October Greetings

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. Now that summer is officially in the death throes I have finally climbed out from beneath my air-conditioned rock. *laughs* You folks who know me know full well that I think summer is over-rated. Of course here in central California our winter is a season in name only. It might get grey and there will be Tule Fog, but that's about it. I realize that if I actually had to live through a real mid-west, upper east coast kind of winter, I might be a lot less cavalier about it.

Well, summer isn't the only think that's dying around here. If you follow me on Facebook you know that my youth is dying as well. As I type this note I am sporting my new glasses. Yep, I understand I now belong to the distinguished-looking group! What say you? Thankfully I only need to to see the real small print...

Anyway, I'm cool with it. Go ahead and give me your comments. I'm just glad I can read a menu again, and certainly the bill!
"How much does this say, Dear?"
"If you wouldn't have had that second drink..."
"No, I'm trying to figure out the tip." *sigh*

I have had two book events since last we've spoken. The first was a release event for Infernal in my hometown. It was held at the store that sells my books. I did pretty well there. I signed about 33 copies, if memory serves. We were slammed that first hour, but it was a lot of fun. There were certainly friends and family in attendance; however, a lot of fans came out, too. That never gets old!

The other was a street event where downtown was closed off and there were bands playing on stages on either end. It wasn't bad, although it was all day and quite warm. I only signed about 18 copies or so, but four new people bought all four books at once, and many others stopped by to get to know me and what I do. It's what it's all about, isn't it? I have another event coming up on Halloween morning at my local library. It sounds perfectly delightful to me and I'm looking forward to sharing. More on that later...

My wife and I took some time to get away again. We headed for the coast to attend a concert in Paso Robles at a relatively new amphitheater that turned out to be really cool. The weather was great in the evening and I finally got to see Tears for Fears. It was a very good show, and I'm hearing rumors of a new album in the works.

I finally have a website. I've been fairly quiet on that front because I wanted to live with it for a time before letting the proverbial cat out of the bag. Before this I had been using this blog as my base of operations. Hopefully, this new site will be another step forward in my attempt at global domination. *winks*


Lastly, I am taking part in a vampire books for blood event this month which benefits the Red Cross. If you have yet to take a bite into my crossover vampire series, this would be the month. 100% of the proceeds for each and every ebook sold this month will go to the American Red Cross. It's a very cool event and I hope people will consider buying. You get the book(s), I have the word spread about them and the Red Cross gets the money. It's the brainchild of author Scott Burtness and there's a bunch of vampire authors participating. Check them out here.

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by. We'll talk soon.  

Is This the End?

Greetings, Fire Enthusiasts. How is summer treating you? Do you enjoy summer? Here in central California the teachers only teach three seasons... *laughs* We have plenty of sun and no water to spare. Between November and February the skies get grey and we can get some fog, but that's about the extent of it. From June to October it is very hot here, reaching 108 degrees at its worst. *sigh* Can you tell I'm not a fan?

At long last, my latest chapter in the Dance on Fire series is about ready. If you are new to the series, I call it crossover vampire horror. The series explores whether a vampire can actually be used for good or not. Let me catch you up:

In Dance on Fire, the vampire Nathaniel saves Barbara Lopez and her infant children from another vampire. Knowing the Bible front to back, he is aware there is no place in God's kingdom for undead flesh. Barbara is not so sure. Their chance meeting causes them all to band together against the second vampire, provides him with a family once again, and leads him on a journey that causes him to question everything. Follow the link and get the e-book for 99 cents.

In Dance on Fire: Flash Point, five vampires descend upon Nathaniel and his extended family, enacting some twisted revenge upon them all for actions taken in book one. Does what happens cause Nathaniel to lose what he has gained? Will another family be taken from him? Who is the mystery figure that is ultimately shown to be pulling these strings that make him dance?

This summer in Dance on Fire: Infernal, the Devil himself and an army of vampires converge upon Nathaniel and the extended family he has left - because undead flesh that seeks God must not be allowed to live.

The series is a crossover, so there are Christian themes at work here, but it is also definitely horror as you will see. I hope you will give it a chance...

“Marie?” Josef asked.

“Hello, brother,” she said as she followed Satan’s outstretched hand and entered the room. She didn’t take it, but it seemed to lead her just the same. “Meet Lucifer.”

“I really must insist that you refrain from calling me that,” Satan instructed. If he was displeased that Marie refused to take his hand, he made no show of it. “In spite of what you may have read, Lucifer is no more. I prefer Satan. Scratch. The Devil, if you must. Pleased to meet you. Hope you guess my name,” he sang and giggled.

Satan marched into the room. “Sit,” he said to the vampires who lurked closest to him. When they didn’t, he paused and stared back at them. “Sit or I shall remove your legs. Trust me when I say that I can do this in a great many ways. You no doubt have heard I am not a man of my word, but you will be alive to endure it. I promise you.”

The four turned and glanced at Josef who nodded silently. All in the room sat except Josef. Marie stood her ground. Her body language read that being present there was not her choice.

“We’re supposed to believe that you’re the Devil?” Josef asked.

“Yes, Josef,” he said, nonplussed. “I am he.”

The elder-general gritted his teeth. “I’m having a difficult time believing this,” he added.

The Devil ran the fingers of his left hand over his goatee and scratched the bottom of his chin. Then he flipped his hat onto the large table. It slid across the surface and stopped dead in the center of it. “Said a vampire,” he said sarcastically. “I could show you my true nature, but it isn’t pretty. I could kill every living thing in this board room with my will alone; however, I have need of you, so I won’t. I actually live for these moments—relish them even. Yet, I find myself strangely disinterested. I have much to do, you see. Much to do.” His voice trailed off momentarily, but he quickly snapped out of it. “I like you guys. We’re brothers in a way. All of us outside the so-called Kingdom of God. My disdain for mankind is legendary because of this.”

Josef and the Devil held eye contact.

“Are you familiar with a vampire named Nathaniel?”

“I am familiar with many vampires by that name,” Josef replied. “Felipe?”

Immediately, Felipe clicked open a database and began typing away. There were a great many references with that name. Some deceased. The data went all the way back to before the printed word. This was the cyber version of original material, which had been researched and compiled well before computers.

Satan waited.

“I have a Nathaniel who was involved in the deaths of several other vampires?” Felipe offered.

“Bingo,” Satan said. He rubbed his face and tapped his forehead. “It is curious you know of this, yet allowed him to live. I thought killing vampires was an offense punishable by death? Perhaps I have been misled.”

“Hmm,” Josef remarked. “I believe I recall this one. Our investigation concluded that he was not the only one at fault. In fact, was it not discovered that others were to blame?”

“Yes,” Felipe replied. “A vampire named Vincent is referenced, as well as another. A newborn. Tiffany.”

“That’s correct,” Josef said.

Satan thrust his hands into his perfectly pressed pants and glared at Josef. “No, this is not correct, and I am here to finally get you to do something about this egregious oversight.”

“Hmm.” Josef put on a thoughtful face. “Let me take a wild guess at this. You had something to do with these vampires attacking this Nathaniel. They failed and you’re coming here to get more vampires to do your dirty work for you. How am I doing?”

Satan said nothing.

“Bingo,” Marie said.

“Just what has he done to you exactly?” Josef inquired.

“And why can’t you simply take care of this yourself?” Marie asked. “Surely you don’t need our permission?”

“I like you, Marie. You have spunk,” Satan replied.

“Forgive me, my brother,” Marie said, leaning into Josef. “But perhaps as the evidence suggests, the great Satan has already failed twice in this personal vendetta of his.”

“Until the sky rolls back like a scroll, I have failed nothing,” Satan said, and it was clear to all that he was trying very hard not to lose his temper. His countenance softened as he quickly seemed to regain his composure.

The vampires waited him out, until Josef broke the silence. “Satan,” he began. “Forgive us for making sport of you…”

“You confuse me with another, Josef.” Satan glared back at him, crossing his arms at his chest. “I am no good at forgiving.”

“Very well then,” Josef said. “You do well to say that it is a crime in our community to kill another vampire. It is rare that such an act is sanctioned by the board, much less its elder-general. But I ask you – if I may – just what has he done?”

“It really doesn’t matter what he’s done, Josef,” Satan said, approaching. “What matters is I want him destroyed. He has no love for the vampire community or its elder-general. He seeks to change his nature, to become a Christian, and to follow God.”

“Satan?” Josef asked. “What will you do if we respectfully decline to intervene in this matter?”

All eyes quickly moved from their elder-general to Satan. Satan glanced about the room and thrust his hands back inside his pants pockets.

“I would be very disappointed.”

We'll talk soon.

The Devil Returns with an Infernal Plot

Greetings, Fire Enthusiasts. It has taken longer than I thought, but the next chapter in my crossover vampire series is nearly ready. As of this writing, I have completed the edits that my wonderful editor had for me. All that is left is for me to do is to venture back into Writer's Cave and work through the painstakingly slow process of reading the book aloud - to make sure that every paragraph, every sentence and every word is just right. Today I have a teaser for you, hopefully to whet your appetite or capture your curiosity...

Nathaniel felt sudden remorse. “I apologize,” he said, but didn’t elaborate exactly what he might be sorry for.

“I don’t believe you,” she said quietly. “You don’t want me here. I am not welcome.” She leapt to her feet. “I don’t know why I bother.”

With that, she marched off into the woods and was gone. Nathaniel felt torn, but merely sat on the chair and waited for his clashing thoughts to clear, curious to see which side of the argument would emerge victorious. He didn’t know why she bothered, either, but tried not to worry about it. At least, that was what he told himself. After all, he had much larger concerns. Whether he would see Marie ever again wasn’t one of them.

What he could not afford to do was have her presence distract him from his mission, which was to seek God’s face and protect those under his charge. He had allowed himself to be unfocused too many times before when it had had mattered most.

Unfortunately, she had proved to be a distraction after all. The smell of sulfur hit him when it was far too late to do anything about it.

The chair beside him was no longer empty.

Satan sat there, in far finer clothing than even Marie had adorned herself with. He stared back at the vampire with the vilest grin Nathaniel thought he had ever seen.

“Greetings,” he said as he fingered the fedora in his lap. “You really have a way with the ladies, don’t you?”

Nathaniel bristled, but wasn’t afraid. It was far too late for that anyway. Satan had caught him unawares. And with an army of vampires well on their way, he never once considered the Devil doing anything but taunting him with that fact.

“Apparently so.”

“She is a fine woman, you know?” Satan chided. “There’s an opportunity there. Her perverted brother keeps her chained up inside that estate of theirs, while he does what he pleases like Caligula. Not really in chains, of course, but she may as well be. She just sits in that garden of hers.”

“So, she wasn’t lying about that?” Nathaniel asked.

“No.”

“And of course I can trust you to tell me the truth.”

Satan shrugged. “Believe what you want.”

“Why did you bring her here?” Nathaniel asked.

“Who says I did that?” Satan laughed before he could get the words out. “I’m sorry. It’s too much of a lie even for one as accomplished in the skill as me. She’s a gift.”

Nathaniel shook his head. “The level of your contempt knows no limits, does it? She is a person and not a thing to be given or thrown out with the trash.”

“She’s a vampire, but I won’t split hairs with you,” Satan countered. “So you do like her then. Good.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Yes, you did. Of course you did. She is my gift to you. Take her and do as you please.”

“Forget it.”

“And why not?” Satan asked. “You’re both alone. Why not be companions? Besides, I brought her here, but your God routinely turns things around for good, does he not? Romans eight; twenty-eight, I believe. Why don’t you ask God about it?” He leaned close. “Still not talking to you?” When Nathaniel didn’t take the bait, he sat back. “I see,” he said.

Eventually, Satan slid down in his chair in his expensive Italian suit and kicked one leg over the other. The moonlight leapt onto his polished leather shoes and held them far stronger than it had with Marie’s blouse. Nathaniel wasn’t surprised at the unearthly glow.

“Great shoes, huh?” Satan remarked, following his gaze. “It’s amazing how quickly they wear out. They last days at best.”

“It must be all the ground you have to cover,” Nathaniel said.

Satan nodded. “You would be correct.”

“Couldn’t you retire and see the world?”

“Ha!” Satan laughed loudly and some birds flew off the trees, making a loud ruckus. “Oh, I couldn’t do that. I have only my work. Seeing the world is not all it’s cracked up to be anyway. In any event, seeing it is a part of the job description.”

“Are there not wars being waged that you need to attend to? Famines? Mankind being woefully unprepared for the next hurricane, earthquake, drought, tsunami?”

“Yes,” he replied. “And infinitely more. However, I have everything covered, thank you so much. I have more than enough time for all of that, to handle what goes on here as well as what transpires in the central valley of the State to our south.”

Nathaniel blinked, but said nothing. He crossed his arms and did his best to fight the urge to take his sword off of his lap and run the Devil through with it. If only it were that easy.

“What’s the matter?” Satan asked. “Don’t you worry about Barbara and her children? Especially with Michael being here with you?”

He said nothing.

“No, of course you worry.” Satan nodded. He took his hat and set it back on his head. “You shouldn’t bother. Soon there’ll be nothing to worry about.”

Nathaniel began to pray in his mind, but showed no outward appearance of it.

“Stop that!” Satan ordered as he climbed to his feet. He threw an arm out as if tossing something away. “I was afraid you were going to start praying!” He spun around and faced him.

If Satan became riled and decided to kill him, there was really very little he could do about it, he knew.

“Look around,” he spat. “What has God done for you? I mean, really? What has he gained you?”

Nathaniel stared up at the Devil. This was perhaps his defining moment and he knew it. His chance to stand in the face of the greatest threat to God and man, and declare his allegiance. Satan leveled his cold, dark eyes at him, as if he fully anticipated what was coming.

“I am nothing without the Lord.”

Satan sighed and merely smiled. “Soon, you will be only nothing.”

If this is the first you have ever heard of my series, I hope you'll take a look at the first book, Dance on Fire. The e-book can be had for 99 cents at any of the major e-book stores. Here's the Amazon link. The series is definitely crossover or edgy, if you will. I don't label it Christian, though the themes are obviously present. You're going to find some language and a whole lot of blood being shed. Sometimes you will find your nose in the stuff. On the other hand the horror isn't so gratuitous that it turns all except the die-hards away.

Anyway, I hope you'll like it.

We'll talk soon. 

Another Year Older

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. How in the world are you? It's been a while, hasn't it?

I titled this post the way I did because on the 22nd of this month I will be turning 45. That number seems outrageous to me, mostly because five years from now seems like something that should really be happening to someone else. The good news is I don't feel 44, about to be 45 or eventually 50. That really is all that matters, isn't it? I hope you feel that way, too.

The other reason for discussing birthdays is because that has been what has driven me these past seven years: the feeling that I wasted a lot of time. I didn't, not really. My wife and I started our family, had careers, raised our sons. If you're a church-going person, then you will also understand God's perfect timing. Yet, there still is that feeling that I didn't start writing again until I turned 38, and that means I can't really waste too much more time. Do you understand where I'm coming from?

So, here's where I am with regard to my writing. I'm still climbing out from beneath the loss of my small publisher last summer. I have three e-books that are available on Amazon: Dance on Fire; Dance on Fire, Flash Point; and Seeing Ghosts. "Dance" is my crossover vampire series. "Ghosts" is my stand alone paranormal romance. Late last year I turned my attention to producing paperbacks and decided upon getting "Ghosts" printed first. I was extremely proud of the way the story came out, and I thought it would do really well with the female and paranormal demographics. I did that. It is also available on Amazon, as well as a local store in my hometown called Trinkets and Treasures.

In November 2013 I began writing the third book in my vampire series (and fourth novel overall). I just finished the first draft. It is just short of 143 thousand words which makes it the longest novel I have written to date. It does have a title,but I am keeping that news close to the vest for the time being. I will now give myself a break before I begin working on the second draft, and begin working on producing paperbacks of my other novels. I hope to have this done in the next two months. I'm very anxious to have the paperbacks done because they have since been given new covers. My first novel was a paperback several years ago, but it has also been given a new edit as well as the cover. Can't wait to hold that in my hands.

With any luck "Dance 3" will be completed before the end of the year, but there's no rush. This one is a much larger book, with a much larger scope. It also charts the course for a future book, so I want to make sure everything is not just a good story, but epic in many ways.

Now, although I promised I wouldn't say much about my day job anymore, I have had people ask, so I will quickly address what has been going on there. Just when you thought my hours couldn't get any longer, they did exactly that. I now work 11 hours minimum, and quite often 12 plus. Somehow I managed to find the time to write that first draft. How? I have no idea. Actually that's not true. I do know. I did it by ignoring social media and blogging.

But I really want that to change.

My hope is as I take that break and allow my brain to begin preparations for draft 2 - make mental notes, consider new possibilities and mentally double-check that I haven't neglected anything - and during this time reach out to all of you and drop by for visits. Drop me a line and I'll come say hello.

You might begin to see some promotions out of me. That was another thing that had to go as I devoted the little time I had to writing. Here locally I have already reached out to a local ladies' group that has a book club, I visited them once before and it was a fun evening. I also reached out to the friends of the library in my town, and hopefully will schedule another visit with them, too. Next month we have a car show in our little town and in May we have the annual Swedish Festival, an event that I featured in my first book. I plan to be manning a table outside the store for both of those events, selling books and meeting people.

Well, that's what's been going on with me. As the year progresses I will begin sharing about the new book. If you have yet to read it, you can find the e-book on Amazon for 99 cents. The links are all there to your right on this site. The reviews have been good. All of my reviews have been good. The trouble is getting the word out in a virtual sea of books. Am I right?

Best of luck to all of you writers out there and much success. It isn't easy, is it? Then again, nothing good or noteworthy ever is.

We'll talk soon.    

Genre Favorites Blogfest

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. As always, thanks for dropping by. As you can see, we're shaking things up a bit this week. Rather than discuss my vampire series - my book is on the right and we've got the cover reveal for the forthcoming sequel over there as well - I've decided to join Author and Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh's latest and greatest blogfest. These things are always huge and lots of fun as we meet new people and share a bit of ourselves. Today, we're discussing Genre Favorites in books, music and film.

As a horror writer you might worry that my books and films would be full of blood and guts, and my music dark and eerie; however, you may be surprised to find that my choices might be scary for all the wrong reasons. Let's get started, shall we?

Favorite Movie Genre: Here's where I leave you scurrying off into the night. You see, I have a poster of The Exorcist on my library wall and I was a teenager when teenagers were being sliced and diced in the original Friday the 13th and Halloween films, but when I curl up on the couch to be comforted, I choose Romantic Comedies... What? Yep, it's sad but true. I write vampires, but would rather watch Notting Hill, An Affair to Remember, Love Actually and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.

Favorite Music Genre: Now this one should make a bit more sense to you. I listened to pop music as a child, but it was when I got into Junior High that things changed. Since then, it's all been about Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. We call is Classic Rock now and refer to the 80's musicians as Hair Bands. My first real show was Kiss just after the make up came off. I saw Motley Crue, Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Sammy Hagar, Van Halen and much more. Here's a photo of me taken when Van Halen was "standing on top of the world for a little while." I'm kneeling in the center.

Favorite Book Genre: Here's another category which should make more sense to those that stare at the flames above and wonder what the hell happened to make me like tear-inducing films. *laughs* As a teenager, I found myself reaching out for Jaws and The Amityville Horror (still one of the most frightening reads ever, whether you believe it was fake or not). I then found Michael Slade, Clive Barker and Uncle Stevie. I'm still reading horror, but now they are mostly Indie books and you guys wrote them.

Guilty Pleasure Genre: Hmm? This provides an interesting choice. I could tell you how my iPod also includes Air Supply, Neil Diamond and the Bee Gees, and that would be a lot of fun, watching you scratch your collective heads once again. Instead, I think I'll list Dramas as my guilty pleasure in books. In fact, I'll tell you that my favorite all-time book is Beach Music by Pat Conroy. Yeah, I know. I didn't want to read it either, and fought it for a while before succumbing to what I think is a masterwork and one of the most brilliant books ever crafted. My sister in law peer-pressured me into reading it and I have yet to put it down. Every couple of years of so, I find myself grabbing it off of my book shelf and carrying it with me on vacation or just to spend a weekend. I can't help myself. It's that good. I am firmly on record as having said that I will die happy if I can write a story half as good as Conroy did there.

So there you have it. I hope I have gained some new friends in this latest and greatest from Ninja Alex, and haven't scared others off. Lol! I look forward to seeing your answers. I can guarantee you that it will take me most of the week to get through the list, but I will. Eleven hour day jobs do that to people. Here's the link back to Alex's list here. I'll see you guys there.

We'll talk soon.

Keeping From Drowning

Greetings and salutations, Fire Enthusiasts. Thanks so much for dropping by and hanging out with me for a few minutes. I realize that there is plenty of competition for your time and hardly any of that as it is! And this is precisely what I have come to talk about this week.

You see, I feel bad when I don’t spend enough time with you guys. When I started writing again a few years ago, finished the novel and found my publisher, it was all about me. It was about the first of many novels which would propel me into the consciousness of the world, or at least my little part of it. *laughs* Back then, I had no idea that any of you were here already or about to join me in this crazy pursuit that more often than not consumes us and drives us beyond normal means to get our words out into the world.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that there was a wonderful community of writers and/or readers out there. During that first year, many of you held me up and tirelessly encouraged me to hold the course in spite of newbie roadblocks, obstacles and potholes in the road before me…and us. Now, I feel like one of those tireless encouragers (is that even a word?), and I love that!

My part of the Packaging Department Office. Forgive the tape on the window.

The Problem: You’ll recognize it because it’s probably your problem, too. I have between 4:30 pm and 8:00 pm, and that’s it. During this time it's shuttling kids around, appointments, eating dinner and cleaning the kitchen, and occasional performances at the schools for those kids that I mentioned. It makes it tough to keep up with everything that you guys are up to, though I try.

Working and writing: I have an 11 hour day job (which I have whined about many times) which I have to wake up for at an ungodly hour. I sneak my writing in during coffee breaks and finally on Saturday morning where I have a chunk of time before the house wakes up.

Reading: I pretty much only read before bed. This also helps to tire my eyes and to induce sleep. When I’ve got something really good to read, I take trusty Kindle to work with me and read there. That’s good news for many of you guys because I’ve only been reading indie books for a year and a half. That’s how well written your books are to me. *raises glass in toast* Speaking of reading, my TBR pile is literally a mound of books. I’m getting through them as fast as I can, but…

When I need to get away from the house noise, I retreat to the bedroom.

Networking: Throughout the day I am attached to my trusty iPhone, constantly sorting through e-mail and blog posts that I have delivered to my inbox (As a side note, if you have yet to add this feature to your sites, I highly recommend it. It saves so much time, rather than readers having to go hunting for your posts). I save the ones that I really want to address and delete the rest. It hurts, but there is no time for them all. When I get home I go through what I have saved and visit everyplace that I can.

Promotion: Throughout the day, I might tweet or Facebook post about my book or my one blog post a week, but I really try and keep that to a minimum. I get so much more enjoyment re-tweeting, sharing and "liking" what you guys have going on. Any more promotion than that is really only spam, isn’t it? Eventually, it becomes invisible, skipped or deleted without a second thought. It’s sad, but the reality.

The reason my left knee hurts now. Lol!

The Why: Why did I explain all of that? Really, the answer is because I care, and want you to understand that more often than not, I’m barely treading water. You'll notice that I didn’t mention anything about articles that I write or housework or the treadmill that we just bought to help defeat this rapidly increasing middle of mine. My hope is that by the end of the week, I will have “liked” a post or two of yours, re-tweeted, or shown you some #Writer Wednesday and #Follow Friday love, and said hello to you on your blog or website. Often I read your posts but have little to add, and the last thing that I want to do is simply add some lame comment that takes up more of our time. There’s already very little time in the day as it is. #justsayin’

By the way, if I haven't thrown you some Twitter love, blame the Follow Friday app that I use. I could never forget any of you. *grins*

How do you guys keep from drowning? I'd love to hear your advice and recommendations. We've been holding each other up for a couple of years now, haven't we?

I think my cat has the best idea yet. 

We’ll talk soon.

Perspective, Treadmills and iTunes

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. So glad to have you stop by. In fact, I'd like to thank everyone who dropped by this past week as we discussed errors in novels and the meaning of it all in the grand scheme of things. If you haven't read that post yet, I encourage you to do so. You can do it now, if you'd like. Go ahead. We'll wait...

*laughs*

In all seriousness, you were right. The novel is being enjoyed and many readers have been asking for the sequel (It's coming. I promise). No one seemed to have even noticed the errors that I had discovered, so why should I worry about it. I have heard back from my publisher and am told that the errors will be corrected in the near future, which is fabulous news.

In any event, I was getting so many visits to the post, and so many comments, that I didn't have time to stop and think about what I would post this week. Can you tell? Speaking of comments, what did the powers that be do this time? Did we just lose the ability to follow replies now? *sigh* Can't they just leave well enough alone? I'm sure it's only at Blogger, but it is very frustrating. I suppose I should keep my complaining down just in case Big Brother is watching.

I'm just kidding. I love Blogger! I think it's the greatest site evah!!

Courtesy of CBS

Yes, Sheldon. That was sarcasm! Do you guys watch The Big Bang Theory? It's hysterical, isn't it?

Alright, let's move this thing along, shall we? Last weekend we had a treadmill delivered. For those of you who remember, I used to run after work. I ran between 2 and 5 miles nearly everyday. I stopped that for a while and began doing floor exercise instead. I ended up stopping that as well. Due to too damn much writer stuff (mini rant), I lost interest as I tried my best to juggle everything. Now I have ten pounds that I need to get rid of! Hence the treadmill!


The only issue that I ever had with running was with my feet, but Inserts cured that. So, I stretched and ran to my heart's content; 3 miles the first day and 4 the next. Since then, not so much! I messed up my left knee, pushing myself too hard. Now I'm working my way back. That has been very frustrating, too. I suppose I should worry that I damaged the knee more than just overworked it. We'll see. I'm sure it has less to do with the 3 and 4 miles I ran, then it does with the 43 that I will be turning later this month. *grins*

Next, on Friday night, while I had 100 windows open on trusty laptop, it froze on me and the screen went black. Eventually, the music that I was listening to came back, but nothing else. I forced it to close, but when it came back up, my iTunes library had been wiped out. Now, everything was on my hard drive and was reloaded, but my OCD is screaming because I have duplicates of too many songs and my album covers have been...ahem,  messed up.


It is a darn good thing that the mini rant is long over or that could have been ugly. ;)


Perhaps it is a due to last week's gained perspective or just because I am too darn busy to worry about it, but I have yet to begin repairing that music library. In the past I would have locked myself in a room in order to finish it before going to sleep. Right now, however, I really am not going to worry about it.

There's no way in hell I'm going to be plugging my iPod or iPhone into my computer, however.

If my library gets wiped off of my iPod, there will be no mini rants forthcoming! I may be maturing in my old age, but not that much! One last fact for you: I was listening to John Mayer when this dreadful thing took place. I blame him.

We'll talk soon.

Of Typos and Perspective

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. It's always great to have you drop by for a visit. I know there is a lot of competition for your attention each and every week, and I really appreciate your visits. I have basically only been posting once a week on Mondays and it has helped free me up to visit your sites as well, but still not as often as I would like. There is just not enough time in the day, is there?

So, I came here today to tell you a story that happened to me this past week. It's not a very good story. In fact, I'd rather keep the whole thing to myself, but I feel compelled to share it, since it affects everyone who reads my debut, Dance on Fire.

Thursday night, I sat in a room in Fresno, Ca. with local authors, Marilyn Meredith and Lorie Ham. We have been doing library events periodically. This was our third. The three of us also contribute articles for Lorie's on-line magazine, Kings River Life. In any event, when it became my turn to speak, I introduced myself to the few who had joined us that evening. Once that was done, I read the blurb for the book and then launched into a reading. I feel bad for the other two, having to listen to the same bit of my book each and every time; however, it is a very good place to share and very convenient for me. I started reading and saw the mistake immediately. My heart sank! I had taken twenty years to write this novel, and had been reading the same passage for two years, and I had never caught the error before. I continued on as if nothing had happened, but I felt my temperature rise and the beginning of some perspiration start to develop.

I managed to finish and hold it together, but I was pretty devastated. The error is so juvenile, so Bush League, as they say in baseball terms. I really don't want to draw any one's attention to it. It has to do with time and occurs early in my story, but if no one has caught it as of yet, I really don't want to taint the book. Perhaps it has been caught, but no one wants to bring it up - I don't know. If you have seen it, thanks for ignoring it and not allowing it to detract from what I think is still a very good story.

I have contacted my publisher to see whether we might be able to correct this as well as one other thing. A buddy of mine just pointed out that I had used the word "peek" with the incorrect spelling (waves to Natalie). That drives me crazy, too, but not nearly as bad as the time goof that is sitting there and threatens to outlive me.

As I mentioned, I was really upset by this turn of events. However, on Saturday morning, I sat in a church and offered my support to a friend of mine that I went to school with, who was burying his young daughter (nearly 19), who died tragically the previous weekend. I won't dishonor my friend or the memory of his child that he has lost by offering her as fodder for one of my posts, except to say that it gave me some perspective on the whole thing. He and I are the same age and my sons are just a few years younger than his son and daughter, and now just son. It could very easily have been me sitting in that front row.

My perspective is this: it's a good book. Is it great? I'm guessing not, but many people have come to me, whether in person or on the world wide web to say that they liked it, and that is enough for me. Have I learned some lessons? Yes, and I darn well better get some other eyes to read my manuscripts from now on! Any beta readers out there? *begs* I had hoped that I had a clean book after all of this time, but much better novels than mine have had egregious errors and have lived to grace many famous book shelves and have been considered classics. I will strive to do my best to never let this happen again as I get better as a novelist.

Yet, in the grand scheme of things, there are far worse things to be devastated about. My love and deepest sympathies to my friend, his ex-wife, their son and entire family as they attempt to carry on without her.

We'll talk soon.

To Review or Not to Review...

This is my actual book shelf. Pretty soon I will have just as my books in my Kindle!

...That is the question that I pose to you, Fire Enthusiasts.

Greetings. I do not have a book review for you this week. Well, that is not entirely accurate. You see, I did complete a book this week and begin another; however, I have no plans to share anything about it with you here. Why am I being such a tease, you ask? It is because I thought that the book was merely only okay.

It would not be difficult for you to figure out which book I am referring to. We are all on many of the same sites, are we not? It would probably only take you a few moments to discover which book I'm referring to, but I hope that you won't actually attempt to figure it out. I would rather that you find the book and like it or not like it all on your own. The book didn't suck! Many of you might actually like it, and by all accounts, many have thought highly of it. I just thought it was a bit of a miss.

So, what's the big deal, you ask? The big deal is that although I do not really know the gentleman, I know of him. He's like me, and he's like many of you as well. No doubt he dreamt a lot about being a writer, and probably spent a lot of time dreaming up that book. He researched, outlined, wrote, rewrote, revised, edited and is now hard at work promoting the hell out of it, much like all of us. Knowing what I know about that whole process, I just don't feel the overwhelming urge to do anything but reach out and shake that man's hand, pat him on the back and wish him well.

I have one book written, and although it has received some pretty sweet reviews, I am quite certain that there are more than a few people who probably think I might be better off working my 11-12 hour day job and spending the rest of my evening watching television. *laughs* I also have my second book in the editing stages, as you know. Lastly, I started writing my third novel during Christmas vacation when that much publicized cold (read: whining blogs/Tweets) had begun to dissipate. I'll want lots of people to read all three of those books when they are all on a shelf together one day, virtual or otherwise, and not have someone go all negative on me.

Is that why I chose not to review that book, because of Karma? Absolutely not. I may write horror and listen to classic rock and 80's and 90's heavy metal on volume 20, but I also love to be moved by my books, movies and music. That means I have to have some feelings within me. And it is because of those feelings that I chose to be respectful and simply leave an "okay" review on one of the book social networks.

I want that author to keep writing, to keep perfecting his craft, regardless of what this guy thinks. What do you folks think? Should I have been respectful, but also specific? I know that some have gotten into it on the Internet due to negative reviews. I don't want any part of that. Probably no one does. Should I simply have pretended to "forget" that I had ever read that book and leave the reviewing to others?

What are your thoughts? I'd love to hear them.

Before I go, let's forgive Blogger together, cross our collective fingers and hope that you're able to leave a comment. I know things haven't been great in that regard, especially this past week. If you do have issues, you can always drop me a quick line on FB or Twitter. Sometimes that's much easier anyway.

We'll talk soon.

The Film vs The Novel

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. How has your week been?

I thought I would tell you about something that happened this past weekend. For Good Friday, my wife and I took a rare day together, leaving the kids at home (not that they noticed). We started with a late breakfast, did some shopping, saw a movie, did a bit more shopping and then completed the evening with a great Italian dinner. It was a wonderful day and something that my wife and I should do more often; especially having been together for nearly 23 years.

It's the film that we saw that I want to discuss. We saw The Lincoln Lawyer.

I'm not the biggest Matthew McChonaughey fan in the world and, thankfully, he only removed his shirt the one time (Lol!), but I enjoyed the film. It had an all-star cast that included Marissa Tomei, Ryan Phillipe, Josh Lucas, John Leguizamo, Bryan Cranston, Francis Fisher and William H. Macy. For someone my age or older, you'll also be surprised to see a familiar face as Michael Paré makes an appearance. Country music star Trace Adkins also co-stars as does Michaela Conlin who plays Angela on the hit series, Bones.

On top of the great cast, it is a good story, based on the novel by Michael Connelly: Criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller(Matthew McConaughey) operates around Los Angeles County out of a Lincoln Town Car. Haller has spent most of his career defending garden-variety criminals, until he lands the case of his career: Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe), a Beverly Hills playboy and son of real estate mogul Mary Windsor (Frances Fisher), who is accused of the brutal beating of a prostitute. But the seemingly straightforward case suddenly develops into a deadly game of survival for Haller.

I thought the film was very good. In many films we spend most of the time trying to figure out what is going to happen, and who the guilty party might be. In this one, we find out who is guilty very early on, and then need to watch and see how Haller must get out of the corner that he is trapped in.

My wife, on the other hand, was not a fan. Why, you ask?

It was because she had just read the book...

The book is almost always better than its film version. Basically, the only ones who might dispute this are people who refuse to read. However, regarding those who love both mediums, this is hardly a debate at all.

Rather than spoil your viewing of the film, if you have yet to see it, I won't take any time to reveal what was so different or altered from the book. I only want to discuss the two mediums. What are your feelings with regard to this subject? Do you read the book first or watch the film first when there is a choice? Why?

Are there some examples where the book wasn't better than the film? I'll stir things up right away by declaring that, since I did not grow up with Tolkien, my initial experience of LOTR came from Peter Jackson's vision. I did finally read the books, but I did not like the staggered approach to time. I didn't care for reading about half of the Fellowship, only to have to go backwards in time and see what the other half of the Fellowship was doing at the same time. It was disconcerting.

I would love to hear what you think.

We'll talk soon.

Sammy Hagar Autobiography

“Hello, Baby!”

I’m, sorry. Today’s post is about rock musician Sammy Hagar, so I couldn’t resist borrowing his opening from the song, “Good Enough”. It was the first song on the first album that he made with Van Halen, 5150. For some of us, we had yet to hear anything from the new group and many were unsure whether they would be any good anymore without Diamond David Lee Roth. When those two words opened the album, followed by Eddie’s horse-sounding guitar effect, it really grabbed our attention. Speaking for myself, I recall being shocked at how fantastic the album was. I started calling my friends before I had even flipped it over to side two. [Editor’s note: I know Sammy stole the idea from The Big Bopper, by the way. Please, no hate mail.]

In any event, I just bought and devoured Sammy’s autobiography, Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock. It only took three evenings for me to finish that book. I grew up listening to man, so I was keenly interested in everything from his stints with Montrose, Van Halen, Chickenfoot and all of the solo work that he has done. I have seen him perform in the Fresno, California area four times: the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge tour with Van Halen, the Balance tour with Van Halen, the Marching to Mars solo tour and last year at the Big Fresno Fair. I didn’t see him there, but I have had the pleasure of visiting the Cabo Wabo Cantina down in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. I have nearly every album/CD of his, and where I don’t, I have all of the best cuts from iTunes.



The above photo was taken behind Fresno's Selland Arena. The band is standing across the back row from left to right, Eddie, Sammy, Michael and Alex. That's me kneeling in the middle of the front row. Standing on my left shoulder is my wife's niece, Lee, followed by my sister in law, Imelda. Kneeling on the end and in front of Alex Van Halen is Lee's husband, Daniel. I just wanted to give them a shout-out.

The book was an extremely fascinating read and went very quickly. I suppose many books are really simply recordings that are later transcribed and this was no exception. The co-author, Joel Selvin, seemed to simply write what Sammy said and cleaned up very little, if anything. Having heard many interviews and attended many of his shows, I am extremely familiar with Sammy’s conversational style, so it did not take long to put myself in the room with the man as he recounted his life’s story.

The book begins with a foreword from Michael Anthony, the long-time, but now former base player for Van Halen, who became fast friends with Sammy. In it, he details how he met the brothers and then eventually Sammy, and how it all fell apart. “He is the most upbeat, positive guy in the world. He loves life. He only happens to be a singer and play music, too. And another thing-he’s no bullshitter. If Sammy says it happened, it did.” I knew before beginning the book that it was something that was only going to tick off Eddie Van Halen further, but after reading what Anthony had to say, my appetite for the book was whetted.

It is hard for me to believe that Sammy does anything but tell the honest and bitter truth, whether it be the amount of partying, his life with his first wife that was so difficult for everyone, the dirty details on all of his philandering, to the relationships with all of the rock royalty that he came across over his long and continuing career. When I read those words, it seemed to me to be one of the most genuine things that I have ever encountered; he sugar-coated nothing. When he was an absolute idiot, he told us so. He details his bad decisions and seemed to give all credit where it was due.

What I really loved about the book was the behind the scene moments, such as when he bumps into famous rockers like Van Morrison, Sly Stone, Miles Davis, Stephen Stills and a couple of the members of The Grateful Dead which were fairly hilarious moments.

Other things that I ate up were the moments of inspiration when a creative spark brought a song out of nowhere. “One night, on the drive home,” Sammy said. “I was listening to this tape where Eddie had written the music and noodled the verses on guitar. He was trying to show me the phrasing of the verses, but he couldn’t, because he couldn’t play the rhythm of the thing, and I started singing it in the car. We didn’t have a chorus, and I just busted out with it, 'Best of Both Worlds'. It hit me hard, right when I was pulling in the garage. Bang. The chorus hit.” I would have loved to have seen more of that, but overall, Sammy does a great job of going through all of the highlights of his career.

I was amazed that Sammy totally expected the phone call that he received from Eddie Van Halen. He told his wife about it. "'They're going to call me, you watch.' Who else were they going to get? There was Ozzy Osbourne, Ronnie James Dio, and me."

If you follow music closely, you no doubt have already heard the stories that Sammy claims to have been visited by aliens and that they either uploaded or downloaded something into his brain. It has been all over the Internet and social networking. When I got to that part of the book, I had to stop and make certain that I had read it correctly. I'm rather indifferent to the whole alien question, neither believing or disbelieving, so I just giggled and continued on my way. I just wanted to know about the music!

I loved the book; however, I cannot recommend it for everyone. It is definitely not for anyone under age because it was definitely uncensored. In fact, I wish it had been a bit censored. I could have done without all of the sordid rock star/groupie details! I couldn’t have also done without the rock star language, but I suppose it is what it is. If you are anything like me, and love Sammy’s music, whether it be in a band or as a solo artist, grab a copy of this book, pour yourself a Waborita and sit back and relax. You won’t be getting up for a while.

Unless it’s to pour yourself another drink.

We’ll talk soon.

Author Leigh Russell

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. As I have often lamented on this blog, I do not have the time to read as often as I would like. I was never one to swallow multiple books whole each and every week, but there were most definitely several authors that I would read faithfully and would indeed devour their books just as soon as I got them into my hands.

Over the years I have tried to stay current with Patricia Cornwell, Michael Slade and Clive Barker. I fall on and off of Uncle Stevie’s bandwagon, picking and choosing as he releases new novels or novella collections. Recently, I have begun to reading the works of those of us newbie authors. I have read Michelle Stinson Ross, Carole Gill, Jennifer Wylie and Talli Roland to name a few. And there’s many more I want to read, just as soon as I can make time for them.

This month I have had the pleasure of reading an author who I think must be well on her way. Her name is Leigh Russell. Leigh has a blog and can be found on the other social networks as well. I follow her and she has been kind enough to say hello on a couple of occasions. From what I understand she is doing very well and it will not be long before we will have to be contacting “her people” should we wish to reach her.

But enough of that. Let’s get to the books.

The following is the synopsis that can be found at Barnes & Noble: "D.I. Geraldine Steel expects the quiet town of Woolsmarsh to be dull. She quickly discovers she is wrong. The park is a place where children play, friends sit and gossip, people walk their dogs, or take a short cut to avoid the streets. But in the shadows a predator prowls, hunting for victims. A woman sees the killer and comes forward as a witness—someone whom the killer must stop at all costs. For D.I. Geraldine Steel, it is a race against time to find the killer before he strikes again, as public pressure mounts with the growing death toll."

Leigh’s debut, Cut Short introduces us to Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel, who works major crimes in England. She is a tenacious inspector who treats her work as more important than herself; yet, she longs for a regular life as most of us do. She’s simply torn. We are also introduced to a well-rounded cast of characters that continue on along with her.

In this story, the serial killer terrorizes a community, across both classes and multiple nationalities. I thought it was a great touch. More than that, I appreciated that we did not walk with a doppelganger Sherlock Holmes, more brilliant that anyone else on Earth, able to hunt down the killer by clues that not even we can see. Instead, we have a flawed and troubled person, following dead-end clues until she ultimately latches onto the real ones that close the case. If you are interested in real detective work, where the police actually sit through stakeouts and gain little; or seem to be grasping at straws more often than not, then this may be your writer.

I found Cut Short to be a fantastic read, taking me only days to finish. I thought it to be well-written and well-paced, with a fresh batch of intriguing characters to go along with a fresh tight plot.

Her second novel is Road Closed.

Once again, from Barnes & Noble: "When a man dies in a gas explosion, the police suspect arson. The Murder Investigation Team are called in to investigate, but the case takes on a new and terrible twist when a local villain is viciously attacked. As the police enquiries lead from the expensive Harchester Hill estate to the local brothel, a witness dies in a hit-and-run. Was it coincidence—or cold-blooded murder? The Murder Investigation Team has problems of its own—and so does Geraldine Steel. A shocking revelation threatens her peace of mind as the investigation races towards its dramatic climax."

It took longer for me to warm up to this story, but by the time I had finished it, I got it. And I felt I got Russell. I realized what the author was doing with her two novels. The second one had its big opening, but then it moved methodically, slowing building to that crescendo. This wasn’t an author who had struggled to find a “good idea” for her second novel, but one who was intent on keeping everything real. Once again, no Sherlock Holmes, but real police procedure and tenacity. We got thieves who baffle the police, eventually committing murder and then degenerating further, seemingly doing anything they please and well beyond the grasp of investigators.

During it all, we find our troubled heroine continuing to deal with personal loss and troubles of the heart, seemingly married to her work, pushing everything else away.

Just as the original police had been unable to crack the slew of robberies, so the team of Detective Inspectors struggle solving the murder case. From dead-end clues to witnesses who refuse to cooperate, the action slowly builds to its proper conclusion. I daresay we do not get many plots like this one. From serial burglaries that eventually graduate the thieves to murder; from victims that begin to take matters into their own hands, albeit only partially successfully – I look forward to what Russell has up her sleeve with the third installment, Dead End.

Being from the United States, and a Californian at that – remember that Lead Zeppelin removed the “a” from their name so the "thick" Americans wouldn’t pronounce them as Leed Zeppelin – I found I did trip a few times with some of the “British” words or expressions; however, I eventually caught on and it certainly did nothing to dissuade me from continuing. You shouldn’t have any trouble either.

We read Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta series faithfully in my house. This Geraldine Steel is just as three-dimensional; someone that you are equally pull for as well as want to sit down and give a lecture to, especially as she works herself ragged and drinks entirely too much.

Well done, Leigh Russell.

Before I go, I shall leave you with a taste of what it coming later this year...

"When the corpse of Abigail Kirby is discovered, police are shocked to learn that the victim's tongue was cut out while she lay dying. Then, shortly after coming forward, a witness is blinded and murdered. Meanwhile, Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel's work life helps her cope with the personal, as her flirtation with the pathologist on the case is helping her to deal with the the newest shock in her life—finding out she was adopted at birth. When Detective Sergeant Ian Peterson uncovers a shocking secret about the serial killer they are pursuing, will the discovery come soon enough to save Geraldine Steel from a similar dreadful fate?"

We'll talk soon.