Shark Bone

It looks like it's time for another blog post! Despite my desires to post more frequently, I've only been able to get about one post up per month. Perhaps in the future, I'll be able to post more frequently. I'm currently writing a short story about a group of young adults who have fallen into monster hunting. The story was inspired by the role-playing game and novels of #iHunt , which are fantastic by the way, but I wanted to approach that subject matter my own way. It's been a fun ride, so far, and I'm really enjoying the characters I've created and the story that's unfolding. I started writing it with only the vaguest of plans, so the events that I end up adding to the story surprise me, more often than not. The act of writing this story, of sitting in front of my laptop and typing out words, is extremely enjoyable. While I've known for quite awhile that I like to write, this project has brought that home. And, it helped me realize another thing...

The statue sat on the glass display case, uncaring as the man and woman standing on either side of it argued. They bumped the case with their gestures, rocking the small figurine on its uneven base, as their words grew more and more heated. "We had a deal!" the woman yelled. "I have emails, from you , agreeing to $500 for this piece!" She waved her phone at the man as if it wielded some kind of magic. The man growled in response. "That was before I learned its history. Its worth !" the man yelled. "It's worth ten times what we agreed, which you obviously knew! You were trying to rob me!" The case rocked a bit more as the man's belly bumped against it while he jabbed an accusing finger her way. "Me?" the woman shrieked, "rob you ? You're the one committing robbery here, and..." she began to dig in her purse, then raised a small revolver from it and pointed it at the man, "I don't have to take it!" ...

Today, I decided to write something inspired by my favorite book, Armor by John Steakley. I'd love to say that the first time I read this book I was struck by the characters and the storytelling and, I suppose I was, but I honestly can't remember my first time. This is an amazing book that I have read so many times over the years and one I try to read once every year. While I'd love to talk about how much I enjoy the book and why, what I really want to do is talk about what I find so intriguing about it: The story is told in two parts and the only character that takes constant part in both parts is a suit of armor. Armor. This isn't just any suit of armor, but an advanced scout power suit that's capable of running for days without any support and tearing through hordes of enemy bugs. That's damn impressive, but nothing compared to the pilot of the suit of whom the first part is about. He. Just. Will. Not. Die. And then, his part of the story ends and we foll...

This past weekend, I experience an epiphany. My family and I went to an outdoor concert of The Desert Winds , led by my son's band teacher. That man is so passionate about music. He shared his passion with the audience through introductions and history snippets of each piece the band played. He shared his feelings about a couple of the pieces, and explained why one of the pieces was so important to him, having been a favorite of an old teacher of his who passed away a couple years prior. I wanted to feel that same passion about something in my life. I want my life to have that same color, that same rhythm, that same passion that he showed. I thought about it a lot, and I realized that I do feel that in a small way, for the written word, for stories. I figured that If I can learn to experience that same fire for the written word and the stories that I love, I can experience that same excitement for life that he showed. The written word has fascinated me for a very long time. It...