Well hello!
I have been away for so long I hardly know where to start!
Alex and I completed The Elsbeck Chronicles: Wicked Roots about 2 years ago. There was supposed to be a sequel and so far as I knows, that's still the plan.
Alex recently got married and we have both been very busy living life.
Anyway, my plan is to start writing again and I will likely post my work or links to it here. I hope to get back to work on the Elsbeck Chronicles as soon as possible. Will let you all know what's happening with that.
That's it for now.
So sez I
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Friday, February 22, 2013
Writing vs. Living
So I was just sitting here thinking.... I call myself an author and I am, technically, I have a book on Kindle. I also have three stories in progress, which are currently being trumped by life. I.e., I can't seem to find sufficient time to write anymore due to the pressures of everyday living.
When I work, it's overnight and that throws everything out of kilter. My daughter takes a lot of my attention and I can't get any writing done while watching her (she just turned three). i also have the entire house to take care of as my wife works, my step-daughter goes to school and works and my step-son is only able to do so much.
I love writing and I can't imagine not writing at all, but I can't seem to find the balance.
When I work, it's overnight and that throws everything out of kilter. My daughter takes a lot of my attention and I can't get any writing done while watching her (she just turned three). i also have the entire house to take care of as my wife works, my step-daughter goes to school and works and my step-son is only able to do so much.
I love writing and I can't imagine not writing at all, but I can't seem to find the balance.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Post #10
So here we are, the day after Valentine's Day! Hopefully all those with a sweetheart had a great day and all those without got along okay too!
I myself had a pretty fair day. Nothing major, just hung out at home with my beautiful wife and the kids. We (the wife and I) will likely go out tonight for dinner and a movie. I can't say I'm looking forward to a sappy romantic comedy, but I do look forward to having some time alone with her. We don't often get to go out, just the two of us, but I think it's important for couples to find time for each other. It really helps to keep the relationship fresh.
That's all for now.
I myself had a pretty fair day. Nothing major, just hung out at home with my beautiful wife and the kids. We (the wife and I) will likely go out tonight for dinner and a movie. I can't say I'm looking forward to a sappy romantic comedy, but I do look forward to having some time alone with her. We don't often get to go out, just the two of us, but I think it's important for couples to find time for each other. It really helps to keep the relationship fresh.
That's all for now.
Monday, February 11, 2013
So yesterday was my birthday and I gotta tell you, I was quite pleasantly surprised by all the wonderful gifts! I got a very nice watch from my awesome and amazing wife, and dinner and a movie (gift cards to Regal Cinemas and Longhorn Steakhouse) from my most excellent step-daughter Mirissa.
I am also very thankful for my wife whom I am completely and hopelessly in love with! She is the most loving person I think I have ever known!
I am also very thankful for my wife whom I am completely and hopelessly in love with! She is the most loving person I think I have ever known!
Friday, February 1, 2013
My Journey (in a nutshell)
Let me start by saying that I am not a Christian in the strictest sense of the word. That being, one who has entrusted his life to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
It's not that I don't believe in God, I do. In fact, I have been going to church (almost) every Sunday with my wife, who by the way is a Christian. I have also had some very lively conversations and arguments with the Pastor of our church concerning the book of Romans.
I had a conversation with my wife last night in which she said, "Everyone needs God. We all strive for self sufficiency, but really there is no such thing. Everybody needs God."
Does that include me? Yes, I think it does. Do I trust the Lord completely? Not yet.... But I'm getting there.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
An excerpt from The High Grass. My solo project, still in progress. Comments and feedback are welcome!
Jimmy stood on the hill overlooking the
pasture between him and the farm. He was on his way home from fishing
in the creek and he was probably going to be late for supper. The
pasture was nearly five-hundred yards wide and about two-hundred
yards across. If he went around, as he was inclined to do, it would
take him an hour to reach the back door of his house and the relative
safety of the kitchen. If he went across, it would take about twenty
minutes; he would be home in time for supper and his father would be
less likely to color his backside.
The trouble with going across was that
Jimmy was afraid. He could never quite put a finger on what scared
him so badly about the field, but something was out there. And it
wanted him. Of that he had no doubt. He had spent the better part of
the summer going around the field to reach his favorite fishing spot
in the low hills behind the farm. It extended his journey, but he
didn't care. The thing in the grass was not going to get him, not if
he could help it.
As he stood there at the crest of the
hill with his fishing pole in one hand and the battered old creel in
the other, he could feel the thing looking at him. He wanted to get
home quickly, not only to avoid getting his hide tanned. He wanted to
be out of the thing’s sight. He felt like a jack rabbit that had
been spotted by a coyote.
He took a few steps down the trail that
cut across the face of the hill. He thought of his mother, standing
over the stove frying chicken and mashing potatoes. Checking the
clock hanging over the back door. She always worried about Jimmy,
even when he was upstairs in his room. If he was out fishing or
visiting Sara, his girl, she was likely to have a stroke if he was
late.
She would be getting ready to set the
table, which gave Jimmy about fifteen minutes to get home. Nothing
for it, he would have to cross the field. It would get him or it
wouldn’t, but standing there on the hill was not solving anything.
When he looked to see where he was, he
found that he had come more than halfway down the hill. This was good
news of a sort, it would take him only about ten minutes from here.
It didn’t make him feel any better though. He had made up his mind
to cross the high grass and he wasn’t about to change it.
Jimmy looked at the board fence thirty
feet in front of him and took a deep breath. As he started toward it,
he could feel the sweat sliding down his back and trickling out of
his armpits. He would need a shower before supper.
Something moved off to his left and he
jumped as if he had been poked with a stick. He looked in the
direction of the sound and saw a jack rabbit hopping off up the hill.
“Calm yourself, Jimmy boy,” he said
aloud.
A breeze blew over him, sending goose
bumps racing up and down his body and making his hair stand up on his
head. His t-shirt clung to him unpleasantly and he could smell the
reek of adrenaline in his sweat. He would definitely need a shower.
As he walked slowly toward the fence,
he became aware of a pressure in his middle. He needed to pee.
“Won’t do any good to piss myself
halfway across,” he said to himself.
He stopped and undid his fly, pulled
out his peter and watered the grass. Feeling better about that at
least, he started back toward the fence. The grass was well over his
head; he couldn’t see a foot beyond the fence. Something moved
about twenty yards inside the field straight ahead of him. He heard a
sort of warbling chuckle coming from the same direction. That was no
jack rabbit.
Jimmy was really
scared now. The thing knew he was there, it was waiting for him to
come into the field so it could get him. The sun was getting low on
the horizon behind him, his shadow stood in front of him, wavering on
the grass.
Suddenly, he heard that chuckling again
and the swishing sound of the grass as the thing moved off to the
north. The sound faded until all he could hear was the blood rushing
in his ears.
He stood there listening, but nothing
else seemed to move, except the grass waving in the wind. Jimmy took
a deep breath, grabbed the top rail of the fence and stepped up on
the bottom rail. He stayed that way for a full minute, listening;
ready to jump down and haul ass.
Still nothing moved. He hoisted himself
up and put his right foot on the top rail; he stopped there, his knee
by his jaw. He was about to jump down and run for it when he heard
that odd chuckling sound coming from behind him.
“Great,” he said under his breath.
He hauled himself the rest of the way
over the fence and ran for all he was worth. He could hear something
following him, but was too scared to turn around. The grass whipped
his face as he tore across the field. Sweat ran down his forehead and
got in his eyes, but he kept running.
He could hear nothing but his sneakers
pounding the earth and his heart pounding his ribcage. Just as he was
getting close to the fence at the other side of the field, he felt
something brush against his back. It felt like a hand, only bigger.
He really poured on the steam, racing toward the fence. If he could
get across the fence, he would be safe. It wouldn’t cross the
fence. The hand grabbed at him again, this time ripping his t-shirt.
He could see the fence now, drawing
closer as he tore through the field. Then it was right in front of
him. Without missing a step, he jumped. He grabbed the top rail and
swung both legs over; he landed on the other side and crossed the
yard to the back door.
He could feel the thing watching him,
feel it pulling back into the field. He slumped forward against the
door, resting his head against the window. He stayed that way until
his heart slowed to a reasonable pace, then turned the knob and went
in.
He was greeted by the smell of fried
chicken mixed with the yeasty aroma of biscuits still baking in the
oven.
His mom was setting the table for
supper. She had just set the giant blue bowl she always used for
mashed potatoes on the table. She looked over her shoulder when she
heard the door.
“Hi mom,” he said.
“Hey, just in time for supper,” she
called. She turned to go back into the kitchen but stopped when she
saw him. His t-shirt was soaked with sweat and his face was a pale as
a lilly. She frowned when she saw the rip in his shirt. Jimmy gave
her his best grin to ease her mind.
“I fell asleep by the fishing hole,
had to run most of the way,” he said sheepishly. The story was not
entirely untrue, but it felt like a lie.
“Well, you should pay more attention
to the time,” she said sternly. “Go on upstairs and get a shower,
your father won’t be home for a bit.”
It was after six. Normally his dad was
home by now.
“He working late?” Jimmy asked.
“Yes, he called a little while ago,”
she told him. “There was a fender bender out on the Highway. He
should be here in a half hour or so.”
“Oh, ok,” Jimmy said. He usually
didn’t worry about his dad, but he was unusually jumpy today,
considering. Besides, you never know what’s going to happen when
you’re a deputy sheriff.
Jimmy told his mom he would be down in
a bit and headed for the stairs. When he got to his room, he peeled
off his t-shirt and dropped it by his bed. Then he headed down the
hall to the bathroom. Once there, he pulled off his jeans and
underwear and turned on the shower. He looked in the mirror while he
waited for the water to get hot. It took a few minutes sometimes.
His sandy bangs stuck to his forehead.
His eyes were red from the pollen and dust in the field. He could
feel the sweat drying on his skin, covering him with a salty film
that cracked when he moved.
He stuck a hand under the water to test
the temperature and found it warm enough, so he swung a leg over and
stepped in, closing the curtain in the same motion. He stood there
with the water running over him, feeling the pleasant sting on his
neck. He scrubbed his hands through his hair to get the sweat out,
then grabbed the bar of Irish Spring from the soap tray and rolled it
in his hands. He inhaled deeply, enjoying the scent of the lather; he
wondered if Ireland really smelled like that in the spring.
He chuckled at himself as he spread the
lather over his arms and across his chest. It turned brown almost
instanttly. He really did need a shower. He worked the lather down
his legs and scrubbed his crack thoroughly. He had a serious case of
mud-butt when he got home.
As he was soaping his groin he thought
about his girl. His pecker twitched under his hand as he thought
about her flat belly and the way her jeans held her butt. She had a
great butt. He turned around and rinsed off, if he thought too much
along those lines this would not be a quick shower.
He grabbed the shampoo and and squeezed
some into his hand. He rubbed it into his hair, scrubbing his scalp
as he did. As he rubbed the suds around his head, he thought about
going to see his girl, Sara after supper. It was still summer and he
didn’t have to get up until eight thirty.
He would ask his dad after they ate.
His dad would usually let him go out in the evenings, unless he had
something for Jimmy to do around the house.
Yea, he would go and see Sara. Maybe
he’d kiss her this time. She almost let him the last time he saw
her. Would have too if her mom hadn’t come around the corner.
Either way he would be walking home with a boner. He didn’t care
though. Sara was worth it.
Something to keep in mind...
"Writers have to keep on writing if they want to mature, like caterpillars endlessly chewing on leaves."
--from 1Q84
--from 1Q84
I love this quote. So true, yet so "obvious" we never really think about it.
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