StanleyWheeler

  I begin with the traditional symbol of the season. Daughter did most of the decorations. I contributed by staying out of the way. We had a very merry Christmas, and I hope you did too. If you're wondering what to get with that Amazon gift certificate you got. Let me recommend this book the paperback of which I saw for the first time today. Although my author copies haven't yet arrived, one of my fans had received hers and let me take a gander at it. I like it. Speaking of paperback books: I found this after diligent search some months back. I had to wait a lengthy time for it to arrive. I've been reading it in gulps of a chapter or so at a time on a weekly basis. I enjoyed the book and would recommend it if you have even the least bit of interest in Desaix. Without a doubt, Napoleon owes his victory at Marengo to Desaix's timely return to the field. Fortunately for Bonaparte, Desaix wasn't able to remind him of that fact with every breath he took by surviving the ...

 Author Interview with Ron Lahr  Author of The Kathaldi Chronicles Please tell me a little about your current work in progress. Right now I’m extremely close to finishing the first draft of the third book in my Kathaldi Chronicles epic fantasy trilogy, Destroyers of Kathaldi. The plan is to finish it next week, get to editing and rewriting, and release it on Monday, July 26 th . The books are about Dirk, a sarcastic thief, who is reluctantly drawn in to helping his friends try to save the Gods, and the world, from an ancient evil. Where did you get the idea for this book or series? I wrote the first draft of book one, Children of Kathaldi, around twenty-five years ago. As a huge fan of fantasy it started with trying my hand at world building. I filled a binder with information about the races, Gods, towns and cities. As I worked on the history of the world the story just emerged. Do you write in more than one genre? I definitely do. I’ve already mentioned the fantasy and I...

 It's alive. Or, it's live. I did it. The Shrinking Zone is live on Amazon .  This is my 9th novel. 9 is the number of novels I have written. The novels I have written are 9 in number. It all began with Justice in Season , which I wrote back in 2000-2002, and put on the big river site in 2012. I followed that with Smoke , and the sequel to the first novel Justice Resurrgent  in 2018. The following year I published Threading the Rude Eye , and Power to Hurt , the first two books in my alternate history fantasy Tomahawks and Dragon Fire series. The third book in the series, Clamorous Harbingers , came out in 2020. I published two more books in 2021: Promise of Carnage and Flame , book four in the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire series; and this new stand-alone, The Shrinking Zone . The more astute among you, or anyone who can count, may notice that that only totals 8 books. Well, I wrote another one, Finding Jack-The Orb , which is the first in a trilogy, but I have no idea when...

  It's Dystopia Monday. (That's not really a thing. It's only for today).  I've finished reading: Here's the review I posted at goodreads: Marina Fontaine's Chasing Freedom takes the reader into the belly of the rebellion and doesn't stop there. The rebellion is no overnight success. The story goes on for years. It follows the personal lives of multiple characters. Bad things happen. People die. This is a dystopia and things get worse before they get better. However, this is a story steeped in hope. In the midst of cruel atrocities, hope comes through.  __________ I considered using the same title font for my dystopian novel,  The Shrinking Zone , but instead elected to go with this cover and font: Here's the description I've chosen: Something is rotten in the USA. The red-eyed results of clandestine government experiments attack isolated farms in the broken desert. Oppressive regulations, arrogant officials, and surveillance drones restrict movem...

  The Corsican Brothers were here at the Chateau du Chat Gris for Thanksgiving. The K-man got to help light (reluctantly) the final batch of coals I used to finish off the turkey. The bird turned out great, by the way, with a light smoke and orange flavor. It may have been as good as the turkey I smoked last year. Following the gratitudinal repast, the four-wheeler refused all entreaties. It could not be persuaded, cajoled, or prodded into service. Instead, we enjoyed a rousing game that I made up on the spot. RC wanted to play a game with the Star Trek figures, and K-man manifested boundless enthusiasm for the idea as well. With five figures, a hunk of rigid insulation for a game board, homemade scenery and obstacles that consisted of a ruin, a big rock (played by an actual rock) a few trees and a wooded area, and the Guardian portal from The City on the Edge of Forever which came with some of the figures, along with several six-sided dice, some bottle caps and red wax, we sat dow...

  I was going to give the main character a flip phone in a holster. It would have been perfect for him. Except the dystopian society in which he lives in the high desert of the Western U.S. won't let him have one. He doesn't meet the necessary criteria and his son has possible ties to a suspected domestic terrorist group. Electricity is an intermittent luxury for him and his wife. The internet and cell service are only two of the things the government has forbidden to them.  (here's a photo of a lizard completely unrelated to the novel I'm writing) In this dystopian thriller, Don is a hardworking, blue-collar man just trying to survive. When his best friend's daughter is taken by the half-crazed subjects of clandestine government experiments, he calls on Don to help save her. How can Don rescue the girl when he must struggle against a power-mad demagogue in the desert, savage hybrid beasts, rebel forces, and the crushing power of a state rushing toward totalitariani...

 Links to my books are above. Author Interview with Cully Mack Author of The Voice That Thunders Series Please tell me a little about your current work in progress. I’m over halfway through writing my Voice That Thunders Series and currently I’m writing book five. The series features siblings, Mirah and Gabe, who become central characters along with a band of rebels fighting against immortals conquering their realm. Think epic battles with Immortals and beasts of all kinds, throw in elemental magic, huge plot twists, portals and unique worlds, and an ever-growing number of characters trying to save their world. If you love character-driven fantasy, you'll love my books. I warn you now; I don't go easy on them. Where did you get the idea for this book or series? I have a fascination for mythology. The older the better. My primary sources are from myths from Mesopotamia. Most people have never heard of them. This is because, until around 150 years ago, the cuneiform tablet...

  I've finished reading Distopia by Robert Kroese. This novel is book 2 in the Land of Dis series and seems to be a prequel to the first book. I haven't read the first book and I picked up this one for only 99 cents. It was money well spent. Our protagonist Wyngalf is on a proselytizing mission for his little known faith. He soon finds himself voyaging to a distance shore from which no ships have returned. Along the way, he encounters the green dragon Verne, a runaway girl named Evena, and an erudite outcast goblin who is given to the study of philosophy. The goblin may be the most sane character in this story.  The narrative, in my opinion, is Candide with dragons and goblins. The book has been compared to Prachett's work, but I enjoyed it more than I cared for The Color of Magic . Like Candide, Wyngalf (or Simply Wyngalf) is a naive character who faces frequent challenges to his religious and philosophical views. That is to say, they are challenged to the extent he has ev...

  Fun Fact:  Let us cast a glance, or un coup d'oeil , at the French for this bit of history. In 1830, Charles X, King of France, issued the Four Ordinances of St. Cloud. Apparently the king felt that the elected government was too radical (and he had no desire to serve as a mere constitutional monarch, considering the kingship his birthright by divine right and all). These ordinances abolished freedom of the press, dissolved the newly elected Chamber of Deputies (the lower house of the French parliament which contained a majority elected in opposition to the king's policies), reduced the future number of deputies, curtailed the powers of the deputies, and disfranchised a huge portion of the electorate. You might think that such steps would be ill-advised in a nation that had already demonstrated a willingness ride the regicide railway to the bloody end. You would be right.  If Charles X considered the citizens revolting before he issued the ordinances, he gained new insi...

  Author interview with Anne Miles Author of Sorrowfish Please tell me a little about your current work in progress. Hi, I am writing the first sequel to my debut fantasy book Sorrowfish . Sequels are in a way harder then first books I think. You’re basically writing a MIDDLE of the story, act 2 if you will –but as its own book. So to make it interesting and fun and wondrous and not bore your readers you must continue to inject surprises. Where did you get the idea for this book or series? I was brainstorming while in the midst of a horrible divorce in 1998 and this is what I came up with. It took me a long time to work up the courage to actually write the story. Do you write in more than one genre? No, I only write fantasy, though I could possibly turn part of this story out as a thriller and get away with it. Tell me about something that you believe makes your writing unique or worthy of attention. It’s chick-lit-wrapped epic fantasy with a splash of bourbon. Booknest said it was...

  Today I saw that someone else has also written a book which mixes fantasy and history with the founding of the United States. I'm guessing it would fit in the flintlock fantasy category. The author is John B. Hood  John Hood and the book is called Mountain Folk . I believe it may be part of a series. He seems to have taken a radically different approach than I have, and I'll have to read it, but not until I've finished my own Tomahawks and Dragon Fire series. If you follow this blog, you know that I've complete the first four books in the series and have written some of book five. The plan is for book five to go through 1776, and book six will get through the Saratoga campaign -- of course, plans can always change. Fun Fact: I also discovered an interesting historical figure, Timothy Murphy. Mr. Murphy was an expert marksman with his flintlock rifle. He could hit a seven inch target at 250 yards. He is credited with the shooting of General Simon Fraser and Sir Francis...

  I want to talk about some fun characters, but first there's this review by youtube sensation Zach Johnson. A while back I provided him with copies of the first three books of the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire series. In this video, he only shows the first book, but he's talking about the first three. Yes. Yes. We know this series is fantastic. I would like to discuss some of the characters from the series, and some characters from my other books as well. Let me start with the first character of my first book. The protagonist from Justice in Season , a western set in  1860's Idaho Territory, was based on an actual person. In fact, many of the events in the book are fictionalized versions of some historical events. The historical figure wrote his own history in which we tend to see him in a positive light only, full of courage and determination. In crafting the fictional character, Victor McBride, I tried to preserve the courage and determination while furnishing him with a new...

  For a ration of pure fun, I recommend this book The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a compilation of stories told by the fictional narrator, Etienne Gerard, of his adventures in Napoleon's Conflans Hussars. Gerard tells the stories in his old age, and humility has not dimmed the recollection of his fantastic exploits in the service of the Emperor. I suppose action adventure comedy would be the proper term to apply to the compilation. Much of the comedy arises from the narrator's bravado and false sense of modesty.  The actions here are not the great deeds in the big battles of the era, but brave and gallant adventures, missions for the Emperor that occur on the fringes of the historic events. A few of the stories are remarkably similar to the adventures of Bernard Cornwell's Richard Sharpe character. By following a French hero, Doyle lets the reader romp about Europe instead of being confined to the peninsula. We see Gerard not only in Spain and...

  Author Interview with Sean Valiente Author of: Lightning Knight 1. Please tell me a little about your current work in progress. My current WIP is the second book in my series! I’m about five chapters in and I’m already in love with it!   2. Where did you get the idea for this book or series? It’s kind of a culmination of a lot of different ideas and experiences, but mostly I write from the perspective of the characters and they take me on their own adventures. It’s very exciting.   3. Do you write in more than one genre? I stick to the fantasy genre because that’s what I love and that’s what I know. But that’s not to say there aren’t sub-genre’s that my books will have – fantasy with an aspect of political thriller, fantasy with a horror, etc.   4. Tell me about something that you believe makes your writing unique or worthy of attention. It’s kind of a perfect blend of the classical fantasy that you know and love, but also some different takes a...

I've missed a couple weeks - but with good reason. We were having a hot time in the old town. The old town was in another Washington County, but not my Washington County. The temperature there rose quickly to 106 degrees and stuck there like the needle of the fuel gauge on the old Dodge Dart. Pardon me while I digress. After some driving, the needle on that fuel gauge would drop from full, or from whatever level I had filled it in the usual manner until it reached a quarter tank. It would remain at a quarter tank as long as I kept driving. I knew that the next time I drove it, I could go anywhere, but then I would have to gas up after the trip. I could go anywhere on a quarter tank: One trip to school and back, a trip to Caldwell and back, wherever. It didn't matter how far I went. The needle would stay at a quarter tank until I returned, at which point it would measure empty--there was no in between, no 1/8th of a tank, no almost empty. It went from a quarter tank straight to ...

  Time traveling with Rachel McAdams was the theme for the week--at least as far as movies go. Two movies blipped onto my radar recently: The Time Traveler's Wife and About Time .  In both films, Rachel McAdams plays the object of the time traveler's affections. In The Time Traveler's Wife, the time traveler has no control over when and where he is taken. He is taken to significant times in his or his wife's life. He actually meets her when she is a child. Although that's the first time she meets him, it is not the first time he meets her--because her life progresses in linear fashion, while his jumps about in time. In addition to the complete lack of control over when, and when, his leaps about time also pull him without purse, scrip, or clothing. It's a very touching film. The lack of control and the spotty knowledge of the future add to the emotional impact. Eric Bana plays the time traveler.  I give it 5 out of 5 time warps. In About Time , which I watched ...