Halloween season hit full stride here—first with “Scare for a Cure,” our annual messy adventure (this year: mind crawlers!), then a “Trunk or Treat” at my mother-in-law’s nursing home, where the residents—one of them 101!—handed out candy to the little ones. Never fear on that mind crawler issue, our group saved the world. Missed you this year, Sienna! Click here to be removed from family content. It’s been a whirlwind few weeks—edits, algorithms, and endless coffee. But progress is progress,...
2 days ago • 1 min read
Just a quick follow-up after my last email. I notified GoodReads of the odd reviews. They jumped on it and ran it through some checker and said it raised all their red flags, so they took down the reviews and removed the accounts of those folks entirely (so they said). I have a couple of marketing thoughts/questions for my fellow writers. 1) The first book of my epic fantasy series, Mother of Trees, almost constantly has a better ranking on Amazon than Guardian of The Palace, even when sales...
10 days ago • 1 min read
Resending (sorry, can't seem to work out the family updates section) My oldest came back from college (Univ of Arkansas) for the weekend, my middle daughter turned 18, and my youngest just about has her standing back-flip nailed. I haven't tried adding a video in a while... let me know how this goes. Busy (but very good) family time, and busy with work, so my writing got the short end of the stick for a bit. But lets face it, that's the right call.Click here to be removed from family content....
19 days ago • 1 min read
My oldest came back from college (Univ of Arkansas) for the weekend, my middle daughter turned 18, and my youngest just about has her standing back-flip nailed. I haven't tried adding a video in a while... let me know how this goes. Busy (but very good) family time, and busy with work, so my writing got the short end of the stick for a bit. But lets face it, that's the right call.Click here to be removed from family content. Shepherds of Truth — the last two weeksTwo fresh chapters landed....
19 days ago • 1 min read
I had a couple of things I wanted to mention. One is what looks like a weird new scam that I haven't worked out yet, and the other is just an update on how I'm doing in marketing. Scam Alert! So, the potential scam. I received an email that looked like this: Your book just gained new reviews from my readers community.<screenshot of a GoodReads book review>Did you get it?Looking forward to hearing from you I followed up with a couple of emails, and I basically think the paid-book-review people...
21 days ago • 3 min read
Last week was Homecoming week, and my younger two girls are both now in High School. It's really something watching how much effort the girls (and their mom and other girls' moms) put into the preparation. Meanwhile my oldest had a rugby tournament, where they awarded her MVP. Certainly a better way to spend her time than watching that Arkansas v Notre Dame football game. Brutal. Yes, to relax, she does rugby and boxing. Any wonder I came up with Red? Really miss having my oldest girl around....
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
We're a few weeks into the school year, and settling in to the new/old routine, more or less. With my oldest off to college, and my youngest now in High School, I'm getting sentimental about all the lasts. Last time I'll help one of them learn geometry. Last time I'll teach one to drive. Last time I'll find a "box of strawberries" in the fridge that is nothing but stems. It's funny how even the things you don't like become things you miss, innit? My oldest sent me one of her papers from...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
We're a few weeks into the school year, and settling in to the new/old routine, more or less. With my oldest off to college, and my youngest now in High School, I'm getting sentimental about all the lasts. Last time I'll help one of them learn geometry. Last time I'll teach one to drive. Last time I'll find a "box of strawberries" in the fridge that is nothing but stems. It's funny how even the things you don't like become things you miss, innit? My oldest sent me one of her papers from...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
My oldest daughter's first weeks in Arkansas have been exciting--including a "live shooter on campus" incident that turned out to be a hoax. I think my wife and I worried more than my daughter did. But she's making friends and getting her work done, and I couldn't be more proud. My other two daughters started school as well--my youngest is in high school! Crazy. I know I keep saying this, but it's gone by so fast! We are back into the help-me-with-homework evenings, Friday-night football...
2 months ago • 3 min read
My oldest daughter left for college! Arkansas... an 8-9 hour drive on a good day. My wife and I have definitely fought strange battles with suddenly watery eyes since dropping her off... some kind of strange allergy attack no doubt. From the verdant growth in Arkansas. We miss you tons, Sienitas! Dorm drop-off Click here to be removed from family content. A Dragon's Egg and a Full-Circle Moment Okay, I have to share this—because it's one of the coolest things that’s happened to me as an...
3 months ago • 3 min read