“Rancher Killed in Bed at Home” A Look at Murder, Arson, and Suicide in 1921 Phoenix

TL;DR: On 3/11/1921 in Phoenix, a rancher, J M Dunn, was killed while sleeping on a cot in the front room of his house on 32nd Street and the Grand Canal. There were no clues other than a jar of money found buried in an adobe shed. On a hunch, investigators thought his Brother-In-Law and two …

Papers from English X135A – American Fiction

The journey to obtaining my certificate in writing from the UC Berkeley Extention has been very different than I expected. The biggest surprise was the courses where we studied "Literature" rather than writing. I'm as big of a fan of the American classics as anyone, but I never really read them from an academic perspective, …

The Standoff

Note: This was a homework assignment for my "Introduction to Writing Fiction" class. The goal was to describe a conflict between two people, build it up, and resolve it. Albert Schnagelbocker lived a simple life and for the most part, a happy one. His house was small with a big yard with a big pond …

Essay: Apples and Orange

This essay was the third of three essays we did for the "Writing Skills Workshop" that I took as part of the Creative Writing Certificate program at the Berkeley Extension. An example of a compare and contrast essay, it was fun to research and also fun to write. I hope anyone who stumbles upon it …

Essay: Wait, what? I’m an Ally? What Does Allyship Even Mean?

This essay was the second of three essays we did for the "Writing Skills Workshop" that I took as part of the Creative Writing Certificate program at the Berkeley Extension. An example of a definition essay, it is a bit of self-education I am still in the middle of learning how to be an ally …