I was all primed to do a review of Top Gun: Maverick with an additional paragraph or two concluding with how I. Am. Maverick. 

Fortunately, I decided against that. You're welcome.

Yesterday the Corsican brothers were here and set up round two of a miniatures game. I neglected to get pictures. In this case they had to slay a dinosaur (a real challenge) from which they would take a key that would unlock a tumbling tower. At the tower they had to remove a block and make it fall down (no challenge at all), and find the block with the code that they would use to get into a secret room on the other side of the board. The rules they have made with only slight guidance from me allow them to move and also to move the creatures, which they have also created. The creatures, in addition to the two dinosaurs (actual plastic dinosaurs), included a plethora of black leeches (the ends cut from the legs of several giant, black plastic spiders), two giant spiders, a transparent (represented by the translucent insert from an Old Spice deodorant), a longrad (consisting of two pens placed end-to-end), and the golden turtle (a turtle keychain). In the game we had played a couple weeks ago, they had made the creatures too powerful and had been unable to defeat them. They trimmed back the excess power and played the first "level" again, and it worked out pretty well. That one was difficult, but they were able to win. 

This time (the second level), the game made a pretty terrible story. While one of them occupied himself with collecting leeches with which to tame the transparent, the other had the longrad attack the dinosaur, and then joined in the attack on the dino. In the fairly short game, the transparent was tamed, and the dinosaur slain. The tower was tumbled, the code block found, and the two simply transferred to the special room with the code to level up--all anti-climactic and nearly as exciting as watching a bathtub fill. Afterward, I tried to explain that stories--and games--are better when things are not too easy (and the rules don't constantly change to benefit them). The story is better when the characters don't succeed easily. I didn't explain how there should be tension on every page, or go into my little speech about "The Trauma, The Drama, and The Dream," but I did try to help them understand that stories and games are more interesting and satisfying if things are difficult to accomplish and success comes after a series of failures, or after overcoming several very challenging obstacles. 

I'm not sure they got it. They wanted to get right into the next game, but I assured them we didn't have time to make a new board, add new creatures, and to play before they had to go home. One of the brothers finally asked a question--and I don't know whether it was with regard to not starting a new game, or my lecture on making things more challenging. He asked, "Why are you stifling our creativity?" Either way, it was pretty funny.

 

Interview with J. E. Taylor

Author of

The Season of The Dragon Series, A Fractured Fairy Tale Series, and more

Please tell me a little about your current work in progress.

My current WIP is a fun foray into vampire hunting that goes wrong. It’s an Urban Fantasy and the first book in my Shades of Night series. My main character works for an agency that hunts monsters and she ends up being on their most hunted list. Whatever could go wrong, does.

I’m also working on my 9^th Fractured Fairy Tale, a beauty and the beast retelling where Belle is the beast and has to over come a vanity curse.

Where did you get the idea for this book or series?

For Wicked Heart, the idea came when I saw the premade set and has percolated for a bit while I wrote my Season of the Dragon trilogy.

I am an extremely visual person and covers do generate ideas for me. Sometimes the ideas grow fast and furious the way Silent Night did for me when I saw that cover last year. That one was immediate, and it took less than a month to write that short story. But others, like Belle have taken a while for the details to form.

Do you write in more than one genre?

Yes. I write in Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Horror, Thrillers, Mystery, Suspense. Everything has a supernatural suspense theme woven through it regardless of the genre.

Tell me about something that you believe makes your writing unique or worthy of attention.

My books hold my reader’s attention, and they are compelled to finish the story. They care about the characters I’ve created which is always good. I tell the kind of stories that I want to read, so that excitement and passion comes through on the pages.

Is there anything about your personal history or personality that manifests strongly in your writing?

Not that I am aware of, but my husband tells me he can see pieces of me in my characters. I guess my strong will may lend itself to my characters. I’m a bit stubborn on things I believe in and it takes quite a bit to sway me from a path that I’ve focused on.

What else would be helpful for readers to know about you?

Most people when they meet me can’t believe I write such dark stuff. I am usually the one in meetings that cracks a joke or makes people laugh to ease the tension.  And I smile a lot. I’m basically a happy well-adjusted person, but I do have a very dark imagination and I always have. The what ifs are my favorite muse to follow. I would be Alice going into that rabbit hole just to see what was on the other side.

Excluding your own work, what underrated author or book would you recommend that more people read? Why?

Katie Salidas. Her Chronicles of the Uprising series was an awesome take on vampires and supernaturals. And her Agents of Asset series is lighter than Chronicles of the Uprising, but it is just as entertaining.  She has other bodies of work, but these two series are some of my favorites. It also doesn’t hurt that we ended up co-writing a series after years of beta reading for each other.

Which of your books do you most highly recommend? Why?

This is a tough one because it all depends on what genre the reader is looking for.

For Mystery and thriller readers, Crystal Illusions is the easy answer.

For Urban Fantasy readers, Season of the Dragon because it has a kick ass female lead that wants to save the world.

For Paranormal Romance readers, my fractured fairy tale series because who doesn’t love a good fairy tale romance.

And for those that need a little Christmas spirit any time during the year – pick up Silent Night. You won’t be disappointed.

Which break, event, decision, or fortuitous circumstance has helped you or your writing career the most?

Backspace.org.  It doesn’t exist anymore, but there used to be conferences in New York City every year and I attended a couple of these. And I was even on a panel for one. Every single person I met in that online community from the big authors to the little fishes were all very giving of their time and feedback. Some of my long-time writing friends are from that group and I trust them with my unedited work.  Between Backspace and Margie Lawson’s writing courses, I was able to develop my writing to the point of getting my first acceptance with a small publisher.

What question do you wish you would get asked more often?

I am completely blanking on this. I’ve been in the writing business for fourteen going on fifteen years, and there doesn’t seem to be much I haven’t been asked or asked myself in interviews. I guess one that comes to mind now that I’ve babbled a little is “What’s your favorite supernatural power that you’ve written?”

Do you have a catch-phrase or quote that you like? What is it? And why do you choose it?

It has been a while since I used a catch phrase, but I did have one for a while. After writing my first book Survival Games, my catch phrase became Game On. I got to resurrect that in The Death Chronicles II as well, which was the series that I finished before Season of the Dragon.  And it still applies. My character, Ty, said that phrase often and to this day, Ty is my favorite character that I’ve written. My catch phrase is his battle ready stance.

______________________________

Thanks to J.E. for participating.

In my own writing this week, things have continued to come together. The book is nearing the halfway point. I've long envisioned the climactic battle at what has become a famous landmark for the events that transpired there, and I know how the relevant protagonists and antagonists are going to converge in a fiery air and ground combat at a historically significant event. However, some characters have separate adventures that will take them elsewhere. Two of the parties will eventually intersect at a different location with a different antagonist, though whether they actually make contact with one another is a detail that hasn't yet become clear. Dragons, gryphons, stone cats, and a new beastie based loosely on Indian legend are prominent players in book 5 of the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire series.

If you haven't picked up your free copy of the prequel to the series, In Death Bedrenched, you can get it at either of these two sites:

In Death Bedrenched at StoryOrigin

In Death Bedrenched at BookCave

 Minas Tirith and The Shire: Parallel Problems on a Different Scale

In reviewing my highlights from my reading of The Lord of the Rings, a couple years ago I struck by some parallels between Minas Tirith and the Shire. This isn't a full treatment of the matter, but some simple observations based on fuzzy memory and haphazard highlights.

The reader gets an impression of Gondor's great city of Minas Tirith as a mighty fortress which has long held against the dark lord and his minions. It sounds both beautiful and invincible. When Frodo sees the fortress from afar, atop Amon Hen, hope leaps in his heart. It is "white-walled, many towered, proud and fair in its mountain-seat," with battlements glittering with steel. He also sees another fortress, "greater and more strong," the Tower of Barad-dur, and all hope leaves him. (Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, p. 401).

Tolkien continues to dribble details and descriptive elements which reveal that Minas Tirith is even weaker than it appears. It is a city which has allowed many of its strengths to dwindle into weakness, retreating before the darkness, and hiding its own light.

-Yet even so it was Gondor that brought about its own decay, falling by degrees into dotage... (p. 678)

-domed tombs of bygone kings (p. 752)

-falling year by year into decay; (p. 752)

-dead tree, and the falling drops dripped sadly from its barren and broken branches back into the clear water. (p. 753)

-avenue of kings long dead. (p. 754)

-‘It is a black night, and all the blacker since orders came that lights are to be dimmed within the City, and none are to shine out from the walls.' (p. 772)

-'The Darkness has begun. There will be no dawn.’(p. 772)

-comes from Mordor, lord,’ he said. ‘It began last night at sunset. From the hills in the Eastfold of your realm I saw it rise and creep across the sky, and all night as I rode it came behind eating up the stars. Now the great cloud hangs over all the land between here and the Mountains of Shadow; and it is deepening. War has already begun.’ (p. 801)

-But soon there were few left in Minas Tirith who had the heart to stand up and defy the hosts of Mordor. For yet another weapon, swifter than hunger, the Lord of the Dark Tower had: dread and despair. (p. 823)

Sauron attacks a sick and moribund opponent. Nevertheless, good prevails. Brave men and manifestations of magical--even divine--power save Minas Tirith from the first onslaught of Sauron's armies, and the destruction of the ring unmakes the evil one himself. The great city is saved and restored to glory.

But what about the Shire? The oft-overlooked end of the tale with the hobbits returning to what was formerly a garden paradise delivers a poignant message. The small heroes left to fight evil in far away places to prevent it from consuming their homes. When they return, evil has arrived before them, and their homeland has, like decaying Minas Tirith, lost, or at least forgotten its strengths. While Gondor is restored, the Shire has become a police state instead of a paradise. The gardens are destroyed. The Party Tree has been cut down. A parade of restrictions, rules, and misfortune are presented to the arriving heroes:

-It’s like a bit of the bad old times tales tell of, I say. It isn’t safe on the road and nobody goes far, and folk lock up early. We have to keep watchers all round the fence and put a lot of men on the gates at nights.’ (p. 992)

-‘I am sorry, Mr. Merry,’ said Hob, ‘but it isn’t allowed.’ ‘What isn’t allowed?’ ‘Taking in folk off-hand like, and eating extra food, and all that,’ said Hob. (p. 999)

-‘We grows a lot of food, but we don’t rightly know what becomes of it. It’s all these “gatherers” and “sharers”, I reckon, going round counting and measuring and taking off to storage. They do more gathering than sharing, and we never see most of the stuff again.’(p. 999)

-and on every wall there was a notice and a list of Rules (p. 1000)

-‘But if there are many of these ruffians,’ said Merry, ‘it will certainly mean fighting. You won’t rescue Lotho, or the Shire, just by being shocked and sad, my dear Frodo. (p. 1006)

-‘This is worse than Mordor!’ said Sam. ‘Much worse in a way. It comes home to you, as they say; because it is home, and you remember it before it was all ruined. (p. 1018)

Fortunately, the heroes are up to the task.

-But if I may be so bold, you’ve come back changed from your travels, and you look now like folk as can deal with troubles out of hand. (p. 995)

-You must settle its affairs yourselves; that is what you have been trained for. Do you not yet understand? (p. 996)

They refuse to obey the oppressive rules, rally the good folks, and overthrow the tyrant and his minions. They throw off the yoke of tyranny largely on their own, without supernatural aid. Merry does blow the horn he had received from Eowyn, which struck fear into the hearts of enemies. It is in the restoration where the magical or divine power is manifest: Galadriel's gift to Sam, along with the hobbits' hard work, make the Shire blossom again.

It's interesting to note that we first heard the Horn-call of Buckland in the Shire to sound the alarm against the black riders in the early chapters of the story--and it had not been heard then for over a hundred years. Boromir had a horn. Aragorn was given a silver horn. A number of horns call to battle and assembly on both sides of the conflict. At one point, Merry wishes he had a horn to blow and could ride to the rescue like Eomer--and he does so in the Shire.

Both Minas Tirith and the Shire suffered from evil's attacks and their own failure to resist sufficiently when they were strongest. They allowed themselves to be weakened. They neglected their strengths, and fear and despair stole their hope. Gandalf and Aragon brought new hope and strength to Minas Tirith. Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Frodo raised the Shire to remember their strength and provided hope for success amid fear and despair.

 

Author Interview

with JA Duxbury

Author of Heart of Deception and Dark Dimensions

Please tell me a little about your current work in progress. I am currently working on a partial rewrite of a sequel and a paranormal story.

Where did you get the idea for this book or series? I got the idea of the first book from a dream I had.

Do you write in more than one genre? I do. My chosen genre is sci fi but I write from my dreams so it depends on what genre they're in.

Tell me about something that you believe makes your writing unique or worthy of attention. I believe that I can take people on a journey away from the daily grind and monotony to places where they can get involved with the characters and events.

Is there anything about your personal history or personality that manifests strongly in your writing? I really don't know. I have thought about that question but I can't pinpoint anything but our experiences do dictate what we know to be possible and impossible so I suppose my general knowledge comes to the fore.

What else would be helpful for readers to know about you? My characters rarely swear and I only touch lightly on romance. So, if you're looking for hot steamy sex scenes, you need to try someone else's writing.

Excluding your own work, what underrated author or book would you recommend that more people read? Why? I would recommend Kelly Blanchard Dale and her husband Matthew. They combine a magic environment with a scientific environment in a seamless way.

Which of your books do you most highly recommend? Why? Oh, now that's a hard one. I like all of my books equally. If you're into military stuff, though, I'd recommend Dark Dimensions. It's about a vampire/human clan who are lost travelling dimensions and some of the dimensions they reach have battles going that they get drawn into.

Which break, event, decision, or fortuitous circumstance has helped you or your writing career the most? It was a sad event. My niece died of cancer and I took the time to re-evaluate my life, giving myself a target of 5 years after which I would concentrate on writing.

What question do you wish you would get asked more often? When is your next book coming out?

Do you have a catch-phrase or quote that you like? What is it? And why do you choose it? Timing is everything. Because if something happened a second or so earlier or later, the outcomes could have been completely different.

________________________________

Thanks to JA for participating.

I was at a wedding this week and met several old friends. Some friends, who also used to be neighbors, told me that they had read my noir detective novel Smoke, and lavished me with praise for the novel. What can I say? It's my favorite book too. Or, maybe they felt compelled to say something nice and my personal appearance didn't do them any favors in that regard, so they chose the next available subject. I told them that I could talk all night about my books, but that I would refrain and simply accept their praise and complimented them on their excellent taste. We talked about old times for a while. It's great to see old friends and reminisce about the times we shared and how things used to be, as well as catch up on what how we've all been doing since. 

Of course, there were a couple guys I hadn't seen since high school. They had the audacity to pretend that they didn't recognize me or have a clear recollection of who I was. Neither was from my class; one was older and one was younger. They put on a really good act--I almost believed them--but I was the most memorable guy I knew in high school, so they were obviously pulling my leg.

AND if you haven't picked up a FREE COPY of my prequel to the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire, In Death Bedrenched, get it here by clicking this link.

 

Here's an essay or at least some ramble about the Declaration of Independence.

 

Author Interview with 

Isra Sravenheart 

Author of The Dark Spell Series

Please tell me a little about your current work in progress.

I am currently working on a spin off to my up and coming Dark Spell series that will be completed in Feb/ March 2022. I won’t be revealing too much just yet but it does feature some of our main characters and some of the more unknown ones that have played a part in the prequels respectively when we do a time jump to when Isra was aged 17 onwards.

Where did you get the idea for this book or series?

I didn’t specifically get it from any particular place or outlet but at the time I was in a bit of rut with my own life having been ghosted by a former partner and having already been interested in fairytales that type of genre for many years, I just started typing one September evening and that was the beginning fragments of what is now “Her Dark Soul”

Do you write in more than one genre?

Yes but mainly dark fantasy. However my first PNR “Forbidden Rendezvous with the Devil “ comes out in May 2022

Tell me about something that you believe makes your writing unique or worthy of attention.

I’ve written a very prolific series with characters that readers love and are invested in where it’s been taken to all kinds of extremes. Themes include: Dark versus light, the darkness within oneself, own personal demons, forbidden love, tragic loss, heartbreak and has still remained popular.

Is there anything about your personal history or personality that manifests strongly in your writing?

Probably my own self-reliance. 

What else would be helpful for readers to know about you?

I like coffee and cats. A lot. I also have a sense of humor. I don’t talk book land shop all day either. I am very partial to a good fantasy film or even a binge-worthy series on Netflix. 

Excluding your own work, what underrated author or book would you recommend that more people read? Why?

My publicist Michael Evan is extremely prolific and churns out a lot of great work. He does more writing than me and is very disciplined while still producing quality. 

Which of your books do you most highly recommend? Why?

Kissing Darkness. Dark Spell #5, it’s the climatic novel out of the prequels and I would say the most deep one in terms of our four main characters, Isra, Astrid, Everilda and Samuel.

Which break, event, decision, or fortuitous circumstance has helped you or your writing career the most?

The best decision I made that has benefited my writing was self publishing via a vanity publisher the first time around because I learned so much about the industry that I may not have done without doing that. 

What question do you wish you would get asked more often?

Why aren’t there enough cats in the world? Cats are cool.

Do you have a catchphrase or quote that you like? What is it? And why do you choose it?

It is what it is. Simple but punchy. Let things go, move on. Don’t allow yourself to be dragged down by negativity. Sometimes we have things happen that aren’t so great but we can choose not to be dragged down by those circumstances to a point whereby we may not be happy at all and constantly stewing in that mindset. And another I like, if it’s meant to be it will be. Don’t sweat it.

_____________________________

Thanks to Isra for participating.

Before I go any further, here's where you can get a free copy of In Death Bedrenched, the prequel to the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire series -- On StoryOrigin.

Or, if you prefer--On BookCave.

This wasn't a week for an author interview. That was supposed to be next week, but I forgot--and I wasn't prepared to churn out a witty or thought-provoking piece.

With In Death Bedrenched launched--and one of my advance readers has already posted a review on Amazon--I've been free to resume writing book 5 of the series. It's a pleasure to get back to my friends in the series. Charles and Antonio are in adventures on land and sea; Alex and Lucette face serious difficulties and intrigue on multiple fronts; Atu and Iago have sought out former acquaintances which bring them new complications; and the dragon hunters must grapple with the corrupting influence of unbridled power in their midst.

Author Interview 

with Frederick Key 

Author of: McMann & Duck: Private Investigators, 

Larry and the Mascots, Cobalt Agonistes, and more

Please tell me a little about your current work in progress.

Last year I completed a mystery novel entitled McMann & Duck: Private Investigators. It takes place in 1951 in a small Texas town. As I write this I am polishing up the outline for a sequel that takes place eight years later. I became so interested in the main character, a World War II army vet, that I envisioned a series of mystery novels about him because I enjoyed his company so much, and much about him remains secret. We don’t have much in common, however, although we are both usually polite.

As to whether he will survive these books, well, that remains to be seen.

 

Where did you get the idea for this book or series?

A boring meeting. I am an inveterate doodler. I doodled my way through school. I had college notebooks that looked like the walls of pyramid chamber. One day I was in a dull meeting and I started to sketch, and a man in a suit and fedora looked back at me, smoking a cigarette. By his side was a duck. I wondered who they were, and off I went. C. S. Lewis famously started Narnia with a vision of the lamppost and a faun under it in the snow, and this kind of struck me the same way.

 

Do you write in more than one genre?

Yes. I’ve written mostly mysteries, but also contemporary fantasy novels. Larry and the Mascots, where a college student meets a crew of living advertising mascots, and I’ve Got This, a middle-grade book about a boy with an unusual superpower, fall into that category.  Cobalt Agonistes, which is half-drama, half-comic book story, runs along those lines as well.

My two MacFinster books are comedies, but they have elements of crime fiction because crime is a great plot driver. It’s why so many of Wodehouse’s stories have (usually comical) felons about.

 

Tell me about something that you believe makes your writing unique or worthy of attention.

To my personal credit and professional detriment, I have never been able to go along with the zeitgeist. Often it’s just my own orneriness; the music I hated in college, for example, I like now, because now it is painted it over with nostalgia. On the other hand, it has saved me from following more people off intellectual and artistic cliffs. A thousand people doing a stupid thing doesn’t make it a smart thing. Doing something of worth (as I hope readers will find in my work) means I didn’t go off a cliff following the fads and formulas I see elsewhere.

 

Is there anything about your personal history or personality that manifests strongly in your writing?

I struggled with a lot of things in my early adulthood that had to be discarded down the line—paganism, atheism, alcohol abuse. I can’t say I was born again in the common sense, only because to me that always meant a lightning-bolt like experience—if only! I still struggle with faith, because I was not raised in a religious home and it’s always a second language to me. I also think that like all Christians, the faith itself is like a second language—who wants to be humble, who wants to forgive those who hate you? I hope that my actions and thoughts are informed by my faith today.

Of course my personal experience features in one way or another in all my writing, but in a practical sense, I think my attempts at humility get me to try to be more concise. Brevity is the soul of wit, after all, and I never want to be a dull writer. The reader’s interest is paramount.

You wouldn’t know concision was important to me based on my answers to your questions, however.

 

What else would be helpful for readers to know about you?

Like most writers, I became a dedicated reader from childhood—big fan of comic books and the Hardy Boys mysteries, later classic pulp fiction characters like the Shadow and the Avenger—and my entire professional career came from that. I’ve worked behind the scenes for decades at book and magazine publishers. I grew up in the friendly confines of New York City—from my bedroom window I could see cars go by on the highway all day and all night. I have two enormously hairy dogs who have confounded the best vacuum cleaners money can buy. And I blog daily at vitaminfred.blogspot.com.

While I hope readers will visit my blog, I mention it here because it began as a discipline, to make sure I wrote or drew something creative every day. As they say, writers write; they don’t sit around talking about writing. Putting the onus on myself to produce something I hope people will enjoy every day, be it writing or a cartoon, is a great motivator.

 

Excluding your own work, what underrated author or book would you recommend that more people read? Why?

In high school I discovered a huge book of the short stories of Henry Kuttner, a science fiction writer in the 1950s who died much too young. Kuttner was incredibly inventive and prolific. There are few books I have ever enjoyed as much as that one. Science fiction dates terribly, and its stars fade quickly, which is a shame.

 

Which of your books do you most highly recommend? Why?

Like most authors, the book I think is my best is whatever I just finished. So as of today it would be McMann & Duck.

 

Which break, event, decision, or fortuitous circumstance has helped you or your writing career the most?

I mentioned earlier that I was a fan of the Hardy Boys books when I was a child. The first one I got was in a Christmas grab bag event, and I was hugely disappointed. Tried to swap it with something else, anything else—a Slinky, a pack of gum, whatever—but there were no takers. So one day I just sat down and read the damn thing.

It sounds stupid, but my whole love of reading, and thus wanting to write, came from that incident—that some parent was boring enough to put a book in a school gift grab bag. Go figure.

 

What question do you wish you would get asked more often?

“May I pay you fifty million dollars for the rights to make your book into a movie?” would be a pretty good one. Failing that, I would like to be asked, “How much of what you write comes from reality?” because I would like to say “None of it, and all of it,” because it sounds pithy and Wildean. So no one ever asks me that.

 

Do you have a catch-phrase or quote that you like? What is it? And why do you choose it?

Today it is “A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” C. S. Lewis again.

It reminds me that pride is the king of the sins, and most to be avoided. All the other sins come from telling myself that I Know Best and I Deserve More.

If you ask me that question tomorrow, I would probably have a different quote. This is why I can never get a tattoo.

Thank you for asking me to participate in your authors’ profile series! 

_______________________

You're Welcome Fred.

I can't let this pass without mention: As I write this I am polishing up the outline for a sequel that takes place eight years later. I became so interested in the main character, a World War II army vet, that I envisioned a series of mystery novels about him because I enjoyed his company so much, and much about him remains secret.

Bizarre coincidence, the protagonist in my noir detective novel SMOKE is a WWII veteran. I enjoyed writing the book because I enjoyed the character. My wife and other readers want another book featuring him and his assistant Pip. In the last few weeks I came up with scraps of his backstory about what he was doing in the war. Naturally, the character and I have some common interests, so I'll include at least one in his story -- I included this about the matter in my most recent newsletter: If the path I'm following works out, I should be able to do a series of stories about his war experiences. I'll try to outline a few different stories before I step into that harness and begin plowing lines of text.

In other writing news, I've completed In Death Bedrenched, the prequel to the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire series. A free ecopy is available here simply for signing up for my newsletter.

And also here if you prefer to checkout BookCave.

I should have the paperback available on Amazon by the end of the week.

My advance readers gave me great feedback. They really contributed to making it a better novella, and have taken it upon themselves to read on in the series. Here's what they've shared with me:

"I'm currently reading 'Threading the Rude Eye' and thoroughly enjoying it...I'm glad you chose to write 'In Death Bedrenched' as I now see how it sets the scene for the rest of your series by introducing and providing background for certain characters... I'm so loving Threading the Rude Eye that I'll have to get straight into the next one as soon as this is finished ! (How quickly can you write as once I latch on to a series I will read it all..."

"Love the Gryphon Jousting in "Power To Hurt" - fantastic!"

_________________

I had been getting the run-around on a new clutch cable for the f650. The cable was supposed to be here 2 weeks ago, allegedly coming out of California. Fortunately, the local motorcycle repair guy knew another local guy with a couple f650s who was willing to let me borrow a cable until the new one arrives. I did the temporary replacement yesterday and made a quick test drive. SWEET!

Happy Father's Day!