writing ahead

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I’m happy to say that Karma, a short story related to the Metatron’s Army series is in post production.

Those who have not read MA or Metatron’s Legacy will still be able to follow.

This book will be released at no cost as a way to introduce readers to my work.

And help the thousands of people who are now at home find a way to take their minds off the chaos.

I am now working on Déjà Vu which is also a short story that will be released at no cost.  This one is tied to the Ghost Games series.

I have several projects in the queue including Shadow of the Gods and an app I’ve been working on for several years.

I delayed the public release until I’d worked a few things out.  The process behind it was in the works for years.  It’s just automated now.

The order of release of these projects is fluid and will likely remain so though I’ll provide updates as I have them.

A SHORT STORY: My definition of a short story is 40,000 words or less whereas I consider a full-length novel 60,000 or more.

Karma is currently at 50,600.  Not sure what final release will be.

I have to admit, my arms and fingers are a bit tired.  In addition to getting this draft finished in a little over a week I wrote blogs and texts and emails.  I’m ready for a break.  

But my mind isn’t.

I have Déjà Vu going and though I’m anxious to get that one finished I hope I don’t push myself the way I did with Karma.

Part of that was letting off creative steam as an answer to the chaos.  I also cleaned and caught up on all the laundry.  YUCK!  

I’ll post updates as appropriate.  In the meantime, I’m hoping to have Karma available for download within 1 to 2 weeks.

Stay tuned!

learning at home

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With l-12 schools across the country closed I thought I would post some information that may be helpful to parents and caregivers by listing resources they can tap while the districts get online learning up and running.

Please be aware that home learning – homeschooling – has been conducted successfully throughout the United States for decades.  Because of this there are a number of great resources to help parents and kids – and educators – during this chaotic time.

Where to Start?  Here is a book that will help guide parents who want and need to be more involved in guiding the education, Home Learning Year by Year.

Kahn Academy:  An excellent online resource for learning.

Singapore Math:  An excellent curriculum for homeschool learning.

They do more than math.

Spectrum Language Arts:  Excellent books and workbooks for language arts.

Owl and Mouse:  Online learning resource

World Geography:  This site is free and fun.

The Learning Store:  Lots of resources including kits for science experiments at home.

There are other online stores where more sophisticated science kits, such as biology and chemistry, can be obtained.

I understand from a woman who homeschools her kids that Brigham Young University has some excellent online classes.  

Her daughter took high school French with them.

There are many successful homeschool stories.  I’m sure some of those parents have blogs where they are sharing information with others.

The woman who homeschools told me there are great online resources for parents who are homeschooling for the college bound, including how to do course transcripts for acceptance.  These individuals are generous with their time and information.

I will update this post if I come across additional resources.  I invite those who follow – if you know of other resources that would help – post in the comments.

Write, drink, and be merry

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So, sitting here in the sunny quiet – in my pajamas – sipping a pinot grigio and finishing the first draft of the short story Karma.

I hope to turn it over to the beta reader tomorrow.  If all goes well I’ll beat my self-imposed deadline for release of this no-cost story that is connected to the Metatron’s Army series.

Though I’ve worked from home for 26 years I too have been impacted by this chaos.

I’m usually out of my pajamas by now. In my defense – there are more people hitting the hot water tank these days.

I am used to working from home though.

I worked for DEC in Santa Clara when they became the first corporation to send workers home; the TC’s at least.

 I learned why I never heard my neighbors in the evening.  They worked hours that translated to incredible noise during the day.  

To deal with this I would drive up into the Santa Cruz mountains to do my work. With no cell coverage it was the ultimate place to work uninterrupted by stupid and useless emails.

I was later on an advisory committee at Hewlett-Packard when they decided to take the plunge.

Flushing toilets heard over concalls was the biggest complaint I explained.

Not even switching to a career that all but screams work at home has allowed me to escape the weirdness of the hour.

But it has spurred an uptick in creativity as I seek an outlet for focusing on something other than the chaos.

I had such good luck getting Karma ready I’ve decided to do another no-cost short story.  As yet untitled, this next work will be connected to the Ghost Games series.

On a lighter note:  I read that California is allowing the delivery of spirits and cocktails.  I figure this will keep crime down and sanity up as people learn who their spouses are and remember they had kids somewhere along the way.

It reminds me of what happens when a spouse retires and decides they need something to do, forgetting that someone else has been managing things – for years if not decades – just fine.

I’ll update readers as things progress.  

Stay tuned.

Here Comes the Sun and more

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Working on Karma and enjoying the additional evening sunlight thanks to the switch back to Daylight Savings Time.

And waiting for Congress to give us the waiver so we don’t have to go through the outdated and unnecessary bi-annual process.  We voted to do away with it after all and having lived in Arizona I know how sweet life is when you don’t.

I just finished writing a very challenging scene, challenging because though a vivid moving image in my mind, it is difficult to describe.

My entire body tenses up as I seek to recreate what I see in my mind’s eye on “paper.”

I started my writing career on paper so even though that paper is now virtual, to me it’s still paper.

I’m anxious to finish this shorter story that is part of the Metatron’s Army family.  I’ve really enjoyed working on it and though I went back and reread Adjudication and sections of other MA novels, this story is pretty independent.

The Twelve Star Systems are vast with numerous species living on a number of planets.  Lots of room for stories of those not directly involved with the saga though I do include familiar characters and provide backstory so anyone who hadn’t read MA or Metatron’s Legacy could follow.

I’ve started working with my art team on a cover design though it’s in early stages.  I’m hoping to have a landing page up within a week to give readers an idea of what’s coming.

I’m hoping the book will be ready for download within the next two weeks.

I have a number of projects I’ll be talking about soon, including a new app I developed.

This one was fun.

Stay tuned.

Writing: Let me count the ways

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So, lots going on these days.  With Cauldron of the Gods released I’m on to the next projects.

Dragon Core:  Almost finished with the first draft of Shadow of the Gods, a follow-on to Cauldron. 

 I don’t have a projected release date outside spring 2020. 

Working on Shadow has been a lot of fun.  It hadn’t been part of the original series but toward the end of Cauldron I got the idea for it and felt it was perfect as a follow-on so I slipped it in front of Messenger of the Gods which will be the third in the series.  

What I really like about the Dragon Core series is that each book stands on its own to support a different main character with the overall series plot as a backdrop.  This gives me a lot of flexibility and the ability to tell each shifter’s story in detail.  

With Shadow of the Gods I delve into what it means to be a shape shifting alien living among humans as told through the eyes of the humans around them.  Especially, Mica who is the main female character for this book.  There will be plenty of familiar characters from the first book but with a new location and a new perspective it will be unique from the first.

Separate yet related.

Metatron’s Army:  I am working on a series of short stories that are part of the Metatron’s Army family.  

They take place after Adjudication but before Metatron’s Legacy which is set twenty years later.

Karma, first in this series of shorter stories is almost finished.  As a way to introduce readers of my paranormal fiction to my sci-fi writing style I’m going to offer this book to readers at no cost.

I’m hoping to have this available for download within two weeks.

I’ll be posting additional information about Karma as appropriate.

Ghost Games:  The idea for this action-adventure sci-fi series came to me a few years ago when I was about to walk the Embarcadero in San Diego.  

I was going down the stairwell in our building and got a vision/image – a glimpse of the mist that’s on the banner for the Ghost Games page.  I mentally acknowledged the vision then went on the walk knowing I would someday circle back to work on the storyline.

Each story in this series will consist of a “Case file” where readers are introduced to characters whose view of the world will be tested.

Because their reality will be tested.

I have three of the stories under construction.  

I’m really excited about each story and am having trouble deciding which one to release first.  

Other:  I’ve been creating new merchandise for my store, shooting videos, and developing concepts for blog material but I admit this work has been taking the back seat more recently to finishing Karma and Shadow of the Gods.

And I’m really anxious to get to the Ghost Game files.

Stay tuned…

Career Transcendence

emax

No career should be a dragonfly in amber.

For the past several months if not years I’ve been transitioning my career away from a role I had outgrown.

It wasn’t boredom so much as completion that drove me to move on.

It’s a career that began quite a bit differently than I’d imagined.

Doesn’t that always seem to be the way?

A tremendous amount of work has gone into this process.

Most of it behind the scenes. Read: Internally.

I am proud of what I’ve accomplished and excited about the path before me.

I‘m finally where I intended to be. Not that that will keep me from exploring the new and undiscovered and making changes as appropriate and necessary.

I have been updating my web presence to reflect changes associated with the transition and will continue to do so. As part of these changes I have updated my bio page, adding a section on why I am focusing on science fiction.

No need to check it out. Just keep reading.

Why science fiction?

I’ve been looking at the sky all my life.  

Usually through windows.

Night or day.

But especially at night.

The sky is a doorway that separates our self-imagined existence from the realm of infinite possibility.  In writing science fiction, I can share my experiences from both sides of the doorway with others.

Experiences that transcend what is an accepted but often limiting reality.

Why parallel dimensions?

I’ve contemplated the idea this reality isn’t the only one since I was seven and asked my dad how he could be so certain we weren’t living in someone else’s snow globe.

My contemplation took on more significance after a Near Death Experience left me without a doubt there are other dimensions.

I’ve been living with this awareness for decades.  It has never been irreconcilable with any other part of my life.

In my stories, I explore various aspects of life lived in a world where multiple dimensions are not only an accepted fact, they are embraced through experience.

Why aliens?

Who better to help create wonderful stories than characters from cultural backgrounds completely unknown and foreign?

The possibilities – like the skies – are endless