Although it's not my day job, for more than 15 years I've written a weekly column for the Calgary Sun (usually Saturdays - sometimes Sunday). It also occasionally appears in other Sun papers. You can read this week's column on-line on The Calgary Sun’s website, plus most of the last year's thrown in for free in the archive. On December 4, 2012 the Sun Media chain instituted a paywall. I know, I know - paywalls are a pain. Believe me it wasn't my idea. That's why I've started archiving my columns on my blog here: Stephen's Parking Space. And it's free!

Where are the rest of the columns from the last few years? Glad you asked. Let me direct your attention to the book on the right. If you write long enough eventually you have enough material for a book. A Chip Off The Old Writer's Block is a collection of almost 100 of my best columns (okay, maybe not best, but some of them are pretty good) and is available now as an eBook. That's right - technology baby. It is also available on iTunes, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.com. While you're at it, check out my World War II thriller, The Last Blitzkrieg.

On this website you'll also find a short tribute to my late father, Toronto Star columnist Gary Lautens who passed away more than 20 year ago now. There's also a short biography and two of his favourite columns reproduced here. Look for his columns in "Chicken Soup for the Parent's Soul", "Chicken Soup for the Soul: Christmas Treasury", "Chicken Soup for the Canadian Soul", and "Chicken Soup for the Bride's Soul". (That's a lot of Chicken Soup.)

Speaking of which, one of my own columns appeared in "Chicken Soup for the Father & Son Soul" (May, 2008). Pretty appropriate, eh? I've already cashed my cheque and blown it on a tank of gas, so I'm not getting rich on sales, but I do like the article (page 252 - thanks for asking).