New Years and Resolutions…

     I don't do New year's resolutions anymore, but there is something I do at the beginning of each new year. My dear wife says I view the world as a half-empty glass. That may very well be true. But I would prefer to think of it as thinking about what bad things can happen and then being prepared for them, but then again, we can paint rainbows and unicorns on anything.

      Anyway, at the beginning of each year I now look back and try and realistically gauge what I did well and what I need to do better. Understand, that's my own personal appraisal,  it may not be totally realistic. But then, you need to be happy with yourself if you want to make others happy. I look for little, attainable ways I can improve my writing and myself as a person. You have to understand, I don't make myself any promises and I don't make any lists. But I do have a long talk with myself and try and realistically look at the year ahead. I try and look at the parts of my writing career and my life that I feel are lacking or need enhancements. Unfortunately, there are always lots of those.

     Then, throughout the year, I sit myself down and revisit my conversation from time to time. I ask myself if I'm a little better than I was before, and I try not to tell myself little white lies. In all honesty, it works a good deal better for me than making a blanket resolution that might be unrealistic or undoable. I remember those days. Ugh! They were awful! Talk about downers! And if I did accomplish my goals I would be all worn out from the effort. 

     So, do you do anything on the eve of the New Year to look ahead? If you do, good luck and may the dragons watch over you...

This is simple…

     This isn't the time for long winded diatribes, pontificating monologues or nitpicking exposes. This is the time for a simple, heartfelt message from me to all of you. Have the merriest of Christmases. Touch the ones you love and tell them how much they mean to you and why. Gather as many hugs, laughs, moments and joyful tears as possible and spend time with the people in your life that make it worth living. Really listen to what your loved ones have to say. Create memories that will last a lifetime. Reach out and touch those that are far away. Make sure they know that they are there with you in spirit.                         And last, but not least, be kind to yourself, and realize that you make a difference. As it was said so eloquently many years ago...Merry Christmas to all…and to all a good night...

Ornaments…

     When I look at Christmas trees, my first thoughts are all about the ornaments that adorn it. There are as many different types of ornaments as there are snowflakes. They run the gamut of color, hue, shiny to dull, glitzy sparkles to sheer smoothness.

     There are the homemade ones, such as the 'I made it for mommy in school' and 'look what grandma and I made to put on our tree' ones. Then there are are the elegant and beautiful ones. The cut glass and crystal ones, brass, shining metal and intricate ornaments. There are the ornaments that are shaped like angels, hummingbirds, dragons (yes I have a couple), doves, butterflies, pixies, elves, and unicorns. There are the religious symbols and the ornaments that proclaim a wedding, a birth, or a lasting friendship.

     There are the ornaments from days gone by, ones kept lovingly, handed down from ancestors and friends in the long ago past. There are the handmade ones from children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren, and the ones that are so fragile that you simply hold your breath and hope they'll last just one more year. 

     There are the ones that we buy new when we go to special places, ones that remind us of where we've been and what fun and delights we've experienced. There are the ones that no one can remember where they came from originally, but we keep anyway because we don't want to either offend someone or realize after getting rid of them that they did, indeed, have a special significance.

     There are ornaments that speak to our eyes, our memories, our emotions and our hearts. There are ornaments that carry the memory of a tear, or a laugh or a warm hug every time we see them. And no matter how old we get, when we see those special ornaments we feel like a kid again.

     So when I look at Christmas trees, my mind goes into overdrive, trying to seek out the homeliest ornament, the newest one, the unique ones and then I try and imagine where they came from, why they are hung there and what memories they must carry. I never look at the most beautiful, most elegant ones first, although they may have equally inspiring and touching stories at times. But I tend to look at the ones that you might think didn't belong on such a beautiful tree. Those are the stories that truly interest and inspire me.

     So, tell me true, when I go into your home, what Christmas ornaments will I see that makes the writer and the romantic dragon rider inside me sit up and take notice? Which ornaments will bring me a tale worth telling? Which ornaments will tell the story of your life and those around you? Which ornament will weave a story?

     May the dragons watch over you...

Decorating the Tree…

     Today, after writing this post and my daily chapter in The Falls: Thanksgiving, I will go downstairs, get out the myriad of boxes and decorate the tree. For me, it is a unique and highly anticipated time filled with memories, Christmas music and the growing holiday spirit. Most times, in the last few decades, it has been a solitary event. My wife enjoys setting up the little Christmas trees, preparing the wreaths for me to place outside all the windows, creating amazing Christmas table creations, setting up the nativity sets, expertly shopping for gifts and then exquisitely wrapping them. I do some of those things as well of course, but by and large she is the person responsible for organizing the magical and beautiful Christmas production around the house and mailing out the packages to all parts of the country. She is amazing and much too good for the likes of me.

     But the setting up our ten foot tree and decorating it are more often than not, uniquely mine. As I labored mightily to set the tree up yesterday afternoon, it reminded me of years, and generations past. Trekking out into the woods of Vermont with a sled and ax to select, cut and bring home that special tree. Going to the tree vendors later on and selecting the very best one as the snow fell. I remember the hot chocolate, a roaring fire and Christmas carols as we set it up and decorated. I remember going with my father as a child to get a tree. It was almost a religious experience. Maybe it really was that and more.

     Today, as I place the decorations on the tree a lot of them will bring back memories. Ornaments our kids gave us, granddaughter's first Christmas ornaments, babies first Christmas, ornaments from long past and the near pst that have special meanings. Our tree ornaments are basically made out of only glass, crystal, white, and brass. There are exceptions however, a few ornaments that mean the world to us tucked in among the dazzling, gleaming and exquisitely beautiful ones. We have a beautiful ten foot tree with a thousand white lights and an angel topper from long ago. As I place the ornaments on it, my thoughts will reach out and touch individually and collectively, our five children, our eight grandchildren, and our three great grandchildren. They will also reach out to my grandparents, my sister and her wonderful family, and my own mother and father. There is an ornament from my wife's parents as well.

     I will take time to remember and honor them all as I place the ornaments on the tree, a process that takes well over two hours. The memories, the tugs at my heart, the smiles, and yes, the joyous tear or two they bring will be well worth the time. I believe strongly in traditions. And trimming the Christmas tree is one of my most time honored traditions. A tradition of giving thanks, entering days gone by, and reaching out across the miles to mentally hug and value the dear loved ones in our life. 

     Then, each time we light the tree, which is often, I will feel the love and warmth and joy from all those ornaments, all those memories, all those loved ones, past, present and perhaps even future. I readily admit to wondering what Christmas will be like for all our kids and grandkids in the years and decades to come. 

     Christmas is time for giving…but it's also the time to remember and receive the love and memories of days past…of loved ones across the miles. So this year, as you decorate your tree, place the wreaths, and set up your cherished Christmas memorabilia all over the house…take time to remember and to smile and feel the love of Christmas past, Christmas present and Christmas future.

     May the dragons watch over you all and bring you the joys of the Christmas season...

The Greatest Gift…

     The greatest gift doesn't come from a department store, a big box warehouse or an online boutique.  It doesn't cost an exorbitant amount of money, come with a huge red bow on top or bankrupt your credit card. The greatest gift of all is time. Time you decide to spend with the people who are nearest and dearest to you.

     Time spent in laughter, quiet conversation, over a meal, during a walk, at home on the couch, playing a video game or spent together watching an old movie. Time spent with smiles, with tears of joy, with comfortable silences and listening as much as talking. Time where your heart can touch theirs without electronic devices such as smart phones, tweets or FB to get in the way. Time spent so that loved one, that friend, really and truly knows you enjoy being with them. Time to listen about their life, tell them about yours, time to discuss dreams and fears, and time to tell them how special you think they are and why.

     Time is the most precious gift. Because, sooner or later, there is no more of it. Time in finite. Time is elusive. The world turns and takes time away from us without our really realizing it. Once people are gone, there is no getting them back so you can spend the time you wish you had with them. Don't wait. Don't put it off. Reach out, touch the ones you care most about with your heart, your love and your words. It may be hard at first, but you'll be glad you did.

     This holiday season give the gift that people will remember for the rest of their lives. Give yourself and the time to be with them. Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas and share the wonderful person you really are with the ones you love best.

     May the dragons watch over you...

Revenge…

     She moved automatically, instinctively through her day, unaware of the world swirling around her. The unrelenting ache deep down in her heart and soul made everything she did infinitely harder. Her children would sometimes stop their play and simply stare at her, bewildered, wondering where their old loving mom had gone. She hardly paid any attention to them since, well, since IT had happened. Then they would slowly turn and quietly go back to what they were doing, making sure she didn't know they had been watching. Because if they asked her about IT or if she thought they were questioning her in any way, the darkness and anger would creep into her eyes and, afraid of her response, they would draw back from her and quickly run outside.

     Her husband didn't ask her anymore what was wrong. He could sense it, he could see it and he could almost taste it. But he no longer asked. The cost was far too steep. So he took care of the children, he went to work and he tried his best to watch over the woman who used to be his wife. Now, he didn't know what she was. But whatever she was, she was no longer the kind, sweet woman he married.

     When she went to work, she put on a mask, a smile and a caring countenance designed to fool everyone around her, and determinedly pushed her way through her shift. Then, she could once more come home and lose herself in her regret, remorse and everlasting sorrow. All the while, she thought of him. CR Shanks, the private investigator who had caused the life-changing tragedy in her life. 

     Every waking moment she raged silently at the man. She wept hot, angry tears and schemed how she could get even. How she could get her well deserved revenge. For there was no question in her mind, she would get retribution. For him. For the one she had lost. And if she was brutally honest with herself, for her as well. For what she had lost. She would get her revenge. 

Holiday Memories…

     As December begins to pick up steam, bells ring out in the cold, and Christmas and New Year lie bright and shimmering ahead, I can't help but think back to memories of the past. As with Scrooge's spirits, those memories come, for me, in three very different apparitions: Long Past, Children's Past, and the Recent Past. 

     The long ago past, when I was a child, seem little more than fuzzy black and white photos that your grandmother had in a chest up in the attic. Moments at my grandmother's, and at the houses we lived in as I was growing up. A yellowed snapshot here and there, a special moment remembered…and all with the disclaimer that I may be remembering things the way I want to remember them, not necessarily the way they really were.

     Then come the busy, invigorating years when our children were young. The years when we had more joy and energy than money. Mostly I see those years through their eyes, or here again, maybe the way I believe they saw them. I wanted them all to love and cherish those times, those traditions. I wish that I could go back and make them even more special, but then, don't we all. Those moments were mostly at our house, or on the slopes at the country club, family dinners at our house and my sister's house, her fish chowder Christmas Eve, brightly decorated Christmas trees, Nativity scenes, wrapping presents, laughter and good cheer. Reading the Night Before Christmas, hot chocolate after snow ball fights and sledding. Popcorn and watching the holiday favorites. Our house was the "hub" that the holiday revolved around during those times.

     Finally comes the recent past. Celebrations at our various children's houses. Different years, different houses. Our eyes widening at the mounds of presents our wonderful grandchildren get. Thankful to be a part of the gathering, but realizing that we are no longer the "hub". We are peripheral, although definately loved and cared about. That's a hard realization, especially at this joyous time of year.

     Now, as we get our house around for Christmas, my wife and I will make it all look very festive and beautiful, perhaps nicer than we ever had money or time for before when we had children at home. But we also know that no one in our family will probably ever see it this year. We will go to Christmas Eve and morning at one of our sons's and Christmas afternoon at one of our daughter's. Then we'll come back late and go to bed. So as we light the tree, hang the wreaths and put up the stockings, we do it for ourselves and for the memories of Christmas past. Not a sad realization, but a thoughtful one. We will make our own holiday memories and honor the traditions.

     What are your Christmas memories?

     May the dragons watch over you... 

Link to The Falls: Revenge…

     The link to The Kindle Store, Amazon.com, The Falls: Revenge:http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Dead-Winter-Mystery-ebook/dp/B008G4X28O/georgejackso-20

My First Blog Review…

     If it's possible for an old Yankee Scotsman to dance a jig…that's just what I'm in the process of doing. I'm usually pretty calm, some might even say stoic. But today, Kate Eileen Shannon published her blog review of my small town mystery series, The Falls. I have to admit, I'm very please, proud and humbly grateful to Kate for her warm, welcoming and amazing writeup.

     She not only reviews the latest (12th) in the series, The Falls: Revenge, but talks about the whole series. It's rather astonishing to find someone who has read all twelve volumes and is excitedly waiting for the next one to be published! Warms an old Scottish heart!

     I must admit, ever since I started writing the series back in 2009, I have looked forward to something like today…a time when someone would notice my humble little tales and "spread the word". So please excuse me if I jump up in the air just one more time and say, "Hallelujah"!

     Many thanks to Kate Eileen for not only her insightful review, but for her friendship, expertise and for imparting worlds of knowledge about the digital publishing process to a humble old writer, who just loves to weave stories, but knows very little about such technological wonders. (Neither do his dragons, unfortunately…)

     Thank you, Kate Eileen, for everything. So, please, visit her blog and read the review. (The link is below.) My thanks as well to all the other writers I have met who have been so kind and caring toward me, and to my loyal readers as well. There will be many more The Falls books yet to come!

     May the dragons watch over you…

http://t.co/CpIJ2j4v8u

Thanksgiving…

     It's two days before Thanksgiving, and it has me remembering Thanksgivings' past. I remember when I was a kid, we all went to my Nana's house each Thanksgiving night for a huge feast! The adults would eat in the dining room, while the kids would sit at the kitchen table. Afterwards we would all file into the living room and talk and laugh and have desert, which was great. The sparkling, twinkling bubble lights from the early Christmas tree and the laughter and good spirits were wonderful as I sat on the arm of a chair and just listened and immersed myself in what was going on around me.

     As a kid, I eagerly looked forward to being old enough to to sit at the "big table" in the dining room. Sitting in the kitchen with my cousins and the other kids ranging from three or four to fifteen or sixteen was like waiting on the bench to get to "play in the big game". Watching cousin Rodney wolf down his food with the manners of a she wolf intent on feeding her pup, or wincing as I watched Glenda stuff peas cheerfully up her nose, or listening to Bertram snuffle and wipe his runny nose with the back of his hand while he ate hungrily with the other, just didn't make it. Every year I would ride home from Nana's in the back seat of our car with the burning desire to "grow up" so I could finally sit in at the big table.

     Then, one year, just before Thanksgiving, my Nana got sick and died. There would be no more going to her house for Thanksgiving. No more big table or little table. I loved my Nana with all my heart and it somehow just seemed like we had lost so much when she passed away. So, I never got to sit at the big table. But that suddenly didn't matter anymore. All I really wanted was to have Nana and her Thanksgiving celebration back again.

     So, as we get ready for Thanksgiving and the start of the holiday season, I urge all of you to take the time this Thanksgiving to sit down and tell the people, whether they are family, friends or coworkers, that you love and care for most how you really feel about them. Later on might just be too late. Tell them what makes them special to you. Tell them how much they mean to you. Show them by your honesty and sharing that they have a special place in your life. And give them the opportunity to tell you how they feel. It may be embarrassing. It may be difficult to say. But do it. Before its too late. Do it.

     May you all have the most wonderful of Thanksgivings…

     And may the dragons fire up and give your turkey a nice golden, crispy touch...

Fifty Years Ago…

     I was in high school, changing classes. Suddenly the news spread up and down the hallways like wildfire. The President had been shot. The students and staff were shocked at first, unwilling to believe anything so horrible could have happened. None of us wanted to believe it was true. Then, as more and more updates came racing in, reality set in and the agonized weeping and hushed whispers began. Some people were simply wandering around, aimlessly. Others were clinging to their friends. Still others rushed to get to the TVs where we watched as the whole nation stopped whatever they were doing to watch the horrible scene play out.

     Staff and students alike were galvanized to the black and white, grainy screens as we searched for some sense to it all, some rhyme or reason. We each were in our own private worlds at times. At other times, we tried to console those who couldn't or wouldn't be consoled.

     I can remember being numb and cold and feeling these emotions from moment to moment:  horrified, detached, angered, saddened, sorrowful and expectant. I wanted some announcer to get on and say it had all been a mistake. When they didn't, and I gave in to the reality, I prayed that the President hadn't felt much pain. Then I started thinking about his wife and children. Somehow, their pain and sorrow became paramount. Finally, I turned to the global view. What would it all mean? Would Johnson be a good president? What would this mean in the struggle against the communists, the Cubans?

     By the time I reached home, I was emotionally worn out. I remember my parents talking in hushed tones about what had happened, and then we stayed glued to the TV to find out the latest developments. Not more than twenty words were shared around the living room that night.

     Fifty years later, I still have strong feelings. I also can't help wondering what that bullet kept from happening that day in Dallas. What would our world look like now if Kennedy hadn't been shot? Even though I know it's useless to think about, I still wonder.

     Where were you that day?

     May the dragons watch over us all...

Characters vs Plot…

     The old debate still surfaces from time to time: what's most important, characters or plot? It's an interesting discussion point, and each author will have their own personal scale weighing out the percentages of what they feel to be true on the matter. I must admit to a bit of waffling on the matter. I believe that the story drives the characters and the characters drive the story.

     In writing The Falls small town mystery tales, I believe that the small town, West Sugar Shack Falls, is the main essence of each story and of the series. Each community member takes turns being the focal point as the scenes shift back and forth, and the plot unwinds. In my Dragon World series, the characters are strong, aggressive and a bit over the top and demand center stage. The plot winds and weaves and has sone neat little twists but the essence is always good versus evil.

     In essence then, I must come down in the exact middle. I believe that each story is unique and that sometimes the storyline leads, and other times the characters are the centerpiece. I know, I know, it sounds like a copout, but it's what I truly believe. 

     As I have said before in an earlier post, the characters in The Falls form one main essence: a small town. Small towns are unique and have a life of their own. Where I can create a vast world in the Dragon World series and paint in broad, bold strokes, when I tell the tale of The Falls, many of the relationships intertwine, weave around and create intricate, dewey spiderwebs that flutter and glisten in the brilliant Vermont sunrise. 

     So, what's most important to you as a writer, or as reader? Plot or characters? Why?

     May the dragons watch over you...

Every Writer Does it Differently…

     I have been asked several times "how" I came up with and wrote my stories about The Falls and Dragon World. Did I outline my story in the beginning? Did I make notes and have a "board" where I put down pertinent issues to write about, scenes to develop, etc. Did I have an online file or yellow pad where I put down everything I wanted to happen and then systematically figured out the sequence?

     Well, I only know one thing for sure: there are as many different ways of creating, writing and developing stories as there are authors. Everyone has their own way of doing it. Some authors are very precise, meticulous and patterned with outlines, notes and tons of research. Others let the story take them where it will as a meandering spring stream after the winter snows melt. And then there are the rest of us who fall somewhere between the two extremes. 

     I hope you're not too disappointed when I admit that I really don't have a very illuminating answer about how I write. I don't outline, although as I go along I often think of a scene or something that I want to happen and put it on a sticky. (Mostly because I don't want to forget it!)  I do have a file box with 3x5 cards where I write down each character and a little about them and keep them stored alphabetically. I also have two large three sided charts (they are the boards kids use for their science projects, truth be told!) that has the map of The Falls on one and the surrounding area map on the other. I use Wikipedia mostly for my research, such as checking out methods of killing off someone or wounds that Doc Stone and Meg need to describe. I also use it for specific issues such as hot air ballooning, flowers, and Beth Goldstein's funeral. It is specific enough without overwhelming me with too much detail. Obviously, for my fantasy series, Dragon World, Wikipedia isn't needed. I do keep a note here and there about something I created in that world so I will remember when I want to use it again. I also keep a list of characters that I place in the back of every book.

     But the story, the story unfolds in my head and heart and soul. It sometimes ambles along like an old man and his hound dog walking along a country road. At other times, it rushes by like a great river swollen by rain or spring snow melt. It has a life of it's own. It is it's own entity. I am the conduit. I am above all else, a story-teller, a weaver of of tales. I am the midwife, as each story is born, takes it's first few breaths and then fully unleashes its lungs and cries out. I mold it and shape it as it pours out. I must say, it is one of the most truly alive feelings a person can ever have…giving birth to and weaving a tale.  Yes, I fashion it, turn it this way and that, change out words, define meanings and descriptions. But in the end its essence comes from deep down inside me. At times, I write from my heart. At other times i write from my brain. And my soul is always there, urging, reminding and admonishing me as I form the tale like a glass blower fashions a beautiful bottle or vase. Writing excites me, makes me feel alive. It is trite, I know to say it, but it's true for me: writing defines me and completes me.

     I hope that helps. It's the best this old Scottish Yankee can come up with. I'm sure there are other, much more eloquent writers who could do the subject justice. Perhaps, if we wheedle and urge enough, they'll do just that.

     May the dragons watch over you all...

Thank you…

     There are no words that say enough, are appropriate enough to express how much we owe to the men and women who serve, protect and keep us safe and free. All we can do is say "Thank you" and hope, that in some small measure, all of our heroes know how special they are and how much we owe them every day of our lives. 

     May this day and all your days be filled with love, laughter and the warmth of friendship and family. Thank you for being there. We salute you all.

     May the dragons watch over you...

Heaven help me, I've Tweeted…

     Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined it. My mother and father, Heaven rest their souls, would raise their eyebrows. I still remember rotary phones, phones with party lines, cisterns in wood burning kitchen stoves, the advent of color TV and early Elvis. But last night, in the privacy of my own home I took the step. I tweeted! And I tweeted twice this morning.

     I don't appear to feel any lingering effects from the experience and I still look like my old self in the mirror in passing. But I have officially entered the Twitter age. I even have some followers! My Twitter name is TheFalls_VT. Obviously referring to the small town mystery series I write. I struggled with a name and discarded several while Twitter wouldn't let me have a number of others because they were already taken.

     I'm told that having a Twitter account and Tweeting at least once a day will help a bit with my book promotions. So, I'll give it an old Yankee try. As the old adage goes, any port in a storm. 

     So, here I am, officially Tweeting and being Tweeted to. Amazing. Simply amazing! So, give me a Tweet and I'll Tweet back. Just remember, be gentle…I'm new at this!

     May the dragons watch over you…and TheFalls_VT...

Feelin' my way…

     I just published my 12th volume in The Falls small town mystery series as an ebook at the Kindle Store, Amazon.com. That's the 20th ebook I've published through Kindle Direct Publishing. Sounds like a lot doesn't it? You would think that I would be used to all this by now. Truth of the matter is that I'm not.

     Each book that I hit "publish" and send out to the wild world of the internet brings about the same reaction as the first. I take a deep breath and make a little, heartfelt wish. I call on the dragons to watch over it as it slips into Kindle's inventory of ebooks and then I walk around all day wondering if it's good, whether I have done a good job editing and how it will be received by the growing number of people who actually (miracle of miracles!) seem to be fans.

     Many writers are tough skinned and determined while at the very same time, we are overly sensitive and just a bit fearful. I'm six foot two and two hundred and thirty pounds and can honestly say I've never really been afraid of anyone in my life (the lone exception being my mother, bless her soul). But once I have sent that newest volume out, I worry about how it will be received, receiving and dealing with bad reviews internally and not living up to a certain standard. 

     I am my hardest critic. Trust me. Since I am still learning the online publishing business, I often am not sure that I've got it right. But, as my dad always said, if you don't try, you can't possibly succeed. Dad was a very smart and perceptive man despite never attending college. It doesn't make it any easier though.

     Reading, studying messages from other authors speaking about and advertising their works, I tend to marvel. They seem so positive and confident. They seem so polished and energetic about their works and present such an enthusiastic and energetic presence. there must be an author's confidence drink out there that I'm missing!

     When forced to answer, I will admit to believing in myself as a writer. The stories that I weave are a large part of the inside me. They flow out of me, taking twists and turns as they appear on the page. I don't outline my plot or characters beforehand, they simply appear as I write. In fact it's more like I'm telling a story, weaving a story than I am writing. Just like when I used to tell my kids stories at bedtime. I tell the story that comes out of me.

     As a principal, I had a positive, strong, calm front that I presented to everyone (well, the kids always got the real me to come out!). I don't have that front as a writer. Perhaps I will some day. But then, after 20 books, if it hasn't shown up already, you'd have to think it's probably not going to. So it's just me out there.

     So, here I am, just as nervous and at stray ends after publishing The Falls: Revenge as I was after the first one I published. I truly hope you enjoy it. I hope the story speaks to you. Most of all, I really hope that it becomes more than a story, a piece of your life perhaps, for a just a magical, little while.

     May the dragons watch over you, gentle readers... 

The Twilight Tea Party and Tales from the Principal's Bench…

     It just struck me, some of you may not know that I write stories other than small town mysteries (The Falls small town mystery series). It must be a senior moment. (Then again, I was having those moments when I was in my twenties, but let that be our little secret, okay?)

     I humbly weave the stories of Dragon World as well. There are six Dragon World volumes in the series. The first book is entitled Dragon World: Dragon Magic. It weaves the story of a fantastic, rugged, wild and lusty (yes, I said lusty!) world called Rupar. There are wise and fiery Dragons, fierce and noble Dragonriders, dedicated White Wizards, fearsome Black Sorcerers, savage Barbarians, and several other races spread out in an uneasy peace across the huge world. War springs up from time to time and its inhabitants laugh, love and battle fiercely as good continues to fight against evil.

     I also have a collection of short stories that I accumulated over 40 years in education as a teacher and principal. They will make you laugh, shed a tear, and stop and think about kids, schools and the adults who deal with them. That would be Tales from the Principal's Bench.

     A few months ago I wrote a children's book for one of our eight grandchildren. It's illustrated and described a child's fanciful night in the twilight with a ballerina bear, a timid hedgehog and a stern rabbit. You will find The Twilight Tea party at the Kindle Store for only $.99. I wanted to put it on for free, so my granddaughters friends could get it, but had to settle for placing it on a free promotion for five days.

     There will be more, I can assure you of that! In fact, over the next day or two, the twelfth volume of The falls small town mysteries will be published! The name will be The Falls: Revenge and it will be available at the Kindle Store, Amazon.com. for $2.99.

     What stories do you still have in you?

     May the dragons watch over you...

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder...

     Remember that old adage? Well, as I grow older and have a bit more time to ponder such things, I would agree heartily with the sentiment. My wife and I have a combined family of five children, eight grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. We now live in Tradition, Florida and our kids and their families are spread out far and wide across this great country. Our oldest son and family of four lives near San Diego, our middle son and family of four lives in Connecticut and our youngest son and family of four lives on the west coast of Florida (about three hours from us). Our oldest daughter and family of four  lives on the east coast of Florida (approximately and hour and fifteen minutes away) and out youngest daughter and her husband lives (right now, they are an army family on the move) in Virginia, soon to be Kansas. We also have two grandkids in Florida nearby our youngest son and one grandchild in Connecticut near our second oldest son. My sister and her family lives in Vermont and Maine and my wife's sister and family lives in California. 

     There's the proverbial rub. It's impossible to see them all in a given year, at least for two educators who live mostly on social security and pensions. So, we keep in touch with text messages, cards, phone calls, gifts sent in the mail, fantasy football, and spend a good deal of time thinking about each of them. Seventy-five years ago, families pretty much stayed in their same 'neck of the woods', just like you see in The Falls community in my mystery series. Back then, most people earned money by doing whatever they could find and they often settled down and made it their life's work. Now days, with all the technology and instant availability to be anywhere at anytime, our sons and daughters go to where the best jobs are. Rightfully so. But, in any case, families are no longer living a few miles from each other. They're lucky if they live a few states from one another.

     I would pull any punches. I miss being around our kids. Each one of them is. in their own ways, special. I miss having time to joke around and hang around with them. I miss their laughter, their teasing, their intelligence, their inner strength and their caring. I miss watching them grow older and better...I even miss noticing the gray hair and the extra pounds that inevitably come and I'm shocked to see when we visit. I miss watching them be around with their kids. They are all great parents, or will be someday. I would give anything to have a crystal ball and just watch them whenever I get a little wistful or have that insatiable urge to reconnect. I really miss family holidays at our house. I miss the gatherings where we all were part of a bigger whole. That was special, and I know it never will be the same again.

     But I also know that just as my wife and I were in our thirties and forties (and starting into their fifties soon), our kids are working all hours of the day, taking their kids off to soccer and t-ball practice, keeping up their houses and busily carving out their own lives and traditions. I get it, I understand. But that doesn't mean that I have to like it. I'm six feet two and a good two hundred and thirty pounds, but in the end, I guess I'm a sentimental old Yankee Scotsman, who loves his kids, their kids and their kids. I would give anything to have us all together for a week. Family reunion style. I can close my eyes and envision all the laughing and squabbling and talking and camaraderie. All the love and remembering who we are and where we came from. Then it could all go back to the way it is. How perfect would that be?

     So, does absence make your heart grow fonder?

     May the dragons watch over you... 

Fall Means Football...

     There are many ways for a family to have fun. Snowball fights, days at the beach, hiking in the mountains, playing games, cookouts, holiday get-togethers, laughing so hard you can't stand up and just being together all ring a bell. But there are other, more diverse ways as well.

     You see, I have an alter ego. (Well, probably I have several, but then who doesn't?!) Eons before I had a blog, years before I published my first ebook, distant ages before I learned how to create an e-cover, I was an NFL football fan and the commissioner of two fantasy football leagues.

     In 1958, when I was eleven, I watched my first NFL game. It was magical. It was on a small, six inch square, fuzzy-screened floor model TV that weighed probably more than an offensive lineman. Most of the time the test pattern was on, because there weren't enough shows to fill out a schedule at that time. It was the Sudden Death game, where the Baltimore Colts beat the New York Giants in overtime. Johnny Unitas, Alan Ameche, Gino Marchetti, Lenny Moore and all their teammates pounded the ball into the end zone before my amazed and astonished eyes. From that time on, I was a Colts' fan, never wavering an inch over the next fifty-four years.

     I have faithfully followed my Colts through Super Bowl years, and through years where winning one or two games was a stretch of the imagination. But no matter their record, no matter how good or how lousy and pitiful they were, they were my team and I was, and am, proud of them. 

     As the years went by, my wife became an ardent Seattle Seahawks fan, and our three sons morphed into a Chargers' fan a Bears' fan, and a Raider fan. (Don't ask me where they got those teams from! Each has a different and fascinating story.) I also started playing fantasy football decades ago. I enjoyed playing it a great deal but something was missing. So, finally, I decided to run two family (and a few close friends) fantasy leagues. That was more like it! We could play against each other, no matter where we were in the country, and enjoy the teasing, the excitement, the trash talk and the camaraderie of the moment.

     My wife got involved in it a few years ago, and has become quite proficient! In fact, last year, she won both leagues! That's a pretty cool thing for a mom and grandma to hold over her kids and grandkids (Just think of it... Hey! My grandmother just beat me at fantasy football!) I'm quite proud of her and have enjoyed watching all of our family members who participate interact and enjoy the moments we share. It's a way to come together as the miles and states between us suddenly vanish.

     You'll notice that several of the characters in The Falls small town mysteries have football teams and baseball teams they root for as well. That's an integral part of small town life as well. Friends running out the flags of their favorite teams on Saturday or Sunday and beeping their horns at others as they pass. Small town America at it's best!

     So, you see, for me fall is much more than just beautiful foliage, apple-picking and the first cold breeze signaling that winter is upon us. It's football, family and fun. What does your family do for fun? 

     May the dragons watch over your favorite team this weekend...

Break-in Plus Six Days...

     Well, it's been a rather crazy six days since our home was broken into while we were in New England. Twenty-six hours after we got the message from the security company, our contractor and the police, we drove in our driveway. Since then, I actually haven't left my yard. I'm waiting for the new french doors with high intensity glass to be installed. We have our metal hurricane shutters bolted on over the broken sliding glass door but somehow, it makes me just a tad nervous. 

     We have talked to three insurance people, an insurance adjuster, three police women, had our fingerprints taken, and written out a five page description of what was taken. We're waiting for someone from the city building inspector's office to come by and check our new screened in porch (which we have to go outside to go into, since it is on the other side of the broken slider). We are also waiting for our contractor, who was wonderful through the whole process, to order and install our white french doors. When that happens, and we install motion detectors, it will be a relief.

     My wife and I have talked to each other, at the oddest of moments, about how we feel about the whole circus. Mostly in a sentence or two at a time, with an accompanying hug and a shake of the head. It's funny what emotions flow through you as you recover from the whole thing. It almost seems as though it happened to someone else, although as you clean up the black dust from fingerprints taken, the bits of things that were destroyed by the culprits and as both of you try and do things to make sure that it never happens again, you know it's real. We have also spoken to, texted and emailed a variety of family and friends, letting them know what has happened. Their kind, thoughtful, heartfelt, and at times, emotional sentiments, are both good to hear and sustaining.

     As with most of life, this incident will make us stronger. It sharpens our empathy to those who have lost much more than us, and someday, a long way off, it will bring us peace. To those of you who have been so caring...Thank you. To those of you who read this, become thoughtful and wonder about what the world is coming to...the world still has such a great deal of beauty, wonder and magic...don't be afraid. Live life to it's fullest...and enjoy each and every day you have. Love, laugh, and savor fully those that you love and cherish. Don't waste a moment.

     May the dragons watch over all of you...(and may they char the a**** of those who deserve it...)

     

Why do you write?

     Have you ever stopped and thought why you write, or what makes writers write? I will admit that over the years, I haven't really given it much too much thought. While I was working 12-13 hours a day as a principal, there were always dozens of other things to occupy my thoughts. Since I have been "retired" I write every morning and edit every afternoon (at least every day I'm home and don't have an appointment or company) so again, my thoughts are used in other pursuits. But we had occasion to drive up and back from Florida to Vermont and Connecticut recently to visit my sister and our second oldest son. During those long hours driving or riding, when we weren't searching for foliage or checking the GPS and how it differed from the AAA maps, I settled in on the question at hand. Why do I write?

     The basic answer is this: I guess I write because I have to. There is this certain something inside me that drives me, urges me, propels me to put words down on paper...to tell stories. That's what I think of it as...telling stories. I can remember sitting out on the farmhouse porch of my little grandma, eating fresh raspberries or blueberries, covered with sugar and sitting in milk while the fireflies fluttered aimlessly and listening to her tell me about "the olden days". To her, the olden days meant the days of her youth. She told those stories with such a passionate twinkle in her eye and a grin on her wizened face that as I sat, the sunset stretching across the green mountains, I could actually envision what she was describing.

     Later on, when I was in school and it was story time, when our teachers would read from the world of books like Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift or The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.H. Lewis or the Tales of King Arthur, I would sit quietly with my head down and see the story as the teacher magically wove it. (I will readily admit to having wonderful teachers, all who could capture their whole class with their dramatic renditions from the classics. I was lucky...today's rigid and unrealistic testing schedules leave little time for what is really important like reading to the class.)

     Then, as I grew up, I began creating my own worlds and stories, playing them out in the backyard, or weaving them to myself. My sister was eleven years older than I, so I got to babysit (actually it was more like playing with them) her kids at times. I created magical worlds for them out of our basement, taking them in a spaceship to the moon, or creating a pirate's ship to sail the seven seas! We spent countless hours imagining, laughing and playing. When my children came along, I read to them every night, or told them stories that I eagerly spun on the fly when they asked me for them, which was often. They seemed to love my little stories more than the stories I read to them from books.

     So, I write because the stories have to get out. I write because I want to share the stories with others. I write because I truly love to write. I make use of what I have heard and seen and lived with all of my life. I write because I miss writing when I'm not. I know it's not for fame or money or to "be somebody" all though that would be amazing if it ever happens. But most of all, I write because I simply have to. The stories have a life of their own and I am the simple conduit who writes them down, gets them out so they can be shared. It feels good to write (not to edit or do all the other stuff, that gets a bit tedious). 

     Why do you think your favorite authors write? Why do you write? Do you find that you have to write  as well?

     May the dragons watch over you and the stories in your heart, head and soul...

The Six Most Important Words in a Relationship...

     I was listening to several people a while ago. They were talking about what were the most important words we could say in our lives. They happened to be dealing with what six words they felt were the most important. (I later learned that they had been discussing an episode of the Michael J. Fox show!) Now, there are obviously lots of words that are important in relationships. And we have a wide range of relationships with all kinds of friends, family, co-workers, acquaintances, spouses and soul mates. There are lots of words that are specifically fine-tuned to each one of those relationships. So their random conversation got me to thinking.

     At first, I thought that the six words, "I love you with all my heart" were the most important ones. But, those six words, although the strongest and most meaningful in certain situations, don't seem quite appropriate when you're returning an overdue book to Mrs. McAllister the librarian, or when you're politely asking little Tommy Sedgwick from down the street to get his bike out of your yard. "You mean the world to me" has the same narrow focus. Powerful words but they can be used inappropriately. "I am so proud of you" fits the broad overall spectrum of people and circumstances a good deal better. "I am so happy with you" does as well. But, after much thought about the options and possibilities, I have decided on what I feel are the best six words, when needed, we can use for all occasions and everyone in our lives.

     I agree with the writers from the Michael J. Fox show. The words are:  "I'm wrong. You're right. I'm sorry."

     Sorry about the contractions, but technically it's still six words. The phrase seems to fit. It shows that we are able to admit and verbalize that someone else has a better idea than we do or a better way of doing things, and that we are kind and caring enough to acknowledge that fact. It shows that we have faith and a belief in that person and that we are humble enough to say we're sorry. That means a lot. Hearing someone else say it to you makes one stop and listen carefully, doesn't it? We don't really hear it that often, you'll notice. When we do it means something special. Saying you're sorry is very hard for a lot of us. Doing so, in a quiet, thoughtful and loving way can be the ultimate act of giving. Even when said in supplication, the words hit the right note. You can't go too far wrong when saying and meaning the six words.

     So, those are the six words I believe do the job. What do you think? What six words do you think are most important?

     May the dragons watch over you...and if not, I'm wrong, you're right and I'm sorry!

Positive Attitudes and Life...

     Over the past 65 years there have been a lot of ups and downs in my life. Hopefully, I have learned from each of them. One thing I'm sure of: the way you react to the events and people in your life make a difference in the direction your life heads from that point onward.

     Each of us has a wide range of incidents that come our way. There are times that we are more positive than negative about the way we respond to them, and vice-versa. The first twenty-some-odd years, I think the way most of us respond to those incidents are mostly reactive and formed without much thought, responding with our 'gut feelings' if you will. After that, at a point in time that varies widely for each of us, we begin stepping back after the initial shock or rejoicing of a particular incident and figuring out the best way to handle it. We begin to take stock of what has happened, how it affects the ones closest to us and evaluate the options it affords us.

     I'll be the first to admit that there are times I have completely blown how to handle something, and other times that I have done it in a fashion that I'm proud of, even to this day. One thing I have learned: I need to remember that unless it's life or death circumstances, whatever the incident, it will gradually assimilate into my life. So, I have come to take a much more positive tack and have tried to be kind, openminded and understanding. Okay, that hasn't always worked. I'm still a feisty, independent Scotsman and I tend to fire up my personal dragons if someone or something deliberately "rains on my parade". But now, instead of responding, I count to ten (okay, maybe twenty-five) before I respond like a wild-eyed Scottish Highlander, even though I might prefer that method at the moment. If I'm honest, I have to admit that I often envision myself aggressively confronting the offending person or event, which does help somewhat! Beheading with a Scottish Claymore is particularly rewarding!

     I think after five wonderful kids, eight beautiful grandchildren and three special great grand-babies, I have mellowed. I'm sure some of my friends from younger days are chuckling over that statement, but I have. I have come to look at an incident or an idiotic, belligerent person with different, hopefully wiser, eyes. It doesn't mean I'm weaker...it means I have more skill in dealing with the world. Most difficult things in life are not worth the stress and emotional wear and tear. (My wife, I'm sure, is chuckling and asking, "George? That can't be you! Who are you and what have you done with my husband?")

     All of us have moments when we wished we would have handled a situation better. I have less of those as I grow older and become an elder statesman. As a principal of several schools over twenty-nine years (forty years in education as a teacher and administrator) I used my skills and my wits. There were times I told people off, but they had to really deserve it. In my own personal life, however, I was more emotional, more instantaneous reaction. Sometimes that was good, sometimes it wasn't. I think we have to see what our actions do to those we love and care about to really get to the point where rationalization, calmness and understanding are the watchword we go by.

     How about you? Are you emotional or rational? Positive or negative? How do you react to life's little events? And how does that reaction make you feel?

     May the dragons watch over you...

Ten Day Adventure???

     My wife and I have just returned from a ten day road trip to Vermont, Connecticut and parts north. We went up to spend time with my sister who had recently had a a serious procedure. We also went to enjoy helping my sister and her husband set up and take down their art tent and display at Art in the Park in Rutland, Vermont. My sister is a very famous oil and watercolor artist in New England, Ann McFarren. (In fact the character Louise May McFadden in my Falls small town mystery series is modeled after her.) Art in the Park is a time tested art and craft show held once in the spring and once in the fall around the town square in Rutland. (Check out Art in the Park, Rutland). We had a great time. The foliage was almost in peak season and we got to see and enjoy lots of family.

     From there, we headed down to Coventry, CN where our son and his wife live. We spent a couple of wonderful days with them on our way back home to Tradition, Florida. We also had a had a wonderful time with them and our grandson.

     And so our adventure took us 1500 miles up and fifteen hundred miles back. The first fifteen hundred miles was done in a rather leisurely fashion in two and a half days staying at two Hampton Inns, our hotel of choice. The return trek was done in a little over twenty-six hours with only gas and potty breaks. This second, hurried trip was necessary because we got a phone call from the police and out security company telling us that our home had been broken into!

     Needless to say, we had all kinds of awful thoughts as we made out way back home. Luckily, the contractor we had hired to add an outside, screened in patio deck complete with pavers arrived just after the thieves had broken our sliding glass door window and were ransacking our house. When the contractor called out to us, thinking we were home early, the surprised thieves jumped out the bedroom window. When we finally did arrive home this morning, we found that several things had been gathered by the sliding glass door to take with the thieves. Fortunately, they were only able to abscond with some of my good jewelry (from an earlier life as a school principal).

     Apparently, the people who broke and entered our house are known as the "pillowcase" bandits in the area, because they enter a home with nothing and carry out easily sold and valuable items in a pillowcase stolen from the house. Okay...let's be honest...after the anger and shock died down a bit (my thoughts included having five minutes alone with the miscreants to inflict massive damage!), I began to have a distinct yen to include these bandits in one of my The Falls small town mystery series! You heard it here first! Watch for it! Strange what a writer's brain focuses on, isn't it?!

     During the day, we talked to our insurance agent, met with the police who had dusted for prints and were following up leads, along with talking with some neighbors who were very helpful and thanking our contractor heartily. After two days without sleep we took an hour and a half nap...but that hardly made a dent in the weariness.

     So, our adventure is over, except for the cleaning up, filling out police and insurance forms and wondering if the dastardly hoodlums will ever decide to return. Now we'll look at increased security matters and staying close to home for awhile. I will put the dragons on high alert (they love to singe the a**es of nefarious characters!) as well.

     May your day have been much better than ours...

Write What You Know...

     It seems like the number one piece of advice that people give about writing is simply this: you should write about what you know. Thanks goodness that fantasy authors like Tolkien, McCaffrey and King didn't follow that advice. Hmmm, on second thought, maybe they did write what they knew. In their case, however, it was what they saw, envisioned and were familiar with inside their own creative minds.

     In my own case, I grew up in Vermont. A small town outside of Rutland, Fair Haven to be exact. I saw a number of old time Vermonters as I grew up in the fifties and sixties. I was familiar with the lush green mountains surrounding every town, farm and hamlet. I lived through winters where six feet of snow in one storm or temperatures far below zero were commonplace. I fished in the myriad of small lakes and streams as well as in Lake Champlain. (By the way, Lake Champlain is about 500 feet deep in the middle and has it's own Loch Ness monster nicknamed Champ. That's where Squashy of Lake Pumpkinseed lore came from!)

     I grew up around independent, feisty, crotchety and direct speaking Vermonters. I believe that strong, intelligent and determined women were the norm back then as well. My ancestors were farmers and loggers. I was raised by a gentile, intelligent but stubborn teacher, my mother, and a kind, funny, inventive and skillful man, my father. My sister was eleven years older than me. She was my babysitter...and that relationship didn't change to us being friends until we were adults. I only have misty memories of one grandfather, but I remember both my grandmothers very vividly. The character traits from both parents and grandparents have been used a number of times in The Falls small town mysteries.

     I write about a town that has fifties and sixties values, ethics and relationships, because it is what I value most about my birthplace. The small town in my stories is a place that I find solace in, a place apart from the hustle, bustle and often callous and insensitive world we now live in. It also is a town that combines both the best of modern technology and the reminders of an older, slower paced but more caring world world (like the two-way radios that the sheriff's department uses, and the hand printed menus at Tina's Diner).

     So, in the end, in The Falls small town mysteries, I write about what I know.

     Of course, that doesn't give you any reasonable explanation about the World of Rupar, Dragon World! Dragon World is all mine, a world of rugged landscapes, lusty, fierce and passionate warriors, wizards and barbarians. They are my escape from the modern, 'there's a rule for everything' world. There, courage, honor, strength, fierce dedication and loyalty hold sway above all else. It is the world where I go to think bigger than life as the powers of good wars against evil, in all its forms.

     So, in the end I, as an author do both. I write about what I know, and I write about what I dream. What do you do?

Where do your characters come from?

     That's the most frequently asked question I get about my stories. "Where did the characters come from? Are they people you've met, or people you see in the news, or are they composites of lots of folks?"

     As my little (4'10") grandma used to tell me with a wink, the answer is complicated. Some characters are much like people I've known, either physically or emotionally or simply the way they think about things. I used to know an old man back in Vermont who was as direct as a straight line, and he never spoke more than five words in any one sentence. Blunt, to the point and unvarnished. I've used him a lot. Old time Vermonters are much like that. Darlene Pitts, the sheriff's secretary and dispatcher and Alma Stewart, the secretary at the town hall, have a lot of that old man in them.

     Most of the characters I see in my head. No, don't get Dr. Serafina Messina the town psychiatrist to come and see me. I imagine them, I really don't think they're real. And (ahem) if I did think they were real, I wouldn't be telling you...or her. Like Jebediah Smith and Ezekiel Peters. I can see Jeb and Zeke as clear as if they were standing here next to me playing a video game. Well, they are the town's premier connoisseurs of video games, owning the Smith and Peters Super Video Store, so what would be far-fetched about that? By the way, have you noticed that when you see a scene with Jeb and Zeke playing a video game that it always has something to do with the plot of the story? Check it out.

     Other characters, like the Dragonriders, barbarians and wizards in Dragon World come from the rich imagination I developed reading The Hobbit, Anne McCaffrey and their amazing colleagues. I have to admit, I love a lot of the Young Adult novels right now. Great writing, rich, marvelously creative characters and intense plots. So with the characters in the wild, rugged world of Rupar, I plugged in the qualities I most wanted each of them to have and gave them all a fierce, fiesty edge. After all, they are larger than life and heroes or master villains, for Heaven's sake!

     The main characters in The Falls, (lean a bit closer, I don't want to say this too loud, it's a secret), come from myself, my close friends or my relatives. I see myself in several characters...bits and pieces of me you understand. I see my kids, my wife, my sister...and a number of people who I know well. I won't tell you which ones are which, that would be like giving away the ingredients to a prize-winning chili. But if you look hard enough, you should begin to figure it out.

     So, for those of you that are writers, I ask you: where do your characters come from?

     May the dragons watch over you...

Free Promotion!!!

     The Falls: Trial, the 10th volume in The Falls small town mystery series will be on free promotion at the Kindle Store, Amazon.com this Friday, Saturday and Sunday! Don't forget to grab a copy while it's free! The 12th volume of the series, The Falls: Revenge, will be out in a few weeks! Return to The Falls!

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Trial-small-mystery-ebook/dp/B00D0BTZ3E/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380807568&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Falls%3A+Trial

Government Shutdown

       I understand that the congressmen and women we have elected to watch over us and do what's right for us have decided to do nothing while America goes, as my father would say, "to hell in a hand basket".   

     With all due respect, I believe the country would be much better served if during that time, all of those smug, self-important lawmakers were to lose their paychecks, have their insurance revoked and be placed in the beginnings of bankruptcy. It's my humble opinion that the crisis would be solved within a day if that were to happen. 

     Of course that would mean the republicans and democrats would actually have to talk to each other instead of posturing, boasting and showing us dramatically how "much they care". Our trusted congressmen and women need to start remembering why America is called the land of the brave and the home of the free, and why we are still the greatest country in the world before we rise up as a people, take back their jobs and wish them well anywhere but 'serving us' in the government  

     Why is it that politicians can't see the forest for the trees? It's such a shame. It's time to put America's future ahead of any tough times we might need to go through to get us where we need to be. I wonder how many people agree with me out there?

The Road Less Taken?

     Eons ago, writers sat at desks, writing on yellow pads, then transcribing their manuscripts to typewriters and bundling them up to ship their precious words and thoughts via snail mail to publishers and agents who sat in their ivory towers of literary power. Then the interminable wait began, only to be followed by the usual rejection letter and the lengthy process began once more.

     Well...that was then, this is now. In the new world of ebooks, boutique publishers, online publishing companies, the sad reality that many brick and mortar book stores are going under, and mind shattering technology, there are infinite choices available to writers all over the world. Each of us, as writers, are so involved in advertising, publicizing and making creative decisions that it's hard at times to find the time to actually sit down and write.

     I was a principal and a teacher for forty years. The 10-12 hours a day I put in left me little time to follow my muse although I still wrote...I couldn't help it. After retirement, I turned to writing every day. For two and a half years, I sent in query letter after query letter, summary, synopsis, and requested chapter after unrequested chapter out to any agent in my genre that I could find listed in the Writers' Guide or online. I finally got tired of it. Although not particularly computer/technology savvy, I forced myself to learn how to create my own covers, transfer my stories to HTML and then publish on Amazon at the Kindle Store. I had been a successful artist in oils in a past life, so I had fairly good basic drawing skills. I used my own art in some of the covers as well. Now, several years later and with nineteen e-books at the Kindle Store and a check every month coming in, I feel better about who I am as a writer. I'm still learning the ins and outs about marketing and advertising but I I'm working at it...getting better (hopefully) as I go along. I have a hard time with self-promotion...I always believed a person's craft should speak for them. But I'm learning. It's a matter of pride at this point.

     One can only imagine the fascinating stories that many writers have to tell about their wandering through the maze of modern day writing/publishing/publicizing. I for one, would love to hear your story. Please, feel free to add a summary of your personal journey here on this blog. Let's share where we are and where we're going!

     What's your story? 

To Blog or Not to Blog

     Funny thing, as I began my first meager attempts at blogging, other writers around me online began discussing whether they blog or not. It's an interesting issue, perhaps more of a dilemma for some. I understand the issues. If you take time to blog, you take time away from writing. Blogging means learning yet another technological skill. Blogging is a whole different type of writing from what most of us are accustomed to. But then again, blogging is writing...it's just not writing on the story that you're presently working on.

    So, it seems that writers have a wide variety of perspectives on blogging. Some feel they don't need to or want to, that they would rather spend their time on the stories they are working on. Others feel that blogging gives them an opportunity to reach out to their faithful readers, let their fans know a bit more about them as a person, and feel a closer bond to their writing. Still others feel that it is something that will increase their exposure, a free way of advertising and a way to expand their readership base. Still others see a blog as a way to give out clues to upcoming stories and share their personal and professional triumphs and day-to-day activities. Others do it with a true sense of delight and enthusiasm.

     One thing I do know: whatever a writer's reasoning for writing or not writing a blog, that's their personal conviction and should be respected and honored. Blogging is as personal and as varied as anything else a person does. It speaks to the innate essence of one.

     Now, you might ask, what about me and blogging? Well, the dragons and I have taken the giant step into cyberspace and we will write a blog. It won't be fancy. It won't be as inspiring or as stunning as some of the beautifully crafted and written blogs that are out there. It will contain bits of who I am and where I come from. It will talk about the characters from my stories. It will shed some light on how my stories are written and why I write. It will speak personally to those that read my small stories and give them some insights that they won't find in the books. It will reveal as much about me as it does about my stories and characters...how could it not? It will get better over time, because that's what the dragons and I do. We work at something and get better at it.  We grind away at things. We pride ourselves of getting whatever we do right. We're kind of like the turtle in the Aesop's Fable, The Tortoise and the Hare. Slow but steady wins the race. 

     I truly hope you stop by and read our blog from time to time. Who knows? It might even have a few wise sayings from my grandpas and grandmas and a reminder or two that life is way too short to be too serious about ourselves.

     I hope you have a great day...and the dragons do as well... 

   

   

     Have you ever dreamed of soaring upon the back of a great Battle Dragon or Empress Dragon? The Dragon World Series has six titles at this point and is available as ebooks at the Kindle Store, Amazon.com for $2.99 each. The series describes a wild, rugged and lusty world of Dragons, Dragon riders, barbarians, warriors, wizards and black sorceress. It is a world of great contrasts, vast deserts, towering snow covered  mountains, lush jungles, eerie swamps and beautiful tropical islands. There is an intense, elemental battle between the forces of good and evil that sharpens all emotions, loves, lusts, and encounters. It is a world not for the faint hearted. Come to the World of Rupar!

     As the dragons and I stick our toe into blogging (sounds almost obscene, doesn't it?) the first hurdle appears to be the layout of the blog itself. So, I'm sure there will be some trial and error. If any of you who read this have suggestions, please, offer them. I'm smart enough not to re-invent the wheel. Or at least I hope I am. I'm certain the dragons are.
    Several of you have asked about the dragons. Well, I'm part Scottish and when my wife, Carolyn and I visited England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales a few years ago a small wizened old man sitting on a rock wall in a small village wished me a Scottish blessing, "...may the dragons watch over you...".  Now for most of my life I had dreamed up and written fantasy stories with dragons in them. So, the phrase fit and stuck. Now, I wish people "may the dragons watch over you" as my way of saying good luck and may the fates be kind to you.
     If you haven't checked out the Dragon World Series at the Kindle Store on Amazon.com, you'll find six stories about the wild, rugged and lusty world of Rupar. (The beginning volume is entitled Dragon World: Dragon Magic)  That's where my dragons live, love and roam!
     Anyway, as the dragons and I try and figure out this blogging thing, I ask your patience. Writing isn't a problem, putting in a format and display that is pleasing and not altogether annoying for the poor reader: that's the challenge.
     My little grandma (she wasn't much more than four foot ten) always told me that the best way to deal with something was to simply do it, and then fix what you had to as you went along. So, I'll stick with her advice.
     May your day be a good one, and may the dragons watch over you.

My first blog

Welcome!

     Welcome to my first blog. Blog. What an interesting term. Being of the pre-computer, pre-technology generation (yes, I'm that old) means I've seen a great number of changes...and I'm now trying keep up with them. Thus the blog. I've been told all writers have blogs. So, here we are. Once I get comfortable with the format and post regularly, it will cease to be a novelty. Who knows, I might even get good at it. It is, after all, writing. And that's what I do now.

     I ask your patience as I get the bones of all this together, and thank you for your kindness and friendship. By the way...the twelfth volume of The Falls small town mystery series is coming along well. The Falls: Revenge will be at the Kindle Store, Amazon.com within the next few weeks! Clues to the plot will be coming up soon.

     Until the next post, may the dragons watch over you...