As she gazed out across the lifeless expanse, it was hard to imagine this entire valley had once been filled with crystal clear water. Continue reading →
- The Truth About The Stars
“Grandpa, what are stars?” the little girl with the midnight hair asked as she gazed up at the diamond-flecked sky.
“Well now, that’s a big question,” the Grandpa answered slowly. “One of those questions that have more than one answer.”
The little girl’s brown knit into weaves and folds. She considered this as she studied her Grandfather’s serene profile.
“How could there be more than one answer? Isn’t there only one right answer?”
“There’s hardly ever just one right answer to any question in the world.”
Continue reading →
- Genre Hopping: Do You Dare?
In general, people stick with the familiar. We like routines and predictability. A little excitement from time to time is a good thing, but too much change sends most of us running for the hills, right? What I’m wondering if the same is true in your reading or writing life? Are you a genre hopper? Continue reading →
- Resolutions
Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? Honestly, most years I don’t. There have been a few that I have, and I always like the idea of making changes or new commitments with the new year. Most of the time though I feel like a) I’m already doing all the things I really want or think I really need to be doing or b) I’m already over-committed and if I add one more thing I’ll never stick with it. Sound familiar?
Well, this year I decided I’d make one resolution. Continue reading →
- When Winter Comes Too Soon
Sidra closed her eyes as she listened to the story being told by Marcus, one of the other residents of the hardened shelter on Patrick Air Force Base. His deep voiced resonated through the main hall, no doubt carrying through the dimly lit corridors beyond. Tonight’s tale was a favorite of hers, a story about Old Earth like her father used to tell.
Sidra tried to keep her mind focused on the image of sidewalks bustling with people while the horns of passing cars honked a merry tune. It must have been beautiful once, on the outside. Sidra tried to picture a blue sky arching over tall buildings made of reflective windows that sparkled in the sunlight. Her mind couldn’t hold the image. The picture kept changing to grey skies meeting grey land. Soon her thoughts strayed to the day when winter came too soon, and never left. Continue reading →
- Reflection- Part 2
Fear paralyzed me.
What could it mean? What would happen to me?
I stared at the empty mirror for what seemed an eternity before I finally forced myself to shower. Meanwhile an internal battle raged.
The only thing I could imagine is that my lack of reflection meant I would no longer exist; that sometime, before dawn tomorrow, I would be dead. Continue reading →
- Reflection
I remember the day I realized that the person staring back at me in the mirror was not my reflection as I was, but as I would be.
The day before my seventh birthday I looked into the bathroom mirror after gathering my toothbrush and toothpaste, and there I was, wearing a shirt that I didn’t recognize and a conical paper hat which read Happy Birthday. Continue reading →
- All the Time in the World
“I did it.” I whispered the words triumphantly as I stepped through the shimmering green circle and looked around at a scene so familiar, it felt as if I’d never left.
After tapping the icon on my timepiece which closed the portal, I held my arms out in front of me. A grin stretched across my pimpled face as I examined the smooth, unlined skin of my hands.
A low chuckle rolled through my chest as I looked down at my clothes, brown polyester pants and a high-collared blue silk shirt. The chuckle soon became a full-bellied laugh.
“I did it!” I shouted to the sky, startling a robin from its nest. Continue reading →
- What’s Your Favorite Place?
Is there a place that will forever hold a piece of your soul?
For me that place is the former site of our family cottage on the shores of Otter Lake in Honor, Michigan.
As a kid, I would go every summer with my family for weeks at a time to the little green cabin nestled in what is now part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. There was no television, barely a radio, and this was before the invention of e-mail, let alone i-devices. Continue reading →
- Titles: How Important Are They?
I’ve been thinking a lot about titles lately. Choosing a title for a book, or even a short story, is hard for me. I’ve done it several times now, but I never feel completely confident in my choices. I tend to prefer one word titles, and I want the title to express the feeling of the story. If you’ve ever tried to write a synopsis or an elevator pitch, you know how agonizing it is to attempt to summarize an entire novel in a few paragraphs or a few sentences. Now you have to narrow it down to a few words…the title. Continue reading →
- Chapter 2 of Empyrean
Here it is! Chapter two of my science fiction adventure as promised. This will be it for the sneak-peek for now, I have a bit more work to do from here (okay, probably a lot more work to do), but I appreciate all of your positive feedback from last week and I hope you enjoy the beginning of the story enough to check in from time to time and see what happens with my first novel in the months (okay, maybe years) to come. Have a greet weekend! Continue reading →
- New First Chapter
Hi! It’s been a while. Sorry I haven’t been posting regularly, it’s been a crazy month. As a quick update before we get to the good part, I’m working on a new novel that is a near-future science fiction thriller. In my spare time I’m also working on another round of edits for Empyrean, my very first completed science fiction novel. A few of you read the original. A few of you read the latest version post rewrite. Now I’ve rearranged things a bit so I thought I’d share the new first chapter. I know it could still change again. I know I’ll probably have to change the title at some point (I just saw recently that Chuck Wendig has a book called Under the Empyrean Sky…so…yeah, I’ve got my list of new possibilities going), but I want to keep you in the loop and since I don’t have a new story to share, I thought I’d share this. I hope you like it! Have a great weekend. Continue reading →
- Facebook Pages: What I Wish I Had Known
For anyone out there who has a business, a blog, an idea, or a book, you’ve probably thought about creating a Facebook page. You’ve seen the ones that have 1.5 million likes and think, “Wow, that could be me!” and you know what, it could be you, if you put in a lot of time and effort, or you’re NASA.
There’s still a lot I have to learn, but I want to share with you some of the good, the bad, and the things I wish I had known when I started my Facebook page.
Continue reading →
- THE END of The Latest Frontier (Part 8 of 8)
Here it is, the grand finale! If this is your first visit STOP NOW and read the rest of the story before you continue…it’s cheating to read the end of the story first! I’ll give you the links to make it a little less annoying to click to all the other chapters: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7.
Okay, all caught up? Here we go….
For twenty-four sleepless hours I waited in my cell, worrying about my children. When I’d arrived at the station, they’d given me my one phone call. I used it to call home, but no on had answered.
Continue reading →
- Friday Fiction- The Latest Frontier Part 7
Over the course of the week, Hope’s health continued to improve, and I grew more bold with each successful theft from the Wilson estate. On Friday I bundled up a few extra apples and some small cucumbers, hiding them in the inner pocket of my backpack to take home for my own family.
All the way home, I felt sick with guilt, but when I saw my children’s eyes light up and watched them silently savor each morsel as they glanced at each other with huge delighted grins, my guilt eased a little. I even felt justified. Continue reading →
- Friday Fiction- The Latest Frontier Part 6
After forcing my arms through the sleeves of my coat, I grabbed my facemask and backpack then walked over to kiss Hope and Aaron goodbye. Aaron leaned toward me, his eyes never leaving the t.v. screen, to allow me to give him a peck on the cheek.
“Bye, Dad. Love you.”
“Love you too, son.”
Hope clambered up to her knees so that she could wrap her arms around my neck. I squeezed her tight, then loosened my grip so that I could turn and plant a kiss on her temple. Her brow felt warm but dry, the fever had broken last night. Continue reading →
