Huzzah! First Newspaper Piece

Looks like my local paper got the jump on all the other News sources and did a piece about me and my book first. The Timpanogos Times surprised me and ran a feature in the social section. I was surprised because I thought this wouldn't come out for a couple more weeks. I suppose the actual review of my book will be in the next couple weeks. But Hey thanks Timp Times for beating all the rest.

I will add the link to the article on their website as soon as its up. Paper is ahead of web here.

Tagged

Michelle Teacress tagged me with some questions that I will now answer because I told her I wasn't a chicken and would play along.

I like Lots of different music, but it has to say something to me about my life.

I like Anything by Robert E. Howard.

I like Mythological animals more than the local ones.

I like Knowing that if the Internet went down due to Eco-terrorists, I still have a vast library to get me through the infotainment withdrawals.

I like Writing short stories now more than I did a year ago.

I like Dungeons and Dragons, even though I haven't played in like 5 years.

I like Comic books, but I call them Graphic Novels.

I like Paintball, even though I haven't played in like 10 years.

I like Duran Duran (except for their last couple albums) my daughters middle name is Rio.

I like To bite off more than I can chew.

I like Reading the obscure and wonderful from history and bringing it out in my writing.

I like Red meat, too much sugar, caffeine, vanilla, chocolate, and pepperoni pizza.

I love Bad movies.

Today was laid back, little bit of writing, spending time with the kids.

I hate Randy Newman

I hate Artificial apple flavoring.

I hate Mr. Bean

I hate That RED NAILS the animated movie isn't getting done.

I hate Mellow music (John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Dave Mathews, )

I hate That Rammstein's last album sucked.

I hate Our current presidential administration.

I hate Forcing LAME orgins into character movies that don't need orgins.

I secretly love Gyro's.

I love Being a Dad

Thanks for being interested in what I had to say Michelle.
And on Thursday, Krista Lynne Jensen will post an interview with me on her
BLOG.

Strange Sights of the Week: The Empire

These may be old but there was a time they were new to me, so its time to share.

I ROCK the Vote

By just recently joining the Guild of Calamitous Intent, er...I mean LDStorymakers, I can now vote in the Whitney Awards. Out of the multiple genre's the only one I have read up on and am therefore qualified to vote in is SPECULATIVE. And now for my ever so brief review of the finalists, of which I have read more of some than others.

Servant of A Dark God, by John Brown
This is the first in a trilogy of Dark Gods and John knows how to capture his readers attention with both action and mystery. The world building is superb because John doesn't shy from the dirt, grime, superstitions and hostilities a feudal people would have. The legendary creation story background was familiar and yet still different. For epic fantasy this was a very strong debut novel.


Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson
Great intriguing prologue that gripped me and then everything slowed down for the sake of princess's-powerful princess's with chromatically based magic and tragic destinies that I could not care about. That and Lightsong, a returned God, brimming with Chromatic magical power, left me equally unimpressed. I have a hard time with reluctant protagonists. The character I really liked, Vasher, wasn't in the book nearly enough for me-kinda like Sanderson's other project The Wheel of Time-not having nearly enough LAN, but hey Vasher did have a cool sentient sword not unlike Elric's Stormbringer-lets give it up for evil sentient swords!



Wings, by Aprilynne Pike
Did I like this? Of course not and I don't know why it isn't in the YA category instead of the Speculative. I couldn't get past the sample chapters online, absolute fluff-Gag. It made it to the New York Times bestseller list and I read that Disney is supposed to be turning it and its sequels into movies-but still for me it was wretched I had to be coached (thanks Th.) just to make it as far as I did-maybe 50 pages tops.





The Maze Runner, by James Dashner
Absolutely brilliant opening line, the kind I could swear I have read before because it seemed so classic. But again I don't know why this wasn't in the YA category rather than speculative. The characters are the YA target audience age and though others have liked it, I found the new fabricated slang irritating. The stage is set for the sequel but I don't know how much this story speaks to me.




I Am Not A Serial Killer, by Dan Wells
I am not quite done with this yet, but its a contender alright. Dan has a great sense of mood and humor with the background narrator John Cleaver, a kid who is obsessed with serial killers in a very small town that gets its own. I can sense where things are heading but I am anxious to see if they turn out how I am expecting OR how well Dan can turn the tables and make the unexpected fit with a murderous twist.

Yes, these were powerfully weak reviews but I have got my own books to write and hopefully get skewered next year in the Whitneys.

Oh yeah, I should mention everyone listed above is worth listening too on Brandon and Dan's (and Howard Taylor's) brilliant writing podcasts Writing Excuses.

David Mamet's Excercise in Writing Drama

David Mamet is a screenwriter I have long admired and recently a letter he sent to the writers of CBS's The Unit (of which he is executive producer) was released. It's about improving their writing drama.

Lots of great tips here for all kinds of writers and I just had to jump on the bandwagon and share this. My personal recommendations of his work would be a couple of movies I own-Wag the Dog a hilarious, nothing about this is true but its exactly how things are type of political satire and Spartan (not an ancient Spartan) but a modern thriller of back-stabbing cloak and dagger intrigue, Val Kilmer is awesome as said Spartan. And now the piece. Oh yeah its all in cap's cuz that how he wrote it.


"TO THE WRITERS OF THE UNIT

GREETINGS.

AS WE LEARN HOW TO WRITE THIS SHOW, A RECURRING PROBLEM BECOMES CLEAR.

THE PROBLEM IS THIS: TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN DRAMA AND NON-DRAMA. LET ME BREAK-IT-DOWN-NOW.

EVERYONE IN CREATION IS SCREAMING AT US TO MAKE THE SHOW CLEAR. WE ARE TASKED WITH, IT SEEMS, CRAMMING A SHITLOAD OF INFORMATION INTO A LITTLE BIT OF TIME.

OUR FRIENDS. THE PENGUINS, THINK THAT WE, THEREFORE, ARE EMPLOYED TO COMMUNICATE INFORMATION — AND, SO, AT TIMES, IT SEEMS TO US.

BUT NOTE:THE AUDIENCE WILL NOT TUNE IN TO WATCH INFORMATION. YOU WOULDN’T, I WOULDN’T. NO ONE WOULD OR WILL. THE AUDIENCE WILL ONLY TUNE IN AND STAY TUNED TO WATCH DRAMA.

QUESTION:WHAT IS DRAMA? DRAMA, AGAIN, IS THE QUEST OF THE HERO TO OVERCOME THOSE THINGS WHICH PREVENT HIM FROM ACHIEVING A SPECIFIC, ACUTE GOAL.

SO: WE, THE WRITERS, MUST ASK OURSELVES OF EVERY SCENE THESE THREE QUESTIONS.

1) WHO WANTS WHAT?
2) WHAT HAPPENS IF HER DON’T GET IT?
3) WHY NOW?

THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS ARE LITMUS PAPER. APPLY THEM, AND THEIR ANSWER WILL TELL YOU IF THE SCENE IS DRAMATIC OR NOT.

IF THE SCENE IS NOT DRAMATICALLY WRITTEN, IT WILL NOT BE DRAMATICALLY ACTED.

THERE IS NO MAGIC FAIRY DUST WHICH WILL MAKE A BORING, USELESS, REDUNDANT, OR MERELY INFORMATIVE SCENE AFTER IT LEAVES YOUR TYPEWRITER. YOU THE WRITERS, ARE IN CHARGE OF MAKING SURE EVERY SCENE IS DRAMATIC.

THIS MEANS ALL THE “LITTLE” EXPOSITIONAL SCENES OF TWO PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT A THIRD. THIS BUSHWAH (AND WE ALL TEND TO WRITE IT ON THE FIRST DRAFT) IS LESS THAN USELESS, SHOULD IT FINALLY, GOD FORBID, GET FILMED.

IF THE SCENE BORES YOU WHEN YOU READ IT, REST ASSURED IT WILL BORE THE ACTORS, AND WILL, THEN, BORE THE AUDIENCE, AND WE’RE ALL GOING TO BE BACK IN THE BREADLINE.

SOMEONE HAS TO MAKE THE SCENE DRAMATIC. IT IS NOT THE ACTORS JOB (THE ACTORS JOB IS TO BE TRUTHFUL). IT IS NOT THE DIRECTORS JOB. HIS OR HER JOB IS TO FILM IT STRAIGHTFORWARDLY AND REMIND THE ACTORS TO TALK FAST. IT IS YOUR JOB.

EVERY SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. THAT MEANS: THE MAIN CHARACTER MUST HAVE A SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD, PRESSING NEED WHICH IMPELS HIM OR HER TO SHOW UP IN THE SCENE.

THIS NEED IS WHY THEY CAME. IT IS WHAT THE SCENE IS ABOUT. THEIR ATTEMPT TO GET THIS NEED MET WILL LEAD, AT THE END OF THE SCENE,TO FAILURE - THIS IS HOW THE SCENE IS OVER. IT, THIS FAILURE, WILL, THEN, OF NECESSITY, PROPEL US INTO THE NEXT SCENE.

ALL THESE ATTEMPTS, TAKEN TOGETHER, WILL, OVER THE COURSE OF THE EPISODE, CONSTITUTE THE PLOT.

ANY SCENE, THUS, WHICH DOES NOT BOTH ADVANCE THE PLOT, AND STANDALONE (THAT IS, DRAMATICALLY, BY ITSELF, ON ITS OWN MERITS) IS EITHER SUPERFLUOUS, OR INCORRECTLY WRITTEN.

YES BUT YES BUT YES BUT, YOU SAY: WHAT ABOUT THE NECESSITY OF WRITING IN ALL THAT “INFORMATION?”

AND I RESPOND “FIGURE IT OUT” ANY DICKHEAD WITH A BLUESUIT CAN BE (AND IS) TAUGHT TO SAY “MAKE IT CLEARER”, AND “I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HIM”.

WHEN YOU’VE MADE IT SO CLEAR THAT EVEN THIS BLUESUITED PENGUIN IS HAPPY, BOTH YOU AND HE OR SHE WILL BE OUT OF A JOB.

THE JOB OF THE DRAMATIST IS TO MAKE THE AUDIENCE WONDER WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. NOT TO EXPLAIN TO THEM WHAT JUST HAPPENED, OR TO*SUGGEST* TO THEM WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

ANY DICKHEAD, AS ABOVE, CAN WRITE, “BUT, JIM, IF WE DON’T ASSASSINATE THE PRIME MINISTER IN THE NEXT SCENE, ALL EUROPE WILL BE ENGULFED IN FLAME”

WE ARE NOT GETTING PAID TO REALIZE THAT THE AUDIENCE NEEDS THIS INFORMATION TO UNDERSTAND THE NEXT SCENE, BUT TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO WRITE THE SCENE BEFORE US SUCH THAT THE AUDIENCE WILL BE INTERESTED IN WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

YES BUT, YES BUT YES BUT YOU REITERATE.

AND I RESPOND FIGURE IT OUT.

HOW DOES ONE STRIKE THE BALANCE BETWEEN WITHHOLDING AND VOUCHSAFING INFORMATION? THAT IS THE ESSENTIAL TASK OF THE DRAMATIST. AND THE ABILITY TO DO THAT IS WHAT SEPARATES YOU FROM THE LESSER SPECIES IN THEIR BLUE SUITS.

FIGURE IT OUT.

START, EVERY TIME, WITH THIS INVIOLABLE RULE: THE SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. it must start because the hero HAS A PROBLEM, AND IT MUST CULMINATE WITH THE HERO FINDING HIM OR HERSELF EITHER THWARTED OR EDUCATED THAT ANOTHER WAY EXISTS.

LOOK AT YOUR LOG LINES. ANY LOGLINE READING “BOB AND SUE DISCUSS…” IS NOT DESCRIBING A DRAMATIC SCENE.

PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR OUTLINES ARE, GENERALLY, SPECTACULAR. THE DRAMA FLOWS OUT BETWEEN THE OUTLINE AND THE FIRST DRAFT.

THINK LIKE A FILMMAKER RATHER THAN A FUNCTIONARY, BECAUSE, IN TRUTH, YOU ARE MAKING THE FILM. WHAT YOU WRITE, THEY WILL SHOOT.

HERE ARE THE DANGER SIGNALS. ANY TIME TWO CHARACTERS ARE TALKING ABOUT A THIRD, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.

ANY TIME ANY CHARACTER IS SAYING TO ANOTHER “AS YOU KNOW”, THAT IS, TELLING ANOTHER CHARACTER WHAT YOU, THE WRITER, NEED THE AUDIENCE TO KNOW, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.

DO NOT WRITE A CROCK OF SHIT. WRITE A RIPPING THREE, FOUR, SEVEN MINUTE SCENE WHICH MOVES THE STORY ALONG, AND YOU CAN, VERY SOON, BUY A HOUSE IN BEL AIR AND HIRE SOMEONE TO LIVE THERE FOR YOU.

REMEMBER YOU ARE WRITING FOR A VISUAL MEDIUM. MOST TELEVISION WRITING, OURS INCLUDED, SOUNDS LIKE RADIO. THE CAMERA CAN DO THE EXPLAINING FOR YOU. LET IT. WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERS DOING -*LITERALLY*. WHAT ARE THEY HANDLING, WHAT ARE THEY READING. WHAT ARE THEY WATCHING ON TELEVISION, WHAT ARE THEY SEEING.

IF YOU PRETEND THE CHARACTERS CANT SPEAK, AND WRITE A SILENT MOVIE, YOU WILL BE WRITING GREAT DRAMA.

IF YOU DEPRIVE YOURSELF OF THE CRUTCH OF NARRATION, EXPOSITION,INDEED, OF SPEECH. YOU WILL BE FORGED TO WORK IN A NEW MEDIUM - TELLING THE STORY IN PICTURES (ALSO KNOWN AS SCREENWRITING)

THIS IS A NEW SKILL. NO ONE DOES IT NATURALLY. YOU CAN TRAIN YOURSELVES TO DO IT, BUT YOU NEED TO START.

I CLOSE WITH THE ONE THOUGHT: LOOK AT THE SCENE AND ASK YOURSELF “IS IT DRAMATIC? IS IT ESSENTIAL? DOES IT ADVANCE THE PLOT?

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY.

IF THE ANSWER IS “NO” WRITE IT AGAIN OR THROW IT OUT. IF YOU’VE GOT ANY QUESTIONS, CALL ME UP.

LOVE, DAVE MAMET
SANTA MONICA 19 OCTO 05

(IT IS NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW THE ANSWERS, BUT IT IS YOUR, AND MY, RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW AND TO ASK THE RIGHT Questions OVER AND OVER. UNTIL IT BECOMES SECOND NATURE. I BELIEVE THEY ARE LISTED ABOVE.)”

Prof. Wexler World Explorer

I have been reading World Explorer Magazine for almost as long as I have been actively working toward being published. It has loads of idea's for my brand of speculative fiction. But don't get me wrong, what is contained in World Explorer while speculative MIGHT be true and I hold its founder David Hatcher Childress in the highest regard. I love his books.Along with stories of lost civilizations, cryptid animals, and other strange tales of discovery there are always a few comics of a Prof. Wexler, the intrepid world explorer himself who investigates all manner of high strangeness and mystic mystery.I recently acquired a copy of the first graphic novel of Prof. Wexler's exploits, by Charles Berlin and found it very enjoyable. Besides the single panel splash's there are several short tales in the graphic as well as some very early panels I had not yet seen.Most of the comics deal with the speculative forces of aliens, cryptids, lost treasures, etc so they may require at least a little familiarity to get the joke. But overall I enjoy Berlin's work and Character and look forward to whatever he comes up with for the next issue of WEX.

Yarn's I'm Working On

These are just some things on my mind this week as I prepare for a new anthology coming up that has piqued my interest. Love this adaption by Ryan Wood.
Both of these are the big pieces of a yarn I am brainstorming, thinking I will title it = St. Rockwell and the Dragon Check out this snippet.

Gearing up for promotion of Heroes of the Fallen which will be released next month.Rewrites and additional scenes for the sequel in the series Blood of Our Fathers are under way.Another great idea that I need to figure a new twist on is the Lost City concept.Also some more Spartan material as I finish the tale of my exiled Spartan in the Holy Land during the time of Nebuchadnezzar in Bless the ChildWhat is inspiring you in your projects?

SKOAL! Short Story Acceptance!

My short story Whispers of the Goddess has been accepted by Rogue Blades Entertainment for inclusion in their anthology Roar of the Crowd. Each story had to have a lot of action, be based off a historical event or game and have at least a little bit of a fantasy present.

I was originally going to have a tale based around the ball games of central America but that story got too big for the antho so I had to come up with something else fast. My personal gut is to write what moves you--so I threw together a tale of the Crusades in 1204 as well as a bit of esoterica (that's esoterica) as in obscure references to to the Grail saga's and inspiration with the siege of Constantinople
as the backdrop.

The antho ought to be out around September, so its exciting to think about how many books I could be in this year, my own novel (released in one month) and several anthologies. I'll be posting when this one in particular is available. It's just the beginning of some great collections this year.

Sharp Edge of a Knife: Book Review/Interview

The Sharp Edge of a Knife by D. N. Giles is a true story that took place on a cold winter morn in 1958. Giles' Grandfather Mel, was on his way to teach a church seminary class when he decided to pick up some hitchhikers walking along the road outside of Flagstaff . . . Big Mistake.

Or was it?

The two criminals did threaten Mel with a knife and kidnap him on a journey that lasted hundreds of miles, but ultimately this is a tale about choices and redemption.

Being a Church-going man, Mel Peterson, held to his faith to carry him through the ordeal and even help turn the lives of his kidnappers around.

I found The Sharp Edge of a Knife to be an entertaining read that had great pacing and suspense.

The author D.N. Giles is a friend of mine, so I was able to interview her for a few questions about the book, which is available here.

David: When did you first hear about this story? And how long have been working toward telling it to the public like this?

DNG: I actually heard this story when I was a little girl. I don't have a specific age recollection, but do remember my dad telling me a little bit about it when I was young. Unfortunately, my grandpa was a fairly reserved guy, so while I knew he'd been kidnapped after picking up hitchhikers, I really didn't know much about the incident until I started looking into it as research for an article. That was about three and a half years ago, and obviously the article turned into a book, but I'm going to say I've been seriously working on this book for two and a half years.

David: One of my thoughts/questions as I read the closing chapters is, was Mel trying to save Jeneal's feelings and worry or was some of his actions (in not telling her what was going on) a little bit of a TELL in the sense of 1950's society?

DNG: You know, I think probably a little bit of both. There's no way for me to know for sure, since I never got to actually ask him, but Jeneal and I did discuss this point, and she continues to be baffled about it. I suspect, though, that society had a lot to do with it, as well as Mel's protective nature. He was a very protective and gentle man, very soft spoken. Even in later years, he was pretty closed-mouthed about things like that. As I mentioned in the book, he was held hostage and carjacked, and though I was a teenager when both happened, I'm going to have to research to find out details about those incidents too.

David: How difficult was it to track down Gayle (the kidnapper) for some questions/answers?

DNG: That's a loaded question. Since the case was fifty-years old, it was actually pretty hard. It took me over a month to track down the court documents, and that was after I located the case number on a court subpoena my grandma had kept. So, finding him could've been next to impossible were I not married to a detective. I owe those details to my knowledgeable husband. I will say this, though. Internet databases are a beautiful thing. Anymore, you can track down just about anyone with the right information and some time to dedicate.

David: Was this a project that a lot of the family didn't know details of either?

DNG: Yeah, it actually was. As I mentioned earlier, there were lots of gaps and blanks that even my grandma didn't know. When my dad read an earlier version of this manuscript, he called to ask me about certain details and find out if they were real or fictionalized. The ones he asked about were actually real. He remembered some stuff, but even the newspaper articles and court documents are pretty vague. Even now, after writing this story, I feel like there's more to the story that I'll never know.

David: What are some of your future projects?

DNG: Right now I'm marketing a young adult paranormal romance about a young woman who has a special ability to heal people. She discovers her ability is a threat, not only to her and her family, but to a whole lot of other people when the leader of an ancient demon army, who hungers to rule the modern world, decides he needs her heart and blood to restore him to power.

Along with submitting that project, I'm working on a sequel, as well as another YA book that involves a couple of misfit kids and some mermaids. That one is still very much in the rough-rough draft stage, though.

David: Do you pick up hitchhikers?

DNG: Heck no! My husband would kill me himself if I ever did something like that. But if I saw someone broken down on the side of the road, I would call highway patrol for them if they needed.

Visit Nichole at her blog for a chance to win lots of different giveaway prizes in conjunction with her new book. Yes, she gave me her book to review FTC-what of it?

Show Em Everything, Tell Em Nothing

I am gonna be gone for the weekend adventuring and until I get back here are a few teaser stills of my Book trailer in progress.

Speaking of book trailers what, if anything, appeals to you as a reader?

My personal thoughts are the idea of enticement and mystery to know what the book is about. What a book trailer should not do is tell you the whole story, so that you sit back and go "I don't have to read that now-I know what happens.

So my thoughts are as a swashbuckling writer friend Bruce Durham said (and I may be paraphrasin) "Show Em everything but Tell Em nothing". Hope I am doing that even now.








Art by my sister-in-law the most excellent Erin West.

Movies just because

Because I was on a movies kick this week, here are some quick scenes from some of my favorites, just because.

Reality in Fiction

The Hurt Locker won the Oscar for best picture, so I decided I ought to see it. Went out and rented the DVD and I'm glad I only rented it (for free, thank you Red Box promo code)

The problem was the absolute lack of reality in a film that so desperately wanted to be taken serious. IF this was a standard action movie I could forgive the stunts, the macho "I'm gonna do it my way" B.S., but this was a serious film, that thought it had a message.

Let's not quibble over I knew who was going to die in the first 60 seconds, or the protagonists relationship with the boy selling DVD's or any number of things I knew were going to happen due to stereotypical writing. My problem is the lack of respect for reality in fiction, when it is what you are claiming you do.

Nearly every character broke protocol in nearly every single situation in the film. It would be reality if somebody did once in a while-but every single character all the time? I sincerely hope people don't watch this film and think-that's how it is-because our service men are not that stupid.

Spoiler Alert
Case in point. The three lead characters are out detonating ordinance and coming back to base come upon a number of men dressed as Iraqi fighters. Typical yelling and threats (They leave the safety of their vehicle to approach a numerically superior foe!?!) Then in a classic Dan Brown tell-oh guess what its a Brit, played by RaLph Fiennes, (yes pronounce the L please) Gee why didn't he just say he was on their side in the first place? because he had to do the weak, false tension stunt that DB always does=poor writing no matter how many books he sells.

Then they are hit by Sniper fire. RaLph dies, his Barret 50 cal sniper rifle is resting where it was when the sniper zeroed in and killed him. What do our heroes do but take the SAME position and attempt to return fire. The Idiots didn't move!?! The greenest troops ever would know to change positions, but these guys stay in the same place. Then when they have problems with their ammo they still stay silhouetted on the top of the hill-while another guy cleans the ammo.

By now the sniper should have killed them 10 times over-but he doesn't. And of course when they are ready, they kill him-ridiculous. I lost all sense of reality and could not take the Hurt Locker seriously. This is not a film that is going to stand the ages like so many other Oscar winning films in the past.

In contrast, Inglorious Basterds, was not supposed to be taken as reality, it was
obvious to anyone that it was exaggerated historical fiction. While entertaining, messages subtle as brass knuckles were seeded within that gave a greater depth to what could at first glance be viewed simply as a horrific and violent war movie. Such as, the irony of branding people, laughing at what we ought not-specifically when the crowd around you does. And in a Tarantino film, people die when they are supposed too.

Revenge as in any Tarantino project is always a prime motivation but so is vengeance which is not quite the same thing. The human drama involved lent an aspect of reality that Hurt Locker sorely lacked.

So all in all, the blatantly fictitious piece struck me as more real.

The RAM has touched the Wall

It's Time.

The RAM has touched the wall and Heroes of the Fallen is going to print and I will have it in 4-6 weeks and hopefully so will you. That's a bit later than I had hoped but whad'ya do.

After many long battles, pitfalls and ambushes, the book is coming and I can sit back on my laurels, let everyone read it, shower me with praise and do walk-on's for other peoples books right? (inside joke)No, you have to keep the momentum as Steven Pressfield says. Work on book 2 Blood of our Fathers has begun, as well as some other projects. It may be a ridiculous goal but I actually plan to have between 3-5 books submitted this year. Good thing 2 of them are already almost done.

Entertaining Lies

Angie at Notes from the Writing Chair gave me the Creative Writer Blog Award, thanks Angie.

Seems I am supposed to tell six lies and one truth and hopefully have them be difficult so here goes.

1. I once hid from the police by smearing myself in mud and lying very still in a canal.

2. When I was 12, five of my best friends and I camped for a week alone far into the Rocky Mountains, (the borders of Montana and Idaho). We were all either 12 or 13.

3. I stared down a huge Diamondback Rattlesnake and it lost.

4. No less than three ghosts messed with me in Georgia. It came down to insisting that they depart and showing no fear. You have to show them no fear to get them to listen when they are in a trickster-like mood.

5. I cut off a single wing of a fly with scissors, otherwise the fly was completely unharmed. I had one witness-she was very surprised and never again questioned my weapon prowess again.

6. I own over 6,000 books.


7. Only one of the statements above is a lie, all the rest are true.

To pass on this award I suppose I'll go with
M. Gray at The Ethos, the Logos and the Pathos

Karlene at Inksplasher

and Elizabeth Mueller

Strange Sights of the Week

The Call of Pumpkin Pie or The TP'ing over Innsmouth.

We must remain vigilant or else.

And you thought our recalls were bad.

Just calling a spade a spade.

Truth is stranger than fiction.

Remember what we called them before we called them EMO?

I am the one who came up with Freedom Fries, yeah that was me.

I should get this for Storymakers 10. That'd show em.