Whereas the spoken word lasts but an instant, a written word lasts forever. Or at least, that was true when we dropped ink onto paper. It was even more true when writing involves carving stone. Perhaps that's why it's hard to find cavemen who kept blogs. Stone tablets take too much effort to inscribe. But here, words are now electronic flashes of light that last as long as the individual website. Which could be about two weeks. Far less permanent than rock.

Even so, I was advised that keeping a blog here on goodreads may make me a more successful author. Is it true? I have no idea. I have little desire to write offensive blog posts that turn people off. Yet, I feel certain that if I write on controversial subjects, I will likely attract a whole host of flames, personal attacks, and a plague of locusts that will blot out the sun. Or at least, the fluorescent lights above me.

Do you know why G-d gave us both lips and teeth? So we have two seals to cover our tongue. No matter how many times I recite this rule, it seems my tongue leads to trouble. But lets see if my pen does the same. Or more accurately, my computer keyboard.

My words are out there. My first novel, "Captive of the Orcs" was published by Center One publishing, in November of 2012. It was a dream of mine since childhood to be a published author. Now I have to worry about being a successful one.

If my book offends, so be it. If its enjoyed, all the better. And if people want to ban it from school libraries, go for it. I'll be famous.

So with that, let me finish initiating the birth of this new blog. My name is Benjamin Epstein, playwright and novelist. Welcome to my public online journal, a diary with no privacy. A speaker's stand in the midst of the internet's wilderness. A forum that could be read by thousands, or by ones.

Farewell for now.