I thought I would miss Facebook. Not only did I deactivate Facebook, I canceled all notifications from my expansive social network. It’s been wonderful. I was a social network addict. I encourage everyone to take, at least, a break from it.

Even though I’ve not totally capitalized on the freedom it’s made a huge difference in my ability to focus on the main task at hand and all other tasks of life. It’s such a relief not hearing constant “dings” on my computer and phone.… Read more

I ask for tough questions on my Facebook. I said I would answer them by doing Facebook LIVE from my Author’s Page. The first question was:

“What is your take on so many old movies being remade? Is it because Hollywood can’t come up with anything new on their own?”

My YouTube answer is here:

Otherwise, keep reading.

I don’t mind remakes of old Si-Fi or Fantasy movies. Because back in the day their reach exceeded their grasp.… Read more

tattoine-625x276I’ve totally revamped Out of Oblivion the last 6 months after an epic bazillion words. When I got to the end of the first serious draft I was not happy with the ending. I don’t settle.

Recently I got together with two of my genius friends to discuss the end of Out of Oblivion. I sent them a message on Facebook prior to meeting basically saying the following:

What Makes a Story Great?

Let’s use Luke Skywalker’s “moment” in the finale of Star Wars over the Death Star.… Read more

12308775_10207271787625708_8364153024136053772_nWhat’s the most important thing a writer can do when writing a book? FINISH!

No matter how rickety the construction, get…it…done! I learned this with Blood & Soul. To me, my struggle was monumental because I put a lot of pressure on myself to write the best book I could write. I labored long, long hours to find the theme, the message, the climax for the first book.

What is the moment of resolution for Out of Oblivion?… Read more

I’m a few days away from completing the first draft of Out of Oblivion, the next book in the Creed of Kings Saga. I suspect it will take a few more drafts before it goes to my editor, Andrew Doty at Editwright.com. Like Blood & Soul the next book can be read separately.

Thought I’d share a couple of recent reviews of Blood & Soul. To see on Goodreads click here.… Read more

A lot of readers have asked about the pronunciation of names in my book. Because the book is other-worldly I chose to make up names. 99% of fantasy fiction writers do this as well. I worked to make them easy to say. Below is a guide to pronouncing the words. Not a fancy dictionary type guide, but some helpful suggestions on how to sound them out and a micro bio.

People:

Athorigan – Uh-thor-egun
*King of the Midvast
Ledarrin – Led-Arron
*The king’s bastard son.… Read more

A picture and quote inspired from a book from one of my favorite fantasy fiction writers David Gemmell. I hope that I can approach his skill someday. I have literally wept tears of awesomeness reading his books. He wrote action-packed heroic fantasies that rang with realism. He infused his characters with great heart, great depth, mighty inner struggles and epic noble actions. I’ve read about two-thirds of his books. Every time I start one of his books I brace myself for that WHAMMO!… Read more

tenenbaum-a-vision-through-a-marble-1In the writing state—the state of inspiration—the fictive dream springs up fully alive: the writer forgets the words he has written on the page and sees, instead, his characters moving around their rooms, hunting through cupboards, glancing irritably through their mail, setting mousetraps, loading pistols. The dream is as alive and compelling as one’s dreams at night, and when the writer writes down on paper what he has imagined, the words, however inadequate, do not distract his mind from the fictive dream but provide him with a fix on it, so that when the dream flags he can reread what he’s written and find the dream starting up again.… Read more

Romantic love itumblr_static_love-with-you-wallpaper-800x480s already complex and mysterious but society’s understanding of it has now become terribly flawed by profound confusion and misapplication. Love has been unlearned, and often disabled. The windows into our souls have become more clouded. The roads are rougher and the cars are rundown.

Dark forces have attacked Love on many levels in our world. For me I see the attack in our media driven world. Because I enjoy studying story structure I see more people fall in love on the big screen at the theater or TV than in life.… Read more

Stonehenge_(sun)Here’s an update on books in the making, marketing, upcoming promo and letting go.

  • I’m deep in the pre-production phase of two books:Out of Oblivion – book 2 in the Creed of Kings saga, and Defender – a story that inhabits the Creed of Kingsworld that I’m working to weave into the saga in a smooth natural way because it deserves inclusion there. The blueprints of both books near completion. It looks like my characters will need a good health plan. 
Read more