I walked outside the other day to check on my garden and this is what I saw.   He was actually closer when I walked up on him, but I didn’t have my glasses on and it took me a bit to find the camera button on my phone.  Even then, I wasn’t sure I […]

I’ve been working on the final revision of this novel.  It is the third book in my Kingdom of Haven series.  Soon it will be off to the editor, and then out in the world.   It will be available around November.  More details to come. In the meantime, here is the cover design by […]

I love lots of colors in the yard.  This Portulaca is hanging near my front door.  The flowers only open during the day and and stand up towards the sun.  They close up at night and droop down. This hibiscus bush has pretty purple flowers.  I put it in two years ago and it is […]

I attended ConCarolinas yesterday with my daughter.  It has become somewhat of a tradition for us to attend cons.  We shoot for the smaller local cons because they are typically more intimate than some of the bigger ones.  We started years ago with MarsCon out of Williamsburg, VA; tried out RavenCon in Richmond, VA; StellarCon […]

I actually wrote the draft of this post about a week ago.  Here is what happened: I was walking with my wife on the sidewalk.  A lady was approaching us from the opposite direction with her dog on a leash.  It was an older yellow lab.  As we approached, I moved over to the right […]

My short story “Santa Doesn’t Work Here Anymore” will be coming your way this Christmas.  It will be appearing in the anthology Short and Twisted Christmas Tales sponsored by the North Texas Speculative Fiction Workshop. This story has been sitting in my pile waiting for the right venue.  It feels good to get it out […]

My wife received this White Amaryllis as a gift from Belks two years ago for buying her favorite perfume.  Well actually, I bought her the perfume for Christmas and got this flower as a gift.  It did well the first year, but didn’t bloom last year.  I guess the third year is the charm.  It […]

I just started submitting short stories again.  No excuses—I stopped sending stuff out to focus on my novels.  Okay, that was my official excuse, and I’m sticking with it.  Looking back, it wasn’t the best plan.  Be that as it may, it’s been a few years since I submitted stories.  I’m guessing I’m not alone […]

Spring is in the air, and I love it.  We all have our reasons for loving spring:  Some are happy to see the end of winter, some like the flowers, and some like to get outside and go for walks.  This last one is my wife’s favorite.  She drags encourages me to walk with her […]

In 2016 I read some fantasy novels, historical fiction, historical non-fiction, and a couple of teamwork books.  I don’t count all the online reading I do for research.  I’ve always been a history buff, and have recently been into historical fiction more than any other genre. I like to go to used book stores and […]