the retirement village scene. We began by challenging the condo police over their “No Cats” policy and won. Now other owners can have their beloved pets. Yes, even dogs. As I get older, I hope I don't become so grumpy that I don’t like the sound of a little dog or the mew of a little cat.

What are five simple exercises to do at home? View all responses five exercises you can do at home. Have a cat: Bend and Stoop, squat, slide, balance, and leap!

This morning, I’m feeling down. I could blame a number on a screen: views, followers, likes, or whatever a platform has decided to count today. But I don’t want those numbers deciding whether I’ve had a good day. I’m 70. I’ve worked hard, changed careers, raised myself through difficult times, and found new things to learn long after anyone might have expected me to slow down.

Do you believe in karma? View all responses A sunlit forest path winds beneath leafy trees beside a rustic birdhouse. I believed in Karma before I even knew what Karma was. Sooner or later, you have to pay for your choices and actions. If not in this life, then in a future life. Good or Bad, it is all about actions and their consequences.

What’s the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done? View all responses I once drove to Key West for a date, enjoyed a wonderful seafood meal by the water, and drove home afterward. A red convertible follows a winding coastal highway as the sun sets over the ocean. On another occasion, I drove three hours each way to spend a day at Disney in Orlando.

What’s a place you visited that felt like home? View all responses Home will always be 175th Street in Washington Heights, New York. Aunt Mary is in the kitchen making her delicious blintzes for Saturday brunch. Susanna and Eddie are coming over to play, and all is well. Home is where Mom cools the baby’s bottle in the kitchen sink before introducing my baby sister to her crib.

What’s one thing you wish you had started doing earlier in life? View all responses Exercise and healthy eating have always been a struggle for me. I often feel weak and off-balance, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to stick to an exercise routine. When I was younger, I loved playing sports, but exercise classes were another story.

If you could pick any fictional animal to be your lifelong companion (like a Pokémon or fantasy pet), what would it be? View all responses My forever companion would be my own black cat, Taz; I always wanted a Black panther to walk beside me. Strong and brave. Whatever life throws at us, we can handle.

If you had to switch lives with a fictional character for a week, who would you choose? View all responses I would be Jessica Fletcher for a week. I would arrive in New York City and check into a luxury suite overlooking Central Park. My days would be filled with press interviews for my new bestseller and lunch with my publisher.

I never planned to create a viral YouTube character. Bad Doll simply appeared—and then she refused to leave. The idea began with a creepy vintage doll and a simple formula: I would discover her doing something she was not supposed to be doing, we would both scream, and she would run away while I chased her with whatever happened to be nearby.

What’s the best advice you’d give to someone younger than you? View all responses Keep your chin up and pay attention. Learn from your mistakes, but don’t repeat them or dwell on them. Every day is an opportunity to grow, so embrace it and make each moment count. It’s okay to change your mind, question your beliefs, and decide for yourself what feels right or wrong.

What’s the longest trip you’ve ever taken? View all responses I’ve been traveling through Samsara for more than 70 years, and it’s been one hell of a journey. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. Along the way, I’ve learned about impermanence, patience, and what truly matters. Some roads led to temporary happiness, while others took me into dark neighborhoods where things got a little scary.

What’s your best tip for budget travel? View all responses I’ve never traveled on a tight budget. I don’t get to travel often, so when I do, I like to enjoy myself. That doesn’t mean I go overboard by booking first class or anything. I still check Priceline and Trivago for cheaper flights and affordable, well-rated hotels. On my last trip to Panama, I stayed in a vacation condo in the heart of Casco Viejo, and it was wonderful.

I’m still learning how to use AI to create videos, and every new project brings an unexpected challenge. This week, my biggest problem was getting AI to stop “hallucinating” and creating duplicate dolls in my new YouTube Bad Doll series. Instead of one creepy doll running through the scene, a second doll would suddenly appear out of nowhere! After plenty of experimenting, revising prompts, and trying again, I finally found a workflow that works.

Who is your favorite cartoon character? View all responses The Cartoon Secret Agent: Danger Mouse Original run: This classic animated series aired from September 28, 1981, to March 19, 1992, spanning 10 seasons. A playful spoof of James Bond, it follows the world’s greatest secret agent, a mouse, and his timid hamster sidekick, Penfold, as they battle the evil Baron Silas Greenback and save the world.

How does your mindset affect your financial success? View all responses When I was younger, around 12, I lived with my two retired great-aunts. Life with them was stable and comfortable, though not extravagant. I don’t remember us lacking anything. By contrast, after I turned 14 and began living with my mother, life became a financial roller coaster. We were always scrambling from one crisis to the next.

If your pet could talk, what would be the first thing it says? View all responses If Taz could talk, the first thing she would do is bump my head and say, “I love you; now feed me.” Or she’d say something like, “You up again? When do we sleep?” During the first part of the morning, around 9 AM, she feels her job is to round us up into the living room. “Get moving now, sit down.”

Daily writing prompt Have you ever regretted reading a book — which one and why? View all responses I enjoyed every book I took the time to finish. I started many others and abandoned them after a few chapters because they simply didn’t hold my interest. That includes several so-called classics, such as Wuthering Heights and Ulysses. I prefer experiencing those stories in movie form, which feels less exhausting for my impatient brain.

Daily writing prompt What’s the best and worst airport you’ve been to? View all responses Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) was one of the busiest, most overwhelming, and longest-walking airports I’ve ever been through. By contrast, one of the smallest airports I’ve visited was Flagstaff. I’m the kind of person who gets anxious at Costco on a busy day, so too much hustle and bustle is not for me.

Zoe waited until Isabel’s footsteps faded down the hallway. Then she crossed to the evidence board and removed Julian’s photograph. When she turned, Gabe was standing in the doorway. “I thought you left,” she said. “I thought you trusted me.” “I do.” “Parts of me?” Zoe slipped the photograph into a folder. “How much did you hear?” “Enough.” Brian appeared behind him, carrying a tablet.

One look in the mirror and I see my mother looking back at me. She is there in every fiber of my being, in my dreams, in my memories. September 6 marks the date my mother passed away. As a Buddhist, I know she has another life. My wish is that she is happy and safe. 

Daily writing prompt What’s the most annoying trope in books or movies? View all responses If my front door is hanging off its hinges and I hear a thud upstairs, I am not walking into the dark house to ask, "Hello? Is anybody there?" I am running a marathon in the opposite direction. Yet, for some reason, book and movie characters seem to think a home invader is just waiting to have a polite chat.

Daily writing prompt If you could relive one year of your life, which one would it be? View all responses Each moment of happiness or pleasure is a rare treasure, safely locked in memory. Is there a whole year I’d want to relive? No, because those moments of happiness also come with suffering. It is in the very nature of the cycle of life.

Her eyes adjusted to the brightness of her new world. She stood in a field of sunflowers taller than she was, arranged in neat rows like sentinels. A narrow dirt path ran between them. Her feet were bare, and the dirt between her toes felt warm and soft. The subtle, earthy scent of the sunflowers reminded her of summer. A pleasant breeze caressed her face and arms.

Daily writing prompt What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done when no one was watching? View all responses The bravest thing I have ever done is leaving home with just 15 dollars in my pocket, my guitar, and my clothes in an overnight bag. That night I broke the chains of guilt that were tying me to my mother and sister.

After a full night of prompting, creating reference images, storyboarding, creating video clips, editing those clips, and trying to learn how to use Premiere Pro, I am spent, and so is AI ChatGPT, who helped me through it. Taz is still going strong as the director boss she is. “Take 47!”

Daily writing prompt What’s something you do completely differently from how you were raised? View all responses My Aunt Mary, who raised me very formally, would flip if she saw me now, eating dinner on the couch in front of the TV. Two big “You don’t do that.” The TV was never on when dinner was served. You sat at the properly set table, used the proper utensils, and actually held conversations with each other.

I decided to take an online course on AI filmmaking. Become a Content Creator. Today’s lesson was about cloning yourself and creating different settings. I began with a contact sheet of headshots in different poses. It was 4 AM, and I was still bleary-eyed, mind you, when I took these. I used the contact sheet as reference photos for Gemini AI on Google; it is fast and efficient and came up with these fun, imaginary “what I want to be when I grow up” images.

Daily writing prompt What are your favorite 5 apps on your phone? View all responses Kindle, Facebook, Google Maps, Yahoo Mail, and LinkedIn. I have a Kindle app because I like to read when I am waiting somewhere. I sometimes check Facebook if I am bored. I use Google Maps because I am always lost. I have no sense of direction. Yahoo Mail is my daily thumb exercise as I delete all the junk mail. And on LinkedIn, once in a while, I’ll check in.

Daily writing prompt What’s the best thing you’ve ever found randomly on the street? View all responses I found lasting memories on my street, 175th Street in Washington Heights, New York. On late-autumn afternoons, I would sit on the stoop with my friends, listening to the boys on the corner sing in harmony and taking in the crisp air, fallen leaves, and the scent of earth.

One morning, I sat with my cup of coffee, watching Faraway Village videos on YouTube, when a spark hit this old brain of mine. “Why just look at these videos when I could be creating something?” I had been seeing some of the fantastic stuff AI was creating, and the thought occurred to me to learn how to write prompts for AI.