Scriptorius Rex

While the Morning Stars Sing

2011-08-08T19:48:00.000-07:00

Some of you may remember my talking about the story I wrote, "Such Great Faith", about the biblical tale of the centurion's servant who was healed by Jesus. Written from the centurion's point of view and having Jesus with a small speaking role, it was a bit daring and I think it turned out well.

The tough part was coming up with a place to sell it. It wasn't really the type of speculative fiction I normally write as it was more of a straight historical piece. After several attempts it finally found a good home in an anthology from Residential Aliens. I'm pleased to announce that While the Morning Stars Sing is now published and available for purchase. I hope you all enjoy.

What's Up With Lima?

2011-04-15T08:07:00.000-07:00

Even with no updates in months, this blog gets about 2-5 hits a day based on various searches and links around the internets. However, for some bizarre reason, in the past two days I've gotten about 35 hits all from Lima, Peru. Not sure what I did to attract such attention but it's an interesting oddity.

In other news, since I'm here, I'm still waiting on the publication of three stories that were originally scheduled to see print last year. Times are tough in the publishing industry.

Also, for the last several months while in Africa, I've written nothing. I've been pretty busy and with that has come plenty of intellectual stimulation that leaves me wanting to do nothing but vegetate when I get back to my room at night. I will say that in the last couple of weeks I've been thinking more about all the research I did to expand "Love and Revolution" into a full length novel so there may be some creativity lurking just around the corner. We will see what we will see.

The Times, They Are a Changing Again

2010-09-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know, and some of you may not, that my life is in an evolutionary process right now. I was effectively laid off back in March and I've been making a living by going to as many Marine Corps exercises as I can. Now it's time to take the plunge and go back on active duty. I'm getting one year orders to Djibouti, Africa. Unaccompanied. Should be fun.

The activity on this blog will decrease. Partly because of the shift in life focus and partly because I'm just not writing very much at this time. I've started up a new blog called Going Afar. (Bonus points for anyone who can figure out the significance of the title.) The main reason for the blog is that I was having a hard time finding any current information on the deployment process and military life in Djbouti. So it's planned as a resource of sorts. Also in my thinking was that this part of my life doesn't really fit into the theme of this blog.

Scriptorius Rex will continue to be updated. I have the three stories which are coming out in the next few months and I'll provide info on them as well as the surrounding processes. Those interested are enthusiastically invited to follow my other blog. It's undiscovered territory for me, albeit thoroughly populated by others, and I'm looking forward to the journey.

Don't Say It's Over

2010-08-27T22:06:00.000-07:00

But it is. I'm back in the US of A and Korea is in the rear view mirror. I had a great time and got to see a lot of the same officers from back in March. There was Maj Shin, who was my main counterpart and who I worked with the most, and Maj Baek, who I had the previously described conversation about 'fairy dust' with. We were more comfortable with each other this time around. (One great bit came when I was trying to teach a group of them how to pronounce the word 'collaborative'. It was a hopeless cause from the outset but we all had a good laugh.) The translators were better this time. One of them grew up in California and probably knew more Spanish than Korean. The one from Philly was hilarious to listen to during the briefs and another one studied at Oxford and sounded a bit like John Lennon. The final victory party was a shorter version of the last one, sans karaoke, but it was a better time in general.

It was a bit sad to leave knowing that I'll likely never go back again but then, that's how most things go in our lives isn't it? Now, with that behind me, I'm turning all focus on my upcoming deployment to Djibouti, Africa. I'm learning the history, studying the role of the US military there, and j'apprends le francais.

Life is like a giant book and it's time to turn to the next chapter.

The Rules

2010-08-26T05:23:00.000-07:00

Rule No. 1: Never post when you're drunk.

Rule No. 2: Never break rule number one unless you've just spent two hours with the ROK Marine Corps, who, by the way, are professional drinkers (like the Russians but without the bitterness), and have thoroughly enjoyed the duck and pork and host of dipping sauces and garlic and peppers and kimchee and beer and soju and a really good whiskey.

This Is the Life

2010-08-26T00:03:00.000-07:00

This is where I've been living for the past couple of weeks. The room fits seven but we usually only have a few of us at any one time. The showers are open bay style and they're down the hall. Toilet facilities, sinks, and a big rec room/chow hall at the other end of the building.

It beats a tent.

Words You Never Want to Hear the Four Year Old Say When He's the Only One Answering the Video Call and You're In Korea

2010-08-21T15:12:00.001-07:00

"Dad! Why do meatballs explode?"

ROKMC

2010-08-21T01:27:00.000-07:00

This is the emblem of the Republic of Korea Marine Corps. The Eagle, Star, and Anchor, mounted outside the HQ building in Baran, South Korea. It symbolizes the fact that allied countries all over the world have forces that are trained to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver.

Scenes From A Korean Roadside

2010-08-18T05:03:00.000-07:00

"Sang-hee, will you go to prom with me?"

Travelling Lighter Than Normal

2010-08-14T03:35:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you how to get lost luggage back from the airlines. First you have to go to their service counter at the baggage claim and ask where your bags are. If you're in Pusan, which may be unlikely for you but very likely for me, you look around for someone who speaks good English. Then, and this is the important part, you assume a look of utter amazement while saying, "My bags aren't even in Korea yet?" Then you get a phone number to call and a claim number to reference. Then you shrug and go about your business. Then you spend an unrestful night on a cot wishing you had a pillow while listening to everyone else snore. Then you call the number the next morning, after the clock strikes Business Hours, and find out that your bags are somewhere over the Pacific and will get to Pusan late that night for delivery to you the next morning. Then you give them contact information for whatever military base you're currently staying at. Then you buy a couple of shirts. Then you go about your business. Then you wake up the next morning, feeling less fresh than usual, and call again to confirm that your bags are on the way. Then you wait all stinkin' day and they don't show up. Then you sleep again, with your mood in a downward spiral. Then you get up and spend a few hours trying to find out who picked up your bags from the main gate last night and, once found, patiently wait for them to figure out which van your bags are in the back of. (Hint: It's the van that just took someone to the train station.) Then you wait another hour or two and get your bags back. Then your glasses break.

And that's how you get lost luggage back from the airlines.

I Left My Bags In San Francisco

2010-08-11T02:50:00.000-07:00

I suppose when you travel as much as I do it is bound to happen to you. Of course it would be better if international travel and military exercises weren't involved.

I arrived in Seoul only to find out that my luggage did not. Since we were delayed out of Seattle to SF, and I had to hustle to make my flight to Korea, my bags didn't make it with me. So now I have a connecting flight to the south end of the peninsula followed by a bus ride out to another location only to wake up with no fresh clothes or uniforms tomorrow and get a ride right back to the airport in hopes that my bags finally show up. I imagine things will work out just fine in the end but I'm not sure how tonight's going to go. I have a sleeping bagless cot waiting for me in some tent somewhere. The potential for misery is high for this Marine.

But hey, if it was easy, anybody would do it.

Writing Lessons From Inception

2010-08-03T16:19:00.000-07:00

Inception is an outstanding movie. In a time where we get nothing but films about a group of similar people shooting/killing/blowing up a group of similar bad guys it is very nice to see something a little different. This is an excellent and suspenseful action thriller that is both smart and moving. The visuals are awesome and the plot moves with just enough complication to keep you interested the whole way through.

It's a fascinating aspect of the plot that is the focus of this writing lesson. The technology that gets the characters into each others' dreams is never explained other than by one line of dialogue: "The military developed this so soldiers could train realistically and not actually hurt themselves." That's the extent of the technobabble. What I love about it is that the technology really is irrelevant when you think about it. The characters believe in it. They use it and it works and it follows a few rules and that's it. That's a smart way to write the script because it saves you all kinds of time and effort to come up with something plausible. While you might think that is important, I would submit that you are just opening yourself up to trouble when someone starts to pick apart your system. Much easier to just remain mum and let the rest of the story work in your favor.

Anyhow, go see Inception. You'll thank me for it later.

Oh, The Fun You Can Have!

2010-07-27T15:11:00.000-07:00

Today was Capitol Hill day for my class at the National Defense University. Luckily it was not too terribly hot like it had been last week because we started with a mid day walk from Union Station, past the Capitol building, and a couple blocks more to a restaurant for lunch. Then I had to scramble off and find Jay Inslee's office for a quick courtesy visit. He was between meetings but took the time to shake my hand and we chatted about the military and my upcoming assignment to Djibouti. Very nice, engaging fellow. Makes me wish he wasn't a Democrat.

Then I spent some time in the Senate visitors gallery and watched some proceedings regarding the Transparency and Disclosure Act. Sitting above the Senate floor is like Disneyland for a political science geek like myself. At first there's just some staffers shuffling paperwork around at the various tables up front. Then John Kerry walks through and goes into some room behind the chamber. Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid come in and discuss something for a while. Then the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell gets up and starts in on how awful the bill is that they're considering. Then Schumer gets up and talks, without looking at his notes, for fifteen minutes about how wonderful the bill is. Then, hold on to your hats folks, Senator Reid calls for a roll call vote for cloture! I'm thinking: AWESOME!

Before you know it, all the Senators start filing into the room, chatting amongst themselves, and getting the clerk's attention as he reads the roll. It's funny, but in the Senate they don't have fancy electronic voting gadgets. They just hold up their hand to the clerk and point up or down as they're walking by. My Senators, Cantwell and Murray, spent some time talking with each other before Sen. Cantwell started messing with her Blackberry and walked off. Al Franken walked in, milled around, voted, and left. Of course, the highlight of the afternoon was John McCain walking in, voting, and walking out. Fourteen seconds of my life I'll never forget.

With all this action in the Senate, I figured going over to 'that other body' would just be a let down. So, it was time to get the metro back to the hotel.

What a day!

Pentagon Memorial

2010-07-25T03:53:00.000-07:00

This morning, before sunrise, I took a walk to the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial. I'm not sure why, but things like this really must be done very early in the morning. The site has the standard list of names etched in granite and then a large area with individual memorials sweeping up out of the ground with running water beneath them. They look a bit like benches but somehow it just doesn't seem right to sit on them. As I walked the grounds I noticed they are all arranged in parallel straight lines that point towards the rebuilt area of the Pentagon; there's a noticeable difference in shading of the new stone walls. It was somber, quiet, and with the sun coming up over the building, fairly awe inspiring. 184 people lost their lives that day, among them was only one Marine. Judging from his birth date I have to assume he was a crusty old retired jarhead with a story for every day he was in the service. After staring at the Pentagon for a few minutes, I found his memorial and sat down for a spell just to rest my feet.

I figured he wouldn't mind.

National Defense University

2010-07-22T03:40:00.000-07:00

So I'm at a two week course with the National Defense University in Washington D.C. and it's going right smashingly. Since some of you may also get the chance to study national strategy and defense policy formulation, here are some handy tips:

1. Go back in time and ensure you got a degree in political science so that you actually like the intensive study of national strategy and defense policy formulation.

2. If you do not normally wear a coat and tie every day, and if you should happen to run somewhere like, oh, say Goodwill, the week before you leave to stock up on appropriate clothing, make sure you actually check to see if the belt you bought fits correctly or was made for a waist several times too big.

2a. I know there's no possible way you could be such an idiot, but in case number two falls through the cracks of your planning process pack a ratty-yet-serviceable black belt that you normally wear with your jeans just in case.

3. Learn to like very, very hot and humid weather or go get one of the schools in Rhode Island.

4. Consign yourself to the fact that you will fall asleep during the Department of State's lecture and sit way in the back.

5. Remember to totally geek out over seeing a rack of Joint Forces Quarterly magazines and scholarly journals from the Center for Complex Operations. (Then start salivating when you find out they're free!)

If I think of any other handy tips, I'll let you know.

Starlighter by Bryan Davis

2010-07-19T03:32:00.000-07:00

July is the month for the CSFF o bring you Starlighter by Bryan Davis. Bryan has been featured here before, mainly because he's full of awesomeness. This time out he's got sneaky dragons that steal people and enslave them. If you've ever wanted to defeat evil draconic overlords and free a slave planet, this one's for you.

The rest of the tour:
Brandon Barr
Beckie Burnham
Jeff Chapman
R. L. Copple
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Nikole Hahn
Ryan Heart
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Leighton
Jane Maritz
Rebecca LuElla Miller
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Crista Richey
SarahFlan
Chawna Schroeder
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson
KM Wilsher

Star Wars: The Claw Wars

2010-07-12T10:53:00.000-07:00

Son Number Three has recently discovered Star Wars. As usual for a three year old, he watches movies 'again, again'. (And I'm more than willing to oblige.) He started with The Clone Wars and promptly retitled it Star Wars The Claw Wars. (Interesting Side Note: Why did Lucas refer to the conflict as The Clone Wars? Shouldn't it have been called The Separatist War?) Soon, everything related to the series had that title attached. The original movie was retitled Star Wars The Claw Wars The First One. Episode III is now Star Wars The Claw Wars Where He Kills His Master. Good stuff. (He also now demands to have frequent lightsaber battles with the red and blue plastic lightsabers that somehow ended up under the Christmas tree last December. Good thing I'm fairly proficient with the sound effects.)

American Monarchy

2010-07-05T11:27:00.001-07:00

Here is an example of the sort of Google searches that happen when I find myself at the conjunction of Random Thought and Nothing Better To Do. Ever wonder what sort of royal family we would have had if George Washington had installed himself as the first King of America? The result may have been something like this. While George had no children, his older brother did and that line survives to this day. Providing that internecine squabbles by someone name Custis or Lee never happened, or that no coup d'etat was led by Hamilton, or no second Revolution led by Paine, Adams, or Jefferson, or none of a bazillion other things happened that can lead to a monarchy losing their head, we could have the honor of our King being a guy from Texas. No, not that guy from Texas, I'm talking about King Paul Emery Washington of San Antonio.

Just something that came to mind on this day after we celebrate our successful insurgency against our evil British overlords some couple hundred years ago.

Toy Story 3 Is Not For Kids

2010-07-02T21:15:00.000-07:00

It's not that they won't enjoy it or anything, it's just that they won't get some of the complexity and gravitas of this very, very amazing movie. Kids will like the animation and the adventure and the laughs but there is also a whole level of depth that escapes them. I'm not talking about the clever bits that only an adult could grasp, like the elevator on Barbie's mansion jerking as it lowers because the doggone thing never quite worked as Mattel insisted it would. I'm talking about the deeper meanings of life and love that work their way throughout the story. (Although everyone seemed to love Buzz en Español.)

It is quite true that this is the movie that makes grown men cry. You simply cannot call yourself a real man if tears aren't streaming down your face at the garbage dump furnace scene; when these toys, these dear friends who've been with each other through so many trials and tribulations, realize that they are facing the end. That's it for them; their time is done. But they're together. And that makes it okay. Because if you have to face your final minutes here on Earth, it's best to be amongst friends and family.

Time will tell, but this could quite possibly be the best movie ever made. I know I said that about Saving Private Ryan and that Star Wars is still the one single movie that's had the most impact on my life but...

This was something special.

Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos

2010-06-22T06:39:00.000-07:00

June is the month for the CSFF to bring you Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos. This is a hard-to-classify story that's a social commentary on the way Christians tend to make Jesus in their own image rather than the one God intended. Modern, quirky, and irreverent, Mikalatos shines some light in places we usually don't talk about and gleefully holds up a mirror so we can be sure of what we see.

Things You Never Thought Would Happen to You In the Years B.C. (Before Children)

2010-06-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

Open refrigerator. Say, "Hey, there's a big glass of grape juice that someone's covered with a piece of Saran wrap." Think that's kind of odd but not the strangest thing to happen. Remove glass from fridge. Remove Saran wrap. Drink liquid.

Race to sink. Say, "Hey, that's not grape juice; it's rinse water from purple paint brushes" while spitting liquid onto last night's dishes.

Return to fridge. Eye the glass half full of apple juice. Say, "Well, that doesn't look like a urine sample..."

Committee on Un-American Activities

2010-06-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

OK, it's been a few days and I've got to say that I'm getting hooked on World Cup football. I'm starting to understand the strategies, I can see how the players are setting themselves up for passes and openings, and the international tournament setting is pretty neat. Even the low amount of scoring is now creeping through my system like crystal meth. (This is called 'variable reinforcement' for those who care, and it's much like gambling addiction.) There's also cool injuries to watch on the super slo-mo. (Some North Korean guy got carried off on a stretcher!)

But the best thing about watching the matches is that the clock never stops so there are no commercials. Just forty-five minutes of ball kicking. Twice. (I suppose that's the real reason this sport never took off in America. Logos on jerseys and flashing signs on the sidelines just can't take the place of the Coors Light Twins.)

And so I'm off to watch Bafana Bafana crush Uruguay. It's kinda cool to watch the dreams of a nation unfold in sport. America really hasn't had a moment like that since the 1980 Olympic hockey team. We'll see if South Africa can gain the same thing.

Americans Love a Winner

2010-06-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

...and will not tolerate a loser! But even though George Patton would snap his baton at the result of today's World Cup match, you gotta be happy with a draw. In anticipation of my year in Africa I've been trying to pay attention to things that might be important to those I'll be interacting with. Football is one of them.

International goodwill not withstanding, I'm having trouble really embracing a game where both sides often play for a couple hours only to shake hands after a 0-0 tie. While I understand that not losing against England is a good result as far as the tournament goes, it just grates on me that one side or the other couldn't figuratively stand on the bloody chest of a fallen enemy and thrust red steel into the air.

If this keeps up I'll be reduced to checking the standings occasionally and the game will be as meaningless to me as the NBA. (The Lakers are in some kind of important set of games, correct?)

You Can Never Go Wrong With Zombies

2010-06-10T09:29:00.000-07:00

Son Number Two is a genius. He has wicked computer design skills and an artist's eye for how to employ them. One of his current games of choice is Roblox, a Lego-like building program that lets you design and move around in your own worlds. I watched him build a world with different levels and spinning things and elevators. Then he sat back and said, "I'm not really sure what to do with this place now."

My reply was quick and firm. "Zombies. You can never go wrong with zombies."

And, thinking about it, that's right. If you are designing a system that encourages people to move through it in some way or another, whether it's a game or a corporate voice mail system, there must be something that keeps people on their toes. Use their brains, so to speak. Thus, you can never go wrong with zombies.

Writing Lessons From Sting

2010-06-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

Saw Sting at the White River Amphitheatre last night. As predicted, it was cold and rainy but we were seated under cover so all was well. The orchestra was a great touch and the musical highlights were "Mad About You" and "Desert Rose."

But there were also a couple of tidbits that apply to writers. Sting said there were two types of love stories. I Love You/You Love Me, which is boring and goes nowhere, and I Love You/You Love Someone Else. It's the second one that's the most interesting and has the deepest dramatic goldmines to plunder.

Later on, he talked about how he writes songs. He's been doing it for decades and still calls it a 'mysterious process.' His tendency over the past ten to twenty years has been to arrange the music first and then let that music suggest mood and character. Fiction writers do the same kind of thing when we come up with the framework of scenarios and settings and then wait for a story and hero to fill the spaces. The interesting thing he said was not to be afraid of what comes along and demands to be written, even if it's a story about things that make us uncomfortable.

Good advice, and it's worked well for him so it's something to consider.

Ebb and Flow

2010-06-02T21:18:00.000-07:00

I got back from Hawaii a few days ago and immediately got caught up in the Siren call of Uneventful Yet Strangely Busy Normal Life. Lawn, garbage, teaching Son Number One to drive, that sort of thing. Anyhow, what's taking up most of my time nowadays is working on getting mobilization orders overseas, probably to Africa. There's a tremendous amount of bureaucratic inertia that I have to overcome to make that happen; it's actually pretty funny. Things like three emails back and forth to the same people before we all figure out how to get my security clearance updated. You know how it goes.

What Goes Around Does Not Always Come Around

2010-05-22T18:30:00.000-07:00

Last trip to Hawai'i was pretty light on the work and pretty heavy on the time off. That is not the case this time around. Other than a couple of easy 'check in' sort of days to start with, this exercise has been 12-13 hour night shifts and little sleep and snarled up traffic and not nearly enough M&M's. But, like we say here in the islands, "You can be having the worst day of your life, but you're still in Hawai'i."

By Darkness Hid

2010-05-17T16:40:00.000-07:00

I've been a fan of Marcher Lord Press for a while now and they've brought out several good groups of books. The CSFF thinks so too and this month we're highlighting By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson. It's a straight up Medieval fantasy world novel from a solid publishing house and it has a bazillion good reviews. These, then, are Things Not to Ignore.

The rest of the tour:

Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Gina Burgess
Beckie Burnham
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
R. L. Copple
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
Emmalyn Edwards
April Erwin
Sarah Flanagan
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Leighton
Rebecca LuElla Miller
New Authors Fellowship
John W. Otte
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Andrea Schultz
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher

View From the Top

2010-05-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

Back in Hawai'i for more grueling duty with the Marines. Oh, by the way, this is the view from my hotel room.

Absolut Thievery

2010-05-08T06:42:00.000-07:00

Henry V by the Seattle Shakespeare Company displayed some of the best stolen scenes I've ever seen. The play is a solid performance by all around, set in mid twentieth century England/France, but the Bernie Madoff of theatre has to be Jerick Hoffer as the gay French 'lady-in-waiting' for Princess Catherine. He only has two major scenes in that character but when he's on stage every eye is watching him. The key to his larcenous performance is how over the top he vaults himself. First he instructs Catherine on speaking English, which hilariously sets up the heist, then he acts the tetchy guardian when Henry tries to woo Catherine to be his queen, which locks him in as a criminal mastermind. Hoffer clearly has the knack for great acting which goes beyond character and gets to something more internal; he has the bravery to take what's given to him and make something truly special out of it. Can't wait to see him as a headliner.

For Those Who Love Government Health Insurance/Care

2010-04-28T12:06:00.000-07:00

I just spent two stinkin' hours at the Department of Licensing with a hundred other people getting serviced by three counters. All for five minutes worth of work.

Just saying...

Raven's Ladder

2010-04-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

For our second helping of goodness this month, the CSFF is presenting Raven's Ladder by Jeffrey Overstreet. This book continues the thread started in Auralia's Colors and weaves it into a full blown tapestry. Anyone who is a fan of big complex fantasy stories needs to pick this series up and give it a try.

Other opinions:
Brandon Barr
Rachel Briard (BooksForLife)
Keanan Brand
Beckie Burnham
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Shane Deal
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Ryan Heart
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Andrea Schultz
James Somers
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher

Travelling Tips For the Completely Clueless

2010-04-18T06:58:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm back in Seattle and awaiting transportation I have a few things to say about travelling. You people who don't do much flying really annoy those of us who do. You've heard the stories about airlines starting to charge for carry on bags, right? I'm not entirely opposed to this policy. As someone who's flown repeatedly over the years, I've noticed that carry ons are starting to get out of control. ONE carry on bag! Then a SMALL personal item like a purse or laptop case. Why is this so difficult to comprehend? Two bags that link together as one are still TWO! Then you have a humongous purse that could hold lipstick, a wallet, and a spare set of snow tires. And THEN you try to find a place for your shopping bags! Enough already! And while we're on the subject of carry ons, could you please arrange your stuff so that the one or two things you need while in your seat are in a convenient pocket that you can grab quickly and SIT DOWN! Also, can you please stop packing a bag so impossibly heavy that you can't even lift it?

And here's another thing. You people need to figure out what your friggin' suitcases look like. Yes, I know they're all black. But to say that they all look alike? Really, I thought we were over that as a country.

Thank you. We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog.

Done With Hawai'i For Now

2010-04-17T11:40:00.000-07:00

Well, the exercise is over and it's time to get on that big ol' jet airliner. One last jog on the beach and swim in the ocean and then it's wait until May to do it all again. Of course, what trip to Hawai'i would be complete without sharing a public shower with a big homeless Hawai'i'an while he sings through his repertoire of off-key Phil Collins songs. Mmmmmmm.... Island paradise.

Crash of the Titans

2010-04-15T09:21:00.001-07:00

Took some time the other day to go see Clash of the Titans. This is a big loud movie with lots of dazzlement. It wasn't bad, but for most of the movie I was wondering about character motivations. I just couldn't quite follow why everything was happening. The whole theme of the movie is Man vs Gods. At times there seemed to be contradictory messages and I was left to puzzle out the meaning of it all. Thankfully, right about then something large and beastly would show up and a disagreement would erupt. Good fun stuff that.

For us in the real world there is a separation between God and Man that is bridged by faith because God's direct actions in our lives are mostly covert. But when the King of Argos declares that the Age of Men has begun it isn't but a few seconds of screen time before Hades himself shows up and demonstrates that the gods aren't quite done yet. In the face of such obvious power there were still several characters running around saying how wonderful and strong men were. Also, you had Perseus (with a cool Australian accent amidst the rest of the Greek warriors) who hated the gods and demanded quite clearly that he would beat them with only his manly powers. But soon it becomes obvious that he can't do it so he resorts to cheating by getting himself a Medusa head, using his magic sword, and flying on the magic horsey. Then you also had Zeus who wanted the love of the people he created so much that he let his brother terrorize them and release a giant turtle-squid on them. I didn't quite follow the logic in that.

So even though there are really cool giant scorpions, which are always fun to watch, you might want to rent this movie instead of shelling out 9 bucks for it unless you really have to see it on the big screen.

Lost Mission

2010-04-12T03:36:00.000-07:00

The CSFF is stepping things up this month. First tour is for Lost Mission by Athol Dickson. This is an interesting story with a combination of historical-mystery-thriller and Christian-magical-realism. It's the kind of fascinating stuff that is blossoming within Christian fiction as a way of illustrating the reality of God and challenging us to examine and sharpen our own beliefs. When you can do that and tell a great story, you're doing something right.

The rest of the tour:
Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Amy Browning
Valerie Comer
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Timothy Hicks
Jason Isbell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
New Authors Fellowship
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher

Who Knows What Evil Lurks In the Heart of Men?

2010-04-11T10:24:00.000-07:00

The Shadow knows!

I Kid You Not

2010-04-08T16:46:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

For Those Who Have Gone Before

2010-04-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

This is part of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument at Pearl Harbor. Every Marine is prepared to give the ultimate sacrifice for no other reason than because their country asked them to.

Some of us actually do it.

Authentic Hawai'ian Mini-Fridge

2010-04-06T18:57:00.000-07:00

OK, here's my first picture of paradise. More to follow!

Wars and Rumors Of Wars

2010-04-05T15:38:00.000-07:00

This time I'll be dealing mostly with the 'rumors of wars' part of the famous quote. I'm on another exercise with the Marines and I'll be spending a couple of weeks in Hawai'i. I'm not exactly sure what I'll be doing yet but that's not a concern. The major concern for today is that it's opening day for baseball season and the Mariners have almost completely overhauled their team. I need to catch up.

In a bit of a twist, this time I remembered to bring a camera so I'll be boring you all with pictures of paradise!

Roar of the Crowd Unveiled

2010-03-24T16:19:00.000-07:00

Roar of the Crowd is the latest signature release from Rogue Blades Entertainment and I am in it. "Love and Revolution", which I wrote about a month or so ago, has been accepted for publication later this year. As it has been with the last two anthologies from RBE, this is an absolute thrill.

The special requirements and constraints applied to the submissions of this anthology proved to be complex and challenging. There had to be some kind of sporting-type event that included a crowd, they had to be involved in the story in an irreplaceable way, and there had to be some kind of fantasy element involved. Luckily it didn't also have to be set in the early afternoon of the second Tuesday of the month.

"Love and Revolution" sprang from the simple idea that the hero had to get his true love back. The rest just sort of wrote itself, complete with explosions, knifings, spearings, swordings, and more explosions. It's set in a gladiatorial arena in Roman North Africa around 250AD in the early afternoon on the second Tuesday of the month. I hope you all enjoy it.

Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter

2010-03-23T09:54:00.000-07:00

This month the CSFF is touring Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter by R. J. Anderson. This is not your average Tinkerbell faery story. It has a bit more grit and gravitas than anything Disney could or would provide. For instance, the lead character takes up the un-faeryish name Knife.

In a world where faeries have lost their faery dust (and as I have written before, that stuff is crucial to success everywhere) you know you're going to get a great story.

Other tour participants for the month that you should check out:
Sally Apokedak
Brandon Barr
Amy Browning
Melissa Carswell
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Timothy Hicks
Jason Isbell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
New Authors Fellowship
Nissa
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Andrea Schultz
James Somers
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher

Victory Party

2010-03-18T13:45:00.000-07:00

I have to tell you about what may be the most bizarre thing I've ever seen in my military career. When the exercise is over it is tradition for US and ROK officers to get together for a victory dinner where there is an excessive amount of drinking. The drink of choice is soju, a sweet vodka type stuff. The dinner was kimche and smoked duck and a variety of dipping sauces. The drinking started early with three shots of soju accompanied by toasts to the Marines and the Commandant and et cetera. Then more eating and drinking. Then more drinking. When the Korea 3-star General got up and made a final toast by downing an entire 500ml bottle of soju I realized that these Koreans are professional drinkers.

Next we get up from the table and head downstairs, I'm thinking to a bar of some sort. No, we end up in a 15x30 foot room with a curved couch and table in one half and an open area in the other. Its a private karaoke den.

Oh dear.

You've never seen weird until you've watched a drunk Korean 3-star General swaying about and waving his hand in the air while singing "Dancing Queen." The situation was surreal, with all the American officers sitting around the table drinking beer and the Korean Colonels and Generals out on the floor displaying a varying degree of English skills. I'm sitting back and singing along with everyone else (it's amazing how the lyrics of "Take Me Home, Country Road" just come back to you all of a sudden) but there's no way I'm getting up there. We go through "Surfin' USA" and "Enter Sandman" and really stumble our way through "Back in Black" because no one could sing it fast enough. I find it harder and harder to turn down the general who keeps pointing at me to take a turn. Finally I relent and choose "Born in the USA" by Springsteen. (The astute of you will know how that could be a problem.)

I got up and then I realized that the only way to sing this song is to scream it. So I did. Of course, two or three verses in I get to the part about killing the yellow man. Yikes. We get through the verse and the Koreans all keep singing and everything ends well. They even keep coming up to me afterward and patting me on the back and saying "Born in the USA!" So the night ended well and there was no international incident.

Now it's time to go home.

Fairy Dust

2010-03-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

I had a very interesting conversation with a couple of ROK officers yesterday. It was by far my most extensive conversation with them yet. Lots of puzzled looks and slow shaking of the head. Seems they don't understand the time honored Marine Corps tradition of "fairy dust."

Exercises of this size are very complex things. They are also very expensive things, with lots of people coming from all over and moving lots of things around the peninsula. There are several staff sections developing plans and coordinating actions and giving briefs and all that other stuff that goes into exercising the war plan. So the last thing the Marines want to do is get hung up on a show stopping problem that grinds all that to a halt. Enter fairy dust.

Let's say, hypothetically, you've got a refueling system that has eight miles of pumping capability and you need to cover a distance of twelve miles. In the real world you'd be screwed. But in Exercise Land you just sprinkle fairy dust over the problem and suddenly the distance you need to cover is only 7.6 miles. Problem solved!

The Koreans are a very by-the-book people. When I tried to explain what we were doing, the ROKs looked at me with a polite smile, sure that the crazy American must be wrong or the interpreter must be translating incorrectly. No, I explained, this is just how Marines deal with potentially devastating situations. You see, we're so confident in our ability to improvise, adapt, and overcome that we just don't let little things like physical impossibilities get in our way. It's worked for over 230 years, I don't see why it won't work for another 230.

So even after they pulled out a very thick binder and showed me where the exercise data showed twelve miles I just shrugged, smiled, and said, "Doesn't matter. For the purposes of the exercise, it works. We'll figure out how later."

And that's the essence of Fairy Dust.

Lazy Day in Korea

2010-03-13T15:46:00.000-08:00

Not much to do today except read through Wikipedia to my heart's content and watch a couple of bootlegged movies on DVD. Cop Out is much funnier with bad video quality and shadows of people getting up in front of the bootlegger.

The other major discovery today (thanks to no one feeling like changing the channel on the rec room TV) is that Sex and the City is just as inane and morally despicable with Korean dubbing as it is in its original Manhattanese. I remember reading once that everyone over here thought Americans all lived like the show Dallas. It's a sad thing that our image is not improving.

International Relations

2010-03-11T11:43:00.000-08:00

My job here in Korea is to be part of a coordination team that helps the ROK Marine Corps take over the warfighting responsibilities on the peninsula in the near future. That means that I have to attend a lot of meetings. Here's an interesting (and unclassified) event from yesterday.

We're sitting in a conference room with about six officers on each side. At the last minute, a Korean Lieutenant Colonel walks in and sits down. I'd only seen him before during the video teleconferences and I knew he was a big guy but he's even bigger in person. We had taken to referring to him with nicknames like Gigantor, The Beast, or, after he loudly corrected the behavior of a room full of ROK Marines, The Enforcer.

The meeting progressed and we worked through our issues. As we were wrapping up and talking about future operations, the U.S. team leader says, pointing at The Enforcer, "I know one thing, I'd never want to go into hand to hand combat with that guy." We all laughed and the interpreter translated. The Koreans all laughed, the big one the loudest of them all. The ROK Colonel leans over with a smile and says, "He, uh..." and you could see him searching for the words, "He, uh... He big, uh... big teddy bear."

You could tell by the smile on Gigantor's face that he was absolutely correct.

No Coke. Pepsi.

2010-03-10T11:23:00.000-08:00

I found a little noodle shop that serves the local ROK Marines. I go in, look around, and see to great joy that they have reach-in coolers with sodas and juice. Most excellent! I start scanning the options. Mountain Dew. Lots of Korean stuff. Pepsi. Some bottled water. Within seconds my joy turns to horror as I see that neither cooler has what I really need. Darn it all to Heck!

Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. I'm typing this with a Styrofoam cup of icy Pepsi at my side.

Here's some more about the interactions with the Koreans over the last couple of days. Their word for yes is ye but to hear them pronounce it it sounds more like "yih", only with a drawn out 'y' sound at the beginning. I've also noticed that certain military words don't have translations and they don't even try. "DEFCON" and "H-Hour" spring to mind. The translators are fun to talk to because they keep asking if a certain word is proper, which is right up my alley. I probably gave one of them way to much information on the difference between 'possess' and 'have' but hey, he asked. There was also a smirk worthy moment when one of the enlisted translators called me "Sir Draper."

Since English is taught to them all through school, some are fairly fluent all by themselves. The Colonel who is in charge of the section I'm working with can speak fairly well. We were sitting in a video teleconference with several other units and towards the end of the meeting the video feed froze up and we lost the signal. We waited for a little while and it never restarted so he leaned back in his chair, shrugged, and said, "Hmmm. Gave over."

So we're most of the way through Part A and the weekend will provide some liberty. I'm going to try to get to Osan Air Base and a western commissary and some real Coke. Wish me luck.

My Kingdom For a Coke

2010-03-09T11:17:00.000-08:00

I've gone through two full days at my new post in Baran, Korea. The bunker I'm working in is impressive and feels like you're walking into the lair of a James Bond villain. Several ramps lead down to a blast door that's about a foot thick. Multiple levels within the bunker are complete with command centers and offices and huge conference rooms. I'll bet they have a hidden pool somewhere with sharks wearing frikkin' "lasers".

However, the one bad thing about this place, which is located on a ROK Marine Corps base, is that there are no Western amenities at all. No PX, no Burger King, nothing. Also, very distressingly, no Coke. Yesterday I began a recon process that will range further and further out, like the proverbial lone survivor in the post nuclear apocalypse looking for precious nourishment. Hopefully the two inches of snow we got last night will not hinder the process.

Working this closely with ROK Marines is pretty interesting. While most of them speak at least a little English, I have a translator assigned to me who spent seven years in Utah and speaks very good American. (There's one translator who I hear on some of the briefs that went to Oxford and has a British accent. It's weird.) It's interesting to see how the Koreans have adapted to our style of warfare, and by that I mean warfighting with PowerPoint as your primary weapon. Apparently Korean words like "next slide" and "click" are just "next slide" and "click" but said with a Korean accent. I've also noticed that "OK" means the same thing in both languages.

Well, that's that then. Breakfast is about to be served and then it's off to the bunker for another exciting day. But if I don't recon me a Coke soon, I may just create an international incident.

The Feorhmaegen Finds a Home

2010-03-07T02:31:00.000-08:00

We interrupt my running commentary on this year's Korea Trip to announce that my story, "The Feorhmaegan", has been accepted for publication in the anthology Through Blood and Iron by Ricasso Press. This is shaping up to be a great anthology with some outstanding authors of bone cracking mayhem. I'm thrilled to be a part of it and look forward to its premier later this year.

And Then Sometimes Good Stuff Happens

2010-03-05T23:00:00.000-08:00

So I'm laying in bed Thursday morning and it's about 4:30 AM. I knew I would be waking up early and thought I would maybe do a quick half load of laundry and maybe go out to breakfast or otherwise make a slow morning of it. The plane didn't leave until 9:30 so I had a few hours. Then I realized that I never checked my seats and didn't know if I had the aisle or not. So I quick fast jumped out of bed and called up my itinerary. Gasp! I didn't even have a confirmed seat. This is what happens when Admin waits 'til the last minute to book our flights. I also didn't have a direct route, stopping in Tokyo for a six hour layover. In the world of international travel, I was in a bad situation.

I quick fast got ready and ran to the airport only to check my bags and be told that the gate crew would assign my seat. This is also not good,; it means the plane is full. Time was ticking away and I could feel the chance of sitting in the middle approaching 100%. (Did I mention before this was an 8 hour flight?) So I wait and I wait and the gate crew finally shows up and starts messing with the seating arrangements. When it's my turn to ask for a seat, they hand me a boarding pass for 78B. I didn't know there were 78 rows on a 747. With a great deal of dread and more than a little bit of impatient grumbling I step on board and the steward points me upstairs.

Wait, I think. I've never even seen what it's like upstairs. How can it be that I'm actually sitting up there? But I was. Wanna know what it's like?

First Class Nirvana.

Things to Do In Hawai'i

2010-03-03T23:19:00.000-08:00

If it's Wednesday night and you've got an egregiously long flight to Korea in the morning, there's no better place to spend some time than Calvary Chapel Honolulu. The building is nice and comfy and the people are warm and inviting. You've just got to enjoy a church where the worship leader sounds like Johnny Cash and the pastor quotes Sun Tzu. I found tonight's message on spiritual warfare especially fitting considering a few of the things I've encountered in recent days. But, as we all know, God is great and The Adversary is... not. I'm looking forward to stopping by a few more times this year as the Lord wills it.

How to Get to Hawai'i: Step Two

2010-03-02T20:36:00.000-08:00

Get on your plane and do a happy dance when the chick next to you decides to move over to an open seat once the doors close, thus giving you your own row. Fly through the turbulent Sierra Nevadas and out across the Pacific. Grumble a bit about the airplane's 'personal entertainment center' not working correctly but then get over it quickly because you really didn't want to watch The Blind Side anyhow. Read a little. Work through three slush stories for your editor friend who's probably getting a little ticked off that you're falling behind. Read a lot. Wander around next to the lavatories and stretch. Sit down and stare at the seat in front of you like a mindless drone for another two freakin' hours. Land.

Get your car and drive past Waikiki. (Because who really wants to go to the beach when you can go eat at the Rainbow Drive-In.) Get dinner and add fourteen points to your cholesterol in one sitting. Go to the PX and get some vino. (Plastic screw top bottles, baby!) Check in to your room and let everyone know you've arrived safely.

Easy.

How to Get to Hawaii: Step One

2010-03-02T09:53:00.000-08:00

Go to Salt Lake City. From Seattle this is obviously the best route to take, just ask the travel arrangers with the Marine Corps Reserve. Make sure you sit next to a well dressed man who spends his time reviewing Power Point presentations about streamlining your Tier 2 optimizations, recumbent cost curves, and reconstructing customer interactions. Oy. Thank the Good Lord Above that you're not that guy. Admire the view of the Great Salt Lake from angels 5. At that altitude you can see the olive green silty flats leading down to it. The lake itself has a purplish color, like the last sip of a good Pinot Noir. Then enjoy some fine Utah cuisine courtesy of Burger King. Continue on to your next flight.

How to be Unfortunately Named

2010-02-25T20:27:00.000-08:00

I'm driving down the street towards work and I see that a brand new apartment complex for 'senior living' has just been named. The new sign was out front and I immediately thought, "Whoa, didn't anyone run this past a let's-make-sure-this-isn't-stupid committee?" Who in their right mind names a retirement home "Shepherd's Garden"? Is it just me or isn't that a place where the Good Shepherd goes to plant his people in final rest? Ya gotta wonder sometimes.

The Firmness of Our Beliefs

2010-02-24T06:30:00.000-08:00

SCENE: Dentist's office. PATIENT is laying in chair, slightly nervous but not showing it. DENTIST swivels around after consulting x-rays.

DENTIST: Well, we could save the wisdom tooth but it would require a root canal and those run fifteen hundred dollars. Now, it's entirely up to you. If you want to keep your teeth I understand. We'll do whatever you want if that's what you want.

PATIENT: You know, it's always been my goal in life-- (raises arms and smacks a fist into his palm to emphasize his words) to keep my wisdom teeth.

DENTIST: That's a worthy goal. We can do that.

PATIENT: However, what was that you said about fifteen hundred dollars?

DENTIST: (laughs; mimics the hand smacking) How quickly our goals can change!

An Unnatural Act

2010-02-23T06:47:00.000-08:00

No, I'm not talking about some of the more obscure and outdated laws of South Carolina. I'm talking about getting one of my wisdom teeth pulled yesterday. My dentist referred to it as an 'unnatural act' and that your body doesn't want things that are supposed to stay in to be taken out. Judging from the involuntary and quite primal reaction I had to the event, I believe her.

In my writing I've often used the term 'bone crunching' to describe sounds of combat. I now know what that sound is... from up close. I'm laying back in the chair thinking about how I really wanted to keep my wisdom teeth all my life; sort of a personal goal, if you will. They start tugging, pushing, and twisting. I can hear the soft, crackly sounds of ligaments tearing away. Then there's this bone crunching crack and the dentist's hands jerk a little. My arms recoil and I shudder. I can feel the adrenaline flush into my system. The dentist pats me on the shoulder and says that's it. I was minus one wisdom tooth.

It was one bizarre experience that I'm certain I don't want to repeat.

When Worlds Collide

2010-02-16T06:58:00.000-08:00

Well, the Inescapable Black Hole that is Facebook is slowly dragging me under the event horizon. There is no denying that Facebook is a technological jump of quantum significance and it is bringing the modern world along for the ride. It is allowing people to connect with each other in ways never possible before and, like Frankenstein's errant lab experiment, I'm not sure we know exactly where it's headed.

I'm not saying this is a bad thing. (Shoot, the good doctor mentioned above managed to unite the citizenry in a righteous cause and increase market share for burning pitch.) I'm just saying that in days gone by, one was able to leave the past in the past if that was one's inclination. Now, thanks to another technology called a 'camera', the combination of modern advancements and antiquated record keeping are colliding like doomed protons in Geneva. The result could be catastrophic destruction on a global scale or it could be a few red faced explanations to current significant others.

Only time will tell.

Joy and Dismay in .03 Seconds

2010-02-15T06:26:00.000-08:00

It is tradition on Valentine's day around here that there is See's chocolate and helium filled balloons. In fact, it has become such a tradition that Daughter Number One has been talking about it all week, wondering what kind of balloon her daddy is going to get her. So when I showed up with a pink heart balloon she beamed with a radiant joy that could melt a Yeti's scowl. (Son Number Three got a monkey 'be mine' balloon but that's not important right now.) She showed it off to the rest of the family, drew little hearts and flowers on it, and took it everywhere with her for the rest of the morning. Then I'm upstairs watching the Olympics and I hear her little voice say, "I'm going to go outside with it!" Yes, the astute of you know what's about to happen and so did I.

I hear the door open. I hear laughter so joyous you could see the skip in her step with your mind's eye. Then, exactly .03 seconds later, I hear a wailing scream of the most heart wrenching magnitude in all of human history. It is long and drawn out and soul crushing, followed by heaving sobs and the plaintive words of ultimate loss, "My balloon!" The door closes. There is crying and more mournful wailing. It gets slowly louder as she comes up the stairs. I meet her on the landing and she falls into my arms. "I lost your balloon," she says between sobs. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Daddy, I lost your balloon. I tied it twice but it slipped off. I'm sorry, Daddy, I'm so sorry."

I pat her head and rock her back and forth a little. I tell her I love her, I'll always love her, and I'll never not love her.

Then we go to the dollar store and get another balloon.

Idiot Savant

2010-02-13T08:04:00.000-08:00

All of us have special talents. All of us have God given gifts that set us apart from fellow mortals and make us stand out like a green M&M in a bowl of reds. Mine happens to be Star Wars trivia. Wife Number One and Only got me the Star Wars Trivial Pursuit game for Christmas. She knew, rightly so as it turns out, that the game would never be played because I would win in one turn. So now I amuse myself with my unerring ability to pick any card at random and correctly answer six out of six questions. The one or two times that I only answered five correctly it was clearly the card's fault for not being clear enough so I promptly rephrased the question and described the scene in which it happens.

It may not be the gift of tongues or faith healing or whatever, but it makes me special.

Early Review on Love and Revolution

2010-02-08T18:12:00.001-08:00

Wife Number One and Only asked to read Love and Revolution so I emailed her a copy. (From across the room, too. How sad.) Anyway she read it today and her first comment was, "Are your stories always so bloody?"

I kind of scrunched up my eyebrows in a puzzled sort of look. Perhaps, just perhaps, I've become a little de-sensitized to the violence I write about. Perhaps the common person is not quite up to speed on the typical fare that heroic fantasy brings you. I thought back on the action sequences, the fire, the knives, the multiple painful deaths. My response: "That one was tame..."

A Bit More on Love and Revolution

2010-02-06T07:22:00.000-08:00

Love and Revolution is off on the submission circuit. (There's nothing like a deadline to get your creative juices boiling.) One of the things I really like about this story is the hero I've created. For years now my protagonists have been serious and somber and, you know, heavy. I've been wanting to create a hero that's funnier and more flippant yet still heroic. A few attempts here and there have just been failures because I couldn't capture the right mood or the plot developed around the hero hasn't lent itself to that kind of interaction. This time, however, I think I've nailed it. The hero is named Izan and he's a North African Berber trying to rescue a princess from the clutches of the murderous Roman pigs who've taken over their land. Young and rakish, Izan is mostly light-hearted throughout the tale, only becoming dark and murderous himself when it's most convenient. As for the princess, well, she doesn't start out as enamored of him as he is of her. That makes for good fun right there.

Love and Revolution

2010-01-30T12:15:00.000-08:00

I've got to crow a bit about a new first for me. I started a story two days ago and finished it this morning in a creative rush that surprised me a bit. It's called "Love and Revolution" and it's sitting at 4600 words. The final target is five thousand and I'm sure when I put the final bits of flesh on the bones of it I'll have something worthwhile. It's got a different sort of hero than I usually write but he's been kicking around inside me for a while now. Other than the general idea, this story went from inspiration to completion in less that 60 hours. I think that's a record for me but since I wasn't particularly keeping track, I'm not sure. Anyhow, it's fun to chalk up a victory now and then.

The Shortest Short Story

2010-01-29T21:06:00.000-08:00

I ran across this some time ago but have been thinking more about it lately. Ernest Hemingway is credited with writing the shortest short story ever, with just six words to sum it all up. It's an amazing piece, and legend has it that he wrote it simply to win a bar bet. Interestingly, not only is it the shortest short story, it's also the saddest.

For Sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.

North! Or Be Eaten

2010-01-27T06:47:00.000-08:00

For this month's CSFF tour, we're highlighting the book North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson. It's part of a series of books called The Wingfeather Saga and you should check them both out. Since I've noticed most people have a distinct aversion to being eaten, the book promises to be thrilling and chilling. Find someone in the target YA audience and get them this book.

Here's the rest of the tour:
Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Amy Browning
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
April Erwin
Todd Michael Greene
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
New Authors Fellowship
Nissa
Donita K. Paul
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Andrea Schultz
James Somers
Steve and Andrew
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Jason Waguespac
Phyllis Wheeler
Elizabeth Williams
KM Wilsher

Rage Done Right

2010-01-24T17:50:00.000-08:00

Rape, murder, treachery, incest, cannibalism, blood... Ah, those wacky Greeks. Last night I took Wife Number One and Only to see Electra by the Seattle Shakespeare Company. It's part of their expanded season that includes a classical play by someone other than The Bard. Seattle Shakes continues to impress, racking up another winner here that you really should go see.

There were many highlights which all combined to produce one pretty intense experience. Doors open, walk through a vestibule to get to the theatre, and there in an alcove of plain white sits Electra with her back to us watching black and white home movies of her father playing with them as children. Eerie, soulful, and introductory of the mood we're about to be immersed in, the small room is like a padded cell and Electra wears simple white clothing, not bright and gay but dingy and worn.

The stage is grey and harsh, starkly lit by cheap bare bulbs. It's then that you notice a lack of color and vibrancy anywhere. When Darragh Kennan enters as Orestes you again see that everyone is in grey and white. As the story unfolds, you start to realize that color is being saved until the end. And with a play like this, you know the color will be red.

It isn't long before Marya Sea Kaminski as Electra reaches out and grabs you with mourning that seems so raw, you feel you shouldn't be looking at it. Her performance then turns into the rage of a daughter bereft of her father and forced to live with the killers. She surges into a screaming, spittle flying rage that continues to crash into you like an angry sea pounding at a rocky shore.

Add to that the emotional performance of Susannah Millonzi as Chrysothemis, Electra's sister. She plays the part as a simple woman, trodden down and abused yet still hanging on to a thread of innocent cheer like a beaten puppy. She provides the single most emotional moment of the evening when told that the beloved brother she's been waiting for to return has actually died. She begins screaming out "No! No! No! No! NO!" while stamping her feet and trying not to believe it. It's the kind of moment that reaches inside you and pulls tears out of places you don't like to visit.

Then we reach the part of the play where a lot of red is seen. Electra's murdering mother dies backstage at the hands (and axe) of Orestes. Orestes and his accomplice return center stage smeared with so much blood it's dripping off them. A little later the body is revealed and the blood was poured all over the very nice actress who played a very mean mother. But of course we know: Too much is never enough. The murdering new husband shows up and is taken backstage to be axed. Blood begins flowing down the previously white curtain behind the doorway and Electra's revenge is complete.

This show, my friends, is rage done right.

The Maybey Story

2010-01-24T07:34:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago I started a story called "Claws From the Grave of Delta Maybey." Other than a vague idea of setting, probably inspired by the lonely and dark Halloween night around me, I had no idea what to do with it. Well, since I'm between writing projects at the moment I decided to read it over and see what I could make of it. I still like the mood and writing style that I developed and I've added a few hundred more words to it. A full idea has coalesced in my mind and although it smacks of a deal with the devil story, which by all accounts is overdone, I think I can turn it into something that will be cool to read. Also, it should end up being shorter than my latest projects, which tend to become novella in size. It is a departure from the sword and sorcery I had settled into over the last five years or so and that is a good thing. While I am fond of saying 'too much is never enough', the reality is that I know I need to expand a bit. Staying still means you're going backward.

Thunder Canyon Misses the Top Spot

2010-01-15T15:33:00.000-08:00

Well, fourteenth place in the Preditors & Editors Readers Poll isn't bad, considering it's my first appearance there and all. Of course, with all the tied vote tallies it's more like 23rd or something but as we all know: it's nice just to be nominated.

Avatar: Something For Everyone To Hate

2010-01-13T08:03:00.000-08:00

It's amazing who's lining up to criticize this movie, which is shaping up to be the best movie everybody hates. We've heard about the left calling it racist and the right calling it anti-capitalism and anti-military. Anti-smoking groups decry one of the characters for lighting up. Now the Vatican says it leads people towards pagan nature worship. All I've got to say is, since I'm going to see it for a second time (in IMAX3D baby!) next week, if everybody can find something to hate in your movie... you must be doing something right.

Things You Love to Hear the Three Year Old Say While Sitting at the Computer (If You're a Little Twisted)

2010-01-09T09:27:00.000-08:00

"Die, you zombies!"

Vote For Pedro

2010-01-04T15:24:00.000-08:00

No, actually you should be voting for me in the Preditors & Editors Readers Poll. "Thunder Canyon" has been nominated for Best SF&F Short Story, along with a whole bunch of other stories that while equally great are not equally deserving. If you are so inclined, go to the proper website and scroll down for a little while until you find "Thunder Canyon." Click on it and fill out your info in the actually completely harmless boxes. Then remember to answer the confirmation email, which is the last you will ever receive on the matter, and I will thank you for it.

The Top Ten Reasons 2009 Sucked

2009-12-31T17:15:00.000-08:00

Even though Top Ten lists have been scientifically proven to be complete B.S., here is why this last year totally sucked.

10. I had to admit that Daughtry is really good.

9. Despite being thankful to still have a job, the bonuses that make up a considerable part of my compensation package have taken a significant decline.

8. The Wii is broken.

7. I've abandoned more writing projects than I've sold.

6. I haven't spoken to my Dad all year for no reason other than we're both apparently pretty darn lazy.

5. I'm on cholesterol medication number three and I can't tolerate the side effects of it either.

4. I couldn't quite think up enough tidbits from this year to even describe ten ways it sucked.

3. I had a chance to go to Thailand with the Marines but blew it because no one told me I needed a passport until I showed up to get my plane ticket.

2. See Number Four.

1. I lived to regret saying, "If an Obama presidency is the price we have to pay to put the final nail in the coffin of the Clinton Legacy, I can accept that."

If You Love Star Wars AND Star Trek...

2009-12-27T11:06:00.000-08:00

This is then equally funny and thrilling.

Two Good Things

2009-12-21T16:25:00.000-08:00

First, my religious historical story has found a home with the new anthology by Residential Aliens creator Lyn Perry. "Such Great Faith" will appear next year in While the Morning Stars Sing. This news made me walk around the house for most of last evening with a mildly pleasant grin on my face. (That's a big deal.)

Second, Rage of the Behemoth got another great review by James Maxey over at IGMS that you should check out. If you haven't gotten your copy yet, shame on you.

Writing Lessons From Miserability

2009-12-17T16:21:00.000-08:00

While 'miserability' might not be a word, I've re-learned a writing lesson during the crafting of my current dragon story. The first encounter with the dragon went relatively well for the heroes and, after some ominous foreshadowing, they went about their business towards the middle of the story. After a couple of stabs at setting up the middle, I realized my problem was that everything was all sunshine and lollipops for them, with nothing really driving the action to the climax. Even though it meant I had to chuck a major idea that would have been part of the middle, I had to ramp up the tension by changing the end of the previous scene and making their situation a little (and by 'little' I mean 'lot') more difficult. With my characters suitably miserable, the middle is cracking along with some drive and drama. Sucks to be them. But after all, that's what they get paid for.

Thespians Come In All Shapes and Sizes

2009-12-13T20:50:00.000-08:00

First, Daughter Number One had her theatrical debut in a children's musical this morning. As one of King Herod's courtiers, she joined the rest of the chorus in singing about the wise men and their journey to witness the birth of our Lord and Savior. Great fun.

Second, Son Number Three has been watching all of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies for the last few days. Now he is convinced he is Captain Jack Sparrow, complete with pirate sword and pseudo British accent. (He's better with the accent than with the sword, and I've got the bruises to prove it.)

Third, Son Number Two has discovered that if he pretends to be asleep long enough, we'll stop badgering him to come and join us in whatever family outing we've planned and he's protested.

So you see, all the world is but a stage, and we are merely actors playing our parts.

Twelfth Night, or As You Will

2009-12-07T11:08:00.000-08:00

Seattle Shakespeare Company has put together one of the best performances of the Bard’s inventory that I have ever seen. Twelfth Night, or As You Will is absolutely fantastic. In fact, it is likely only second to their own production of The Taming of the Shrew. (Set in a Texas trailer park, that play was so good it is unfair to use it as a yardstick for anything shy of Biblical revelation.)

The festivities began with the actors caroling, leading us in song, (cleverly, we were set up as a punch line for later in the performance) and a drama class warm up exercise that eased us all into a comfortable matinee. While Wikipedia assures me that this is a standard pre-play tactic used by Twelfth Night directors across the fruited plain, I had never seen it done before and even managed to enjoy it.

The improbable fiction then unfolded before us with Viola’s eerie entrance and we were off and running. Several items throughout the production need to be highlighted. Visually, the best moment was the very close of the first act. Curio and Valentine, played by Sean Patrick Taylor and Carter Rodriquez, have a ‘dueling banjos’ face off with the guitars that they had been plucking on throughout the afternoon. When they reached the crescendo of their duel, they both looked up at the stage lights and blew them out, with a little help from a perfectly timed fader in the tech booth.

The surprise of the day had to come from John Bogar’s completely over the top portrayal of Malvolio, whose stodgy and proper ways crumble to reveal the lunacy of true love. It is a joy to watch an actor so give himself over to a role that all shame and self consciousness disappear like the thin vapor of decorum that we each cling to, fearing one great gust of wind to reveal us for what we are. Not only that, but his operatic singing voice was staggeringly good. I mean breath takingly, room shakingly, Simon Cowell can kiss my buttingly good. Other notables included the Fool, played by Chris Ensweiler as a mish-mash of Jew and gypsy and Bohemian Port Townsend street peddler, who, as is always the case, was the wisest one on stage. His rendition of ‘heigh-ho, the wind and the rain’ began to delve into theatrical magic to end the show. Sir Toby and Sir Andrew, played to comedic perfection by Ray Gonzalez and Darragh Kennan, were some of the best drunken sots I’ve ever seen. (And I’ve been 22 years in the Marine Corps. I’ve seen some drunken sots.)

The funniest part of the play came from the sword fight between Viola and Sir Andrew. Each character, convinced that the other is a master swordsman whereas they need simple direction like ‘Front Toward Enemy’ to even pick up a blade, face each other with a hesitancy that is drawn out to its full effect… and then one step beyond. Curio, who was lurking, just visible, behind the set would wait for them to raise steel and then dramatically strum on his guitar like the soundtrack to a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western. Each time he did it the characters would pause and crane their necks to figure out where the music was coming from. Comedy gold.

But the best thing about the performance, by far and away, without question or debate, was Susannah Millonzi. She played Viola with a deftness and subtlety that leave me searching for words I don’t often use, like ‘enchanted’ and ‘enraptured.’ (Like I said, I’ve been 22 years in the Marine Corps. I don’t get enchanted a whole lot.) Her believability came through in every quirk of the eyebrow, every twitch of the fingertip, and every slip of the smile that went from adoration to despair to resolution in the same fleeting instant. It was as if no filter existed between mind and body and she had absorbed Viola’s cause as her own. Whether it was comedy, as in the above crossing of swords, or passion, as she looked upon the unaware Duke Orsino, she was quite simply captivating, in every physical and spiritual aspect that word can be used in. As a matter of fact, she played this part so perfectly that she must forevermore stand like Alexander on the Asian seacoast, weeping for there are no more worlds to conquer.

This is the best Shakespeare you can see on the entire West Coast. (And I can say that because I’ve been to Ashland.) Seattle Shakespeare Company in general, and this production in particular, gets my highest possible rating, given only to those few, those happy few, who over the years have impressed me beyond my already high expectations: They know what the hell they’re doing.

Daggers, Duplicity, and Dragons

2009-12-01T08:40:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick update on my latest writing project which will probably be called something like 'Cold Valley' or 'The Valley Deep and Low'. I'm at 2000 words and counting. As always, I have no idea where it will end up. Set in the mid 7th century amongst the clashing cultures in the southwest corner of Anglo-Saxon Britain, it involves a travelling Welsh dragon slayer, some frightened villagers, Christian missionaries, Celtic sorcerers, dark and spooky settings, human sacrifice, some violence... and a dragon.

Sorry Seems To Be the Hardest Thing

2009-11-23T08:22:00.000-08:00

There's a DIRECTV call center operator out there somewhere who I need to apologize to. Last year, I signed up for NFL Sunday Ticket through some kind of special deal where it was practically free. All very well and good except that I don't remember anyone saying anything about auto-renewal at full price. So here I am wondering why the TV bill has gone up so much lately and I finally grab a statement and read it. Forty-five bucks a month for NFL games that I haven't watched at all. Yes, I should have recognized this sooner but you see, DIRECTV is very clever with the way they bill you. You get an email every month saying that you have a zero balance. How is this? Because they have already charged your credit card so you have to wait for the credit card statement to get an amount. Wife Number One and Only handles the bills so she doesn't know what I've done or not done regarding the TV. When she finally gets around, through no fault of her own, to mentioning that the TV bill seems awfully high I think that it must be some kind of introductory rate that dropped off. Again, oversight on my part but, I think, encouraged by an intentionally obscure billing system.

All this is to say that I was a little short tempered with the guy who answered the phone when I called in to complain and get Sunday Ticket removed and credited. (OK, maybe I was a lot short tempered when he tried to explain 'company policy.') Now my problem is that I clearly owe him an apology but it's practically impossible to find him and do so. So, DIRECTV phone answering guy, if you're reading this... I'm sorry.

How to Fall Off a Barn Roof

2009-11-20T08:23:00.000-08:00

This one is surprisingly easy. The first thing you have to do is get an eight year old friend. We'll call him, oh, Kurt. It helps if you're also eight years old but that's not necessary. Then find a barn, preferably an old barn with attached side buildings used to store tack and channel calves through to get them into a trailer for auction. Make sure you can climb up a rickety wooden ladder and get up to the roof of one of the side buildings. The roof should be about twelve feet high.

Once you've secured all this preliminary equipment, get a small tree frog. The tree frog is really the critical part of this sequence of events. Don't skimp on the frog.

Next, take the frog and your friend Kurt up the ladder, walk out onto the roof and set the frog at the edge. The frog will likely do what it is that frogs do. If it doesn't, poke it in the rump with your finger. Lean forward to watch the frog fall.

(I know what you're thinking. But this is not quite the part about falling off the roof yet. Wait for it.)

Squeal with maniacal eight year old glee and swing down to the barnyard on a handy Douglas Fir branch that is perfectly positioned as a method of reaching the ground quickly and safely. Retrieve the frog.

Climb back up on the roof and repeat the process, only this time letting your friend Kurt push the frog. Squeal with glee. Retrieve the frog.

At this point, since it is clearly your turn to make the frog jump off the roof, you should ensure that you are the one to retrieve the frog. Failure to accomplish this simple task will inevitably lead to the following:

Kurt gets the frog and claims that he's going to take your turn. You don't want to believe him but since possession is nine tenths of the law you realize that you could very soon get screwed out of what is rightfully yours. You follow Kurt up onto the roof and see his happy face turn back to you and repeat that he's going to be the one to push the froggie off the roof and that he's apparently going to delight in intentionally stealing your turn. You explain in brief, eight year old language that you disagree with this course of action, but are powerless to do anything about it because you're watching Kurt run away from you across the roof. You chase him.

Here's where things get interesting. You watch Kurt turn his head and check where the edge of the roof is. He then turns back to resume taunting you while still running at a pretty good clip. You follow, still pleading your case but beginning to accept that as he gets closer to the edge it is more likely that he will, in fact, take your turn. At this point your heart begins breaking because you really, really wanted to push the froggie off the roof and Kurt has done stuff like this before so you're really at a loss for what to do and you begin to reevaluate your position in the universe and wonder how God could be so cruel.

Watch, dumbstruck, as Kurt runs right off the roof at full speed. Stop running and go to the edge to see Kurt sprawled out on the dirt, sucking in air for a pretty good cry if he could ever get it out. Swing down, using the quick and safe method described above, and stand helplessly as Kurt flops about like a dying fish. Run to go get the babysitter. Spend the next couple of hours in the Emergency Room, telling this same story to several different people.

And that's how to fall off a barn roof.

CSFF Tour Participants

2009-11-18T13:36:00.000-08:00

Some pesky computer issues have been worked out and I've got the list of tour participants for Curse of the Spider King. Since Technorati doesn't count links in a sidebar any more I'm posting them here. It makes more sense anyway because the month to month participation keeps changing. My current plan is to keep adding new people to the blogroll on the right even if they don't take part in the tour every time. That will give the sidebar a semi-historical purpose and continue to allow for inter-month cross posting.

Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Amy Browning
Valerie Comer
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Shane Deal
Jeff Draper
Emmalyn Edwards
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Todd Michael Greene
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Tina Kulesa
Melissa Lockcuff
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
Nissa
John W. Otte
Cara Powers
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Jason Waguespac
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson
KM Wilsher

Curse of the Spider King

2009-11-17T05:36:00.000-08:00

The CSFF keeps rolling with great titles. This month we feature Curse of the Spider King by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper. These two guys are like planets that have been orbiting each other for a while and finally collided in a moon creating sort of way. The excerpts I've read prove that this is a book filled with exactly what a great YA fantasy is supposed to have. Plucky kids, villainous villains, and magic both foul and fair. In the hands (and imaginations) of these two, this book is a sure hit.

How to Fall Off a Roof

2009-11-10T08:03:00.000-08:00

This last weekend I was putting a roof over the slide-out portion of our trailer. At an altitude of about 8.5 feet I embarked on a journey of discovery that I now relate to you, the huddled masses. I was on top of the slide-out and trying to climb back onto the step ladder by reaching out with my foot and shifting weight onto it. (You know the spot, that tippy top part where there's big red writing DO NOT STAND.) It began to move a little, which I expected, but then began to move a lot, which I didn't expect. When I tried to pull my leg back I realized, like Wile E. Coyote running off the cliff, that my body was too far over the edge and that I had just purchased a one way ticket to the ground. A few decisions had to be made at this point, and made quickly. I could jump for the ladder and hope that it didn't topple over but a brief benefit-cost analysis suggested that I might not like the result of that. I could let my other foot slip off and try to bend back and grab the roofline but there was a lot of plastic sheeting and a not-quite-yet-stable 2x4 frame that I had halfway nailed together and I knew there were a lot of sharp, pointy things in that direction. So, with very few good alternatives available to me, and with the power of gravity frustratingly not following the Warner Brothers acceleration curve, I decided to just go straight down. It is, clearly, the fastest way to resolve the situation. My descent took me past the ladder and thankfully kept any stray arms or legs from getting caught up in the rungs, which would have been bad. On the way down my shoulder got into a test of wills with a small running light on the side of the trailer. The running light put up a valiant effort but in the end was just outmatched. It snapped off and died a heroic death. After that encounter came the 'contact with the ground' part of this story. That event began with my foot, which had forgotten to retract itself from its position of proximate cause and still thought it was reaching for the top of the ladder. My weight came down on it and it did what feet do when asked to support that much stress that quickly: It gave up and let the ankle take it. Stupid foot. By then the rest of me was finishing up the journey begun .372 seconds before. That's when I discovered two things. First, wet and loamy forest ground with a coiled up hose on it is not a bad thing to fall onto. Second, I'm a genius for cleverly arranging random bricks to be 6 to 18 inches away from me rather than directly under me during this event and break a rib or rupture a spleen.

And that's how to fall off a roof.

How Northwesterners Handle the Outdoors

2009-11-06T07:29:00.000-08:00

Whether it's hanging out on a windswept, rocky beach or holding your head high when the rain comes sideways, people in the Great Northwest have a unique way of enjoying the natural beauty all around us. Take me and the family last night. Raining at the campsite, check. Temperature around 53 degrees, check. Pop up canopy and parkas, check. The result: Perfect campfire weather!

It's Family Fun Night in Western Washington.

Finished

2009-11-03T06:31:00.000-08:00

"The Granite Strand" finally reached its conclusion this morning, clocking in at 17351 words. Now comes the work, of course, of critiques and rewrites and editing and such. But it is always nice to have a completed rough draft to provide the boundaries within which to operate. Until you get to the end you really don't have any definition and can move in any direction that comes to mind. That's how the story grew to the size it is. It will be interesting to see what it becomes.

Greetings From Zombieland, Wish You Were Here!

2009-10-30T08:08:00.000-07:00

Zombieland is living proof that greatness can be achieved if you set your sights low enough. (Or maybe I should say 'unliving proof'.) I shuffled into the dark with little or no expectations of an amusing next two hours. What I got was a big sack of gore (In a risky diversion from zombie protocol, this movie has the unmentionables going for your intestines more often than your brains. Must be easier to get at since they all seem to have bad teeth.) and a whole lot of laughs. I'd say this movie is done very tongue-in-cheek but the living dead have a noticeable absence of cheeks so it's really more tongue-lolling-between-gnashing-teeth but you get my drift. The characters are awesome and over the top, the CGI zombie mayhem is well done, and Bill Murray plays himself. All in all, a very good movie if you like that sort of thing. Not only that but there are lots of handy pointers on how to survive and thrive in the Zombie Apocalypse, which are surprisingly relevant for today's pre-zombie world. Or maybe... we're not so pre-zombie as we think.

Stalking Esterlyn

2009-10-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

While this would be a great title for a new thriller/horror/police procedural novel it's actually what me and the family did last night. We packed the little ones into the minivan and drove up to Calvary Chapel Lake Stevens where Esterlyn was stopping for their Open Your Heart Tour. Any time Esterlyn is in the area we usually find a way to go see them. How many times? Well, let's just say I've now noticed that their trademark collection of lamps sitting out all over the stage have seen better days.

It was an excellent evening of worship songs and a message on serving Christ by bringing His word into your everyday life. At least, that was the part of the sermon I heard before Son Number Three got a little fidgity and I had to excuse myself to wander the halls with him. Pastor Bob Caldwell is from Boise and is touring churches with his son who headlines the band. The guy is hilarious and cuts quickly to the Meaning of Life which is glorifying God instead of trying to glorify ourselves.

If the tour ends up in your area it would be a very good idea to do some stalking of your own and see what's going on with them. And stop at the local dollar store to buy them some new lamps.

Reviews and the Rogue Blades

2009-10-27T21:16:00.000-07:00

Rogue Blades Entertainment gets profiled at Christopher Marshall's blog in November and you should all go there often to see what he has to say. Unless, of course, he says something bad about my stories, in which case you should protest him and stick pins in home made voodoo dolls.

You Can't Take the Sky From Me

2009-10-22T08:20:00.000-07:00

While this may be true if you're Malcolm Reynolds, it's apparently not true here in the American reality we've elected ourselves into. Here's an interesting article on the government capping pay for bank executives who lead companies that took TARP money. This should be disturbing to everyone, even those who cheer for the rich to be humbled. Put very simply, when the government is encouraged by the masses to target and punish a minority group (and they actually do it) we are heading down the road to tyranny.

From a liberty standpoint, this move only highlights that when liberty is reduced anywhere, it is reduced everywhere. What happens to the next target of the wrath of the masses? What happens when we run out of minority targets and we start in on other groups within the majority? Eventually, my friends, they will come for you and your salary.

From an economic standpoint, this is national suicide. The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money. We say we'll only tax the rich in order to pay for all these wonderful government handouts. How can we tax the rich when we systematically destroy their wealth? After a time, what's left to tax? Eventually my friends, they will come for you and your income.

It's staggering to me that people are actually applauding this move. They clearly can't see where this is headed. To quote Star Wars: So this is how democracy ends? With thunderous applause?

We live in interesting times.

Haunt of Jackals

2009-10-20T06:27:00.000-07:00

This month's CSFF tour brings us the coolest title in a long while. Haunt of Jackals is a new christian horror novel by Eric Wilson. It's the second book in the Jerusalem's Undead trilogy, and the entire premise is amazing. I love the idea of taking some passages within the bible and adding a little what-if to them. Throw in some action and danger written by someone competent, and you got yourself something wonderful.

Here's the list for the rest of the tour:

Brandon Barr
Wayne Thomas Batson
Jennifer Bogart
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Amy Browning
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Timothy Hicks
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Julie
Carol Keen
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
Nissa
John W. Otte
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson
KM Wilsher

Marcher Lord Select

2009-10-19T08:09:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting new thrust in the publishing world. Marcher Lord Select by Jeff Gerke, the creator of Marcher Lord Press, is a contest to let readers judge and select a book to be published. It's interesting because I think it just might work. When Amazon.com tried something like this I was stunned by the horrid offerings of dreck and drudgery. Reading some of those submissions was just painful. Gerke knows his way around an editor's desk so I'm thinking that the final entrants will be genuinely worth reading.

Here's a bit from the news release:

"Marcher Lord Select is American Idol meets book acquisitions," says publisher Jeff Gerke. "We're presenting upwards of 40 completed manuscripts and letting 'the people' decide which one should be published."

Of course, I have nothing ready to submit even though "The Granite Strand" is over 16,000 words for a total of 47.7K in the saga so far. Right now I'm still content to keep them as individual short stories but I'm seeing possibilities to keep on going. Maybe next year there'll be an MLS II.

New Yahoo! Still Sucks

2009-10-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

And I can't say that it's growing on me. In fact, the more I try to use it the more I find ways for it to suck worse than it already does. Does anything on the new interface actually work twice in a row or does everyone else get the error message so often that it burns a pattern in your CRT? They must be trying to get into Guinness's for colossal suckism.

I Aim To Misbehave

2009-10-12T15:48:00.000-07:00

Recently I watched the movie Serenity for the first time. Then a couple of weeks later I watched it for a second time. Now, thanks to hulu.com, I'm watching the series Firefly. It's something that I'd heard of and knew there was a rabid fanbase for but knew little more than that.

It's frakkin' awesome.

Just about everything in Serenity was perfect. Spaceships, blazin' bullets, swords, humor, darkness and light... it had everything you need. The libertarian in me loved Captain Mal and his instinctive refusal of government control and 'meddling'. The whole story arc of little guys bringing down the system with the truth was fantastic. Characters were real and flawed and heroic. Summer Glau kicked more butt in this movie than she did in the whole series of Terminator.

Me, as a guy who's not crazy about big government (Remember: A government that is big enough to do anything for you, is powerful enough to do anything to you), who bristles at the sight of red light cameras, who shakes his head at the never ending parade of seat belt laws and helmet laws and cell phone laws and smoking laws, and who cries at the sight of people floating down to their local welfare office instead of evacuating the city like they should have loves Malcom's line that is the title of this post. There may very well be a huge and growing government that thinks it has the right and the obligation to control everything I do in the name of what's 'good for me' but my general response to that is...

I aim to misbehave.

Triond: The Cash Flow Juggernaut

2009-10-07T06:15:00.000-07:00

Once again Triond has sent me oodles and oodles of residual income. Destined to sustain me for the rest of my life, this month's payment of eighty two pennies is one of the biggest, most rewarding paydays I've yet to pull down with them. You too can be bringing in the copper! Just come up with some clever articles like my Life Lessons From the Marines and let the glorious round metallic windfall shower you with goodness. (I feel like mixing up some fruity drinks with umbrellas in them even though it's 53 and cloudy here.)

The Sequel of Life

2009-10-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

After church yesterday I attended the memorial services of a friend's wife, who had been struggling against a degenerative disease for some time. The service was intimate and brief and moving, especially when my friend's daughter stood and told us what a great mom she'd had over the years. It's times like these that make you think about the mortality of your own loved ones. I sit and look around the downstairs play room and wonder what the future holds for everyone that I hold dear.

My friend said something interesting, both sad in a good way and sad in a sad way. He said that life is like reading a book. You're just reading along and turning the pages, enjoying what you have in front of you, and then all of a sudden you turn the page and there's no more writing. You stop and you think, 'Oh. That was it. That was the last page.' In his wife's case he now thinks back, 'Wow, what a good book that was.'

I'm not sure of his or her religious views but I know that, as for me and my house, when the last page is turned and we're all left staring at a blank piece of paper, there's another book sitting on the shelf. Beloved, the sequel of my life has already been written. It just hasn't been released yet. It is rich and full and it's a whole lot longer than volume one. And so I look around the downstairs play room and I'm comforted that God has a plan in place. He has the next book of my life tucked under his arm and He is waiting for just the right time to hand it over. That's a good feeling to have. I pray that all of you feel the same way.

It Ain't Shakespeare

2009-10-03T06:20:00.000-07:00

Bang! Zoom! Heroic Fantasy Quarterly does it again with three powerful stories that lovers of powerful stories will love. The Hand of Afaz is a tale of delivering justice no matter where it takes you, easily one of the best stories I've read in years. Monster in the Mountains, whose title is also its plot, is tough and gritty and would have been a great addition to Rage of the Behemoth. The Waking of Angantyr has a plot of revenge and ghosts and blood magic and hot chicks with magic swords; all the things that make for a rousing tale that not even the Bard could have come up with.

The editors of HFQ have not missed their stride at all with this sophomore edition and I think we have nothing but good things to see from them in the future.

Rekindling Old Flames

2009-09-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

Years ago I ran the sound board for my church at the time, Pacific Church of Irvine. It was a time of rapid set up and tear down, sound checks while tuning up, and Lance Brown having more hair. Then we left active duty Marine Corps life, moved a few times, and ended up back in Washington. We've been going to our current church, Calvary Fellowship, for about 9 years and I've finally decided to volunteer for the sound board again. My, how technology has changed.

They have a completely digital board with switches, buttons, and doo-dads that have a different function depending on what mode the little touch screen has up. They have wireless whatchamathingies and matrices and mixes and on and on and on. While I love the art of sound mixing and the curious route of troubleshooting that are staples in the field, I'm a little overwhelmed by the knobology. I suppose gone are the days of on and off; gain and volume; low, mid and high. Still, I get to listen to the worship sets twice and that's a good thing. Plus, it's just fun. And if you're not having fun, you're missing the stinkin' boat.

The Vanishing Sculptor

2009-09-22T06:34:00.000-07:00

On the bookshelf for the CSFF this month is The Vanishing Sculptor by Donita K. Paul. It belongs to the same world as her DragonKeepers series but is not truly connected so it is a great place for new readers to start. If you're able to dive into a fantasy story and pick up the background story as you move along, you should have no problems with this book. Mrs. Paul has been publishing for a while now and knows how to tell a good tale so those reading in the Christian fantasy genre will enjoy this.

Has Beens and the Haze of History

2009-09-13T07:18:00.000-07:00

I was driving past the Emerald Queen Casino yesterday and saw the marquee trying to distract me from the importance of driving at a high rate of speed. Let it be known to all the land that Billy Squier is headlining soon and all are invited to attend. I had to think for a moment. Billy Squier? Didn't he have like one hit song back in the mid 80's? What the heck is he still doing around and why on Earth should he rate such advertising glory? Then, of course, I realized that with so many entertainment outlets sprouting up all over the country, they need entertainers to fill them with. This is an odd phenomenon. I seem to remember not liking the one song that he had on the radio but now I'm to believe that he was some kind of 80's rock god. It's very interesting to see what a few years and a few cloudy memories will produce.

The Granite Strand Report

2009-08-27T16:36:00.001-07:00

"The Granite Strand" has recrossed the 10,000 word mark (again) as I re-craft the ending to be moodier and more dramatic. What better way to do this than turn an otherwise sunny day for the characters into a dark and stormy night. Lightning! Explosions! Squished peripheral characters! It's turning out to be a much better tale this way.