Who is J. Kevin Tumlinson?

It’s a good question, and I’ll get to it. But first I want to talk about cursors.

The word “cursor” comes from the Latin word… “cursor.” I know. That sentence started like it was going to end with something a little more profound. But the origin goes a little deeper, and the fun stuff comes from knowing that the original meaning of “cursor” was “runner” or “messenger.” It was that guy who took to foot, message in hand or in a satchel or just in his head, as he physically ran from one location to another.

In the old world (particularly the Roman Empire), if you wanted or needed a message to get from one point to another, with any urgency, you used a cursor.

Centuries later, the term got used to describe a marker that indicated where the next letter would go, first in moveable type (like the printing press), then in technology, such as the typewriter. And, eventually, when clever humans created digital technology, the term was used to refer to that blinking line that precedes text as you type. Sometimes it’s vertical ( like this: | ) and sometimes it’s horizontal (like this: _ ).

And that, dear reader, is where my story will start.

Ok, so… The Writer

I spend a lot of time looking at cursors. I write daily. Every day. Essentially all day. And so, the cursor and I have become intimately acquainted, over a lifetime of putting words on screens and pages. We’re so well acquainted, in fact, that at some point I realized, that cursor is a part of who I am. It symbolizes something about me.

I first called this Substack “The Writer,” not because I’m not very creative with titles (I’m marvelous with titles, actually), but because that term is so intricately and intimately entwined with who I am, we’re inseparable. You don’t have Kevin without the writing. Just ask my wife, Kara. “Writing is the air you breathe,” she says. She’s right.

But when I named this thing, when I typed “The Writer” into the little field where they wanted me to put it, something was off. It didn’t feel write… er… right. It didn’t feel like “me” as much as it should.

The Cursor and Me

There’s a sort of aphorism that writers learn. It’s taught to us by exposure, coming from thousands of other writers and resources. It’s meant to make a distinction between writers and authors, whether anyone thinks we need one or not (I think we do). It goes…

Writers write, authors have written.

Now, I have written. You can find tons of what I’ve written right here on Substack. But the work I’m most proud of is my novels, and you can find those, too, on the Books page of my website.

So… “have written.” Check. I am an author, and I can prove it. Nothing can ever change it.

But the term I identify with most is “writer.” And that distinction, "writers write,” that’s an important one for me. It indicates, in fact it literally states, that writing is something you do. It’s active. It’s living and ongoing. It is an action you are taking, and to hold on to that as an identity means it must be in progress.

When I thought about this, when I realized it, I had my answer. I knew why “The Writer” didn’t like quite right. It was stopping short, and it needed to be in progress.

And so I added a cursor.

The Writer_

And yeah, I get it. “That’s an underscore, not a cursor, Kevin.” Believe me, dear reader, if I could make it blink, in all its iterations on screen and in images and in print, I absolutely would. But here’s a vital and important second part to that cursor, symbolized by an underscore… and pay attention, because this is as vital as my realization that I needed that little mark there…

Your participation is required.

That’s right. I may be “The Writer.” But in order for me to be The Writer_ I need you. Your attention. Your participation. Your imagination. Your willingness to read what I write.

You’re important here.

So that cursor is a symbol of me and who I am and what I do. It symbolizes that concept, that writing is ongoing and in progress. Writing is active.

And it also symbolizes that you are there, participating in what I’m creating.

We’re a team here. We’re partners. The Writer_ doesn’t exist without both of us. So this “About page” isn’t just about me—J. Kevin Tumlinson, award-winning and bestselling author, prolific podcaster, inveterate world traveler, popular public speaker, the Voice of Publishing.

It’s about us.

I’m grateful that you’re here. Because. I couldn’t be The Writer_ without you.

Sincerely,

J. Kevin Tumlinson

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