I want to share some of the research that went into FAR RIDER. Even though it’s fantasy, there are many things drawn from the real world. This research will be recycled in future books even though the worlds may change. Some things just simply are. Armor and warfare will always be a constant in my…

As I touched on in my last post, there are some values to social media. One of them is online chats about writing. The problem, invariably, with these chats is you will have some wanna be writer who is an expert in all fields and quickly lets you know how superior he or she is….

Will texted me a message this morning. “I think there’s something wrong with me. I’ve been wanting a salad lately.” This is a radical change in tastes for the man who avoids all vegetables like the plague (please note tired cliche and don’t do this when you write)  and especially leafy vegetables, which are fit…

I hang out with several military people on twitter as well as knowing many of them personally. Sometimes the stories are funny and sometimes they are sad, but they are always interesting. Will talked about an experience in Iraq. He was a weapons expert, so he did a lot of repairs even though they had…

Even though I write fantasy, I tend to do a lot of research. History is often more fascinating than fiction, so I glean tidbits that will eventually work their way into a story. In the climatic battle of FAR RIDER spies ensconced with the cultists have discovered a way into a seemingly impenetrable stronghold. The…

One of the people I follow on Twitter is @Tourscotland, which is Sandy Stevenson’s account. He posts beautiful pictures of Scotland and her people. Today, he posted some pictures of a lady riding a Clydesdale in a horse show. This reminded me of a project I did for a science fair when I was in…

I bake cookies. A lot of them. I try to send two boxes to Afghanistan a week. Last week I missed because we were trying to get Will moved so I’ll send extra cookies this week. That means instead of the normal 300, I may double that. I’m not sure how many guys are in…

FAR RIDER has been sitting on the back burner for five months. I haven’t opened it up since January 1. I played with SONG OF ILWEN and DRAGON VALLEY a bit, but I’m only 27,000 words in one each of them. One of the problems is I downloaded a trial offer to Microsoft Office 2007….

I haven’t posted in a while. No valid excuse except my crappy mood and trying to get things ready for Will’s move. Anyway, this was a post I wanted to write, but I had to wait until I wasn’t so irritated at people. I’m a major supporter of our troops. This comes as no surprise…