The rambling thoughts of an author including art, rants, words, book reviews, not-so-subtle suggestions, and more…
Sunday, December 06, 2020
Is it really possible to live an ordered and organized life? Is there any fun in that?
Friday, December 04, 2020
No Reason Not To
*gasp*
“No Period” copyright © 2020 by Harry Turtledove
Art copyright © 2020 by Scott Bakal
Wednesday, December 02, 2020
The Only Good Indians
This was one of my most anticipated novels of the year. It did not disappoint as it is easily in my top five of the year. Stephen Graham Jones is one of those prolific authors who has a number of tasty morsels and full meals out every year. I first read his werewolf novel, Mongrels, last year, and since then, I have been slowly working my way through some of his other works.
The Only Good Indians is a literary slasher of guilt and retribution. It is the story of four Blackeet—Ricky, Lewis, Cass, and Gabe—and the aftermath of an elk hunt gone wrong. It is a tale of a deed done in the dark that follows each man and haunts them, and when you violate tradition and cultural norms, you will pay a price. We, too, pay a price because we care about these men. Jones drags us through life both on and off the Rez leading us to an epic battle the likes of which I have never experienced before. In the end, I was left sweating and gasping for breath. I know that I will never look at an elk or a ceiling fan the same way again.
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
POW/MIA There re still too many out there.
Learn more about the history of the POW/MIA bracelet.
If you are interested in ordering a POW/MIA bracelet or other related merchandise, download the order form from POW-MIA Families.
Friday, August 28, 2020
Meet Mr. Magee
I was a little over 80,000 words into my novel when I came across the curious account of Sylvester Magee. Mr. Magee died in 1971, around the same year that Mr. Sam, one of the characters in my novel, Your Pal Al, died. When writing my story, I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going. Mr. Sam came to life in the bluish glow of the screen, just as Albert did. They came to life together and grew into real people together. Albert is a young, white boy from Florida. Mr. Sam is an old black man from Georgia. Samson is quite literally larger-than-life. And, up until the time that I discovered Sylvester Magee, I thought he was quite old, too. Meet Mr. Magee.