Thanksgiving Day Celebration

Today is the day when people in the U.S. celebrate Thanksgiving. When we get together today, I’m sure my mother is going to (as she always does) tell all of us that before we eat we must each share something we are thankful for.  This year, my mother’s house is not the center of the

Writing An Ending First

My latest work in progress, Come Apart, has been a year long experiment to see if I could write the final chapter of a book first and then build the rest of the novel around that final chapter. I can tell you that the progress has been a challenge. This all started when I read Pines  by Blake

Why My Latest Novel Really Does Predict Current Events

Everyone including myself (save the United States government) seems to think that attacking Syria is a terrible idea.  As I write this post President Obama is inching ever closer to a strike against Assad while Russia bolsters its naval forces in the region in an expectation of an attack against their ally.  Not only that,

New Podcast Up: Research and the Writer

In the latest podcast, Ryan and I discuss the importance of researching for a novel and give some practical ways that you can maximize your research efforts to make sure that you do not make your reader scoff when they know more than you about a certain environment, job or scientific theory.  Find it here

Science Fiction Is On the Rise

I am a huge science fiction nerd and have been since I was a small boy.  Apparently we nerds are growing in number around the world, at least in the realm of e-book sales.  In a recent Wired Magazine article by Graeme McMillan, the big publishing houses are taking notice.  It appears that with the success

Oklahoma Tornadoes: In the Middle of Danger

Anyone who does not live in central Oklahoma probably doesn’t understand the threat of tornadoes like the people who live with it each year.  It seems that each year they get worse, the EF scale is red lined, and these terrible forces of nature flatten the homes of hundreds of families. Last night we evacuated

Friday Flash Fiction: Plywood Box

The following flash fiction story was inspired by something I actually saw in the real world that started my imagination to humming.  While walking to the Metro library to record our latest podcast, I happened upon a plywood box on the sidewalk with the curious words “Please don’t let out the snakes.  MGMT” written on

3 Techniques for Writers from a Philip K. Dick Novel

I just finished reading The Man in the High Castle by the late Philip K. Dick, and if you like to read science fiction (or write it, like me) this book is for you.  For those of you not familiar with the novel, it is an alternate reality story set in a world where the Axis

Gifted and Talented Youngsters: Enrichment for Future Dreams

Today was a very special day in the life of my little 9 year old Leigha Colby.  She is my middle daughter, sometimes feels left out, yet like all of my children has a special talent or gift.  Where my oldest son Conner is gifted in deep love for others and my oldest daughter Kaylee

5 Great Books About Variant Histories

Lately I’ve been on this variant history kick, reading novels set in modern times but after something happened in the past that is different from actual history to change the way things operate in the present.  I thought I would list 5 of my favorite variant history novels for you today since today’s letter is