Halloween Weekend

Holy Crap, Batman! What a weekend this is turning out to be!

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. How are you all doing? Once again, I feel as if I should be apologizing for being absent more often than I'm not. However, as many of you know, when I'm not up early doing my day job, I am writing for this, that and the other.
This is what bring me to you this weekend...

My family and I make our home in the California Central Valley, near Fresno. Okay, who am I kidding? If you've read or read about my novel, you already know that I live in a small town south of there called Kingsburg. Anyway, I also work for a local on-line magazine based in the valley, Kings River Life. Today's issue features an extensive interview with me, a short but positive review of my novel and a giveaway.

Not only that, but my article on the artist, Rick Alonzo is also featured. If you have not heard of him, and I admit that I hadn't, he is quite the interesting subject. He is a Christian painter who uses martial arts, martial arts weaponry and gymnastics to produce his art and lead people to God.

The staff at the magazine were also asked to list their favorite scary films, and I offered my two cents on The Silence of the Lambs.

Truly, you can't miss my presence in this issue. If it were not for the tireless work of our publisher, Lorie Ham, one might suggest that the issue is mine this week. Not really! I do a lot of work, but nothing compared to what Lorie does.

In addition to this, as if this were not enough, I continue to post for Wicked Writers. Each week we follow our prompt and deliver thought-provoking and often times witty posts on various subjects. Every genre of fiction is represented and several of us write articles in other places. If you don't already follow along, I hope you will come over and check us out.

Well, it's been a busy weekend...and it's only just begun, to paraphrase The Carpenters. I'm still applying polish to the second book and awaiting word on the paperback release of the first book. Stay tuned for details on that.

Have a great weekend and a safe Halloween.

We'll talk soon.

Monday Morning Musings

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. I hope that everyone is well. Summer is now turning into fall, and I could not be happier. I haven't been a fan of summer since I no longer had my summers off! Lol!

Update: Things continue to be extremely busy as I attempt to hold two careers. Many, if not all, of you know exactly what I'm talking about. I have previously discussed all that I have been up to this year, so I will not bore you with the details. I will only mention briefly that I continue to attempt to keep this blog active, write articles for a local on-line magazine, contribute as a staff member of Wicked Writers, and keep up with any and seemingly all social networks.

You'll do doubt notice that I made no mention of doing any fiction writing. Well, I am currently giving the sequel to my debut one last pass before sending it off to Vamplit Publishing. It is tentatively entitled, Dance on Fire: FlashPoint. Dance on Fire is an e-book, but is getting its paperback release this fall. My thanks to all who have either read the book or have taken an interest in it and/or me.

New Music: Earlier this summer I spent some time discussing new music that I had been listening to. I continue to listen to the latest offerings from Train, Corinne Bailey Rae, 30 Seconds To Mars, and Krokus. So far this fall my feelings have been mixed with regards to my opinion of some new releases.

With Maroon 5 I must say that I have been disappointed. Songs About Jane was a brilliant record. It was the proverbial breath of fresh air. The band toured for several years on that one record alone, and my wife and I continued to listen to it well after that. However, the last two efforts since then, to me, have been stale and seemingly the same formula, and no longer fresh. I was pleased to hear that they were planning on using the great Robert John "Mutt" Lange to produce the new CD. This guy's name was seemingly on every album I owned in the early eighties by AC/DC and Def Leppard. He was at the helm for Heartbeat City by The Cars and Foreigner 4. Unfortunately, with everything that I have heard so far, it seems that his talents have been wasted.



I fell in love with Sara Bareilles quite by accident last year. I had heard her song, "Love Song", but did not pay very much attention to it. It was only when I found her concert on cable that I gave her the time and respect that this amazing young woman deserves. She writes very good songs, and from what I have seen and heard from her, gives a mean live performance. I was a little unsure about her newest release until I had played it a few times, but now I am playing it regularly. Give her a chance. She's so much more than just a pretty face...

This next CD that I have been listening to was a bit of a surprise. I like The Goo Goo Dolls; however, I probably would neglect to name them as one of my favorite bands were you to ask me. Yet, I gave this new release of theirs a chance when I saw it advertise on iTunes and found that I could not stop myself from buying it. Originally, I only bought four songs. After I had listened to them enough times, I went back for the rest. There are a couple that I can do without, especially when someone other than John Rzeznik is singing, but for the most part, it is a strong effort and has become a favorite of mine this year.

Hopefully, as the year winds down there will be many more surprises when it comes to both music and my writing. I'm looking forward to the next My Chemical Romance release this November 22, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. I hope to be celebrating my paperback release soon, followed early next year with news of the next book being published.

Anyway, that's enough for now. Thanks so much for your time and your encouragement.

We'll talk soon.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. I just wanted to let you know that I posted something Friday over on Marissa's blog, Something Wicked This Way Comes. It was just a fun look through the scariest films that my DVD library has to offer. There are some newer films and there are some classics. I hope you will take a moment to look it over and let me know what you think of it. I hope to take a look at some newer films this Halloween season so that I may post some reviews. Let me know if there is something that any of you think I might find interesting.

Thanks to all of those who took the time to watch my first-ever video blog last weekend, and thanks for all of the positive comments. I do believe the vlog will return. Whether or not I use it to read some of my work remains to be seen.

Have a great weekend.

We'll talk soon.

Video Blog: the next frontier

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. I apologize for not being around as often as I might want; however, hopefully this first-ever video blog will compensate for that. This is something that I have been wanting to try out for awhile, but just have not gotten around to doing. It is a bit rough. The lighting is a bit dark, but I was looking for a quiet spot in the busy house and the back bedroom was the only room available. In any event, it is all me. It is part summary and part thank you.

We'll talk soon.