Inquiring readers are doubtless asking why the author of this blog is represented in a tight-fitting white suit with an epee in one hand and a fencing mask in the other. Has Cyrano turned speechwriter – or is it the other way around?

Actually, it’s a bit of both. I was a varsity fencer in college, and have returned to the sport regularly and enthusiastically in the years since. I’m still at it, although these days my swordplay has less to do with foiling dastardly villains and rescuing fair damsels than in persevering my stamina and my eye-hand coordination for as long as I can.

So when Ragan Communications asked me for a photo for this site, I decided to send them one that would say a bit more about me than the usual mug shot.

If nothing else, I think the current likeness adds to my credibility. When I say that “the pen is mightier than the sword,” it will be plain from the photo that I know what I’m talking about.