Dark River

What I'm Reading--

The Traveler and the Dark River are book one and two of the Fourth Realm Trilogy. The third book has yet to be released. They follow the adventures of twin brothers, Gabriel and Michael Corrigan, who have the potential to astrally project themselves between "realms" and their bodyguards called harlequins whose job it is to protect them from a group called the tabula who plans to control the world by gathering information via internet, surveillance cameras, credit and debit card transactions, etc. and then utilize that information to control events and people.

The premise of these books is that somehow these travelers by going to other realms are able to gain information and insight that change the world and this is a danger to the Tabula and so they want the Travelers destroyed.

At first I thought the prose a bit stiff and terse, but the storytelling and pacing have overcome this stylistic reservation on my part--and it seems that as the second book progressed that the wording became richer and more fleshed out, and there are some very evocative passages.

The books tap into the Big Brother paranoia of always being watched and therefore controlled by The Vast Machine. In an era where our every purchase can be tracked, our cars have OnStar systems that have Global Positioning Units aboard and that can be shut down via satellite, and police monitor surveillance cameras at the SuperBowl with facial recognition software to look for wanted criminals this paranoia resonates with a truth and believability that gives this story its backbone.

When reading the first book I couldn't help but notice that the name of the twin travelers' father, Matthew Corrigan, is the same as the hero in Michael Franzoni's Missing Persons novel which was published by Frontier Press. As the story continues one of the characters has a cat named Garvey--the name of the hero of my Dire Planet novels which was also originally published by Frontier Press and is now available at Amazon.com. This made me wonder if John Twelve Hawks--the pseudonym of the author-- was familiar with the stories at Frontier and was tipping his hat. On the other hand it could merely be coincidence. Twelve Hawks kills off Garvey shortly after introducing him...

Despite the demise of Garvey, I highly recommend these books. Both are great reads and highly entertaining.

What I'm Writing Now

Through the Groaning Earth

Through the Groaning Earth is the sequel to my dark fantasy novel Escape from Devil's Head. Once again the novel will be told from shifting perspectives by an eclectic variety of denizens from the City of Bathos-- all with differing aims. Their paths will cross at times and the meetings won't always be amicable. Several of the central characters from Escape from Devil's Head will be appearing, as well as some that were only mentioned in passing in the first book. And since Bathos is a huge city of festering evil, blackest sorceries and interguild political intrigue, there will be plenty of conflicts and new characters to draw upon.

Currently I'm telling the tale of a back-alley skull-splitter named Willen who is tired of scrabbling for copper coins in the filthy gutters and wants to step up his game. Ambition in Bathos is always a good story theme, because it inevitably brings you into conflict with someone else. Hierarchy and classism are built into the very structure of Bathos and when you climb the ladder of success it seems you have to push someone else aside.

Willen is quite an unpleasant fellow, but I'm saving that topic of discussion for another blog down the road. In the meantime, if you're not familiar with the City of Bathos I urge you to check it out. Escape from Devil's Head is available at Amazon.com or you can special order it at your local book store (if you still have one).

How long before Through the Groaning Earth is finished and available? I'm currently about 40,000 words into the book--perhaps a third of the way through. I don't expect to be finished until September or so, and even if a fast moving publisher like PulpWork Press picks up the book it won't be available until at least mid 2009. In the meantime, if you need a fantasy fix--and haven't read Escape from Devil's Head already-- do check out the prequel!

There's a New Diet Guru in Town!

Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?

A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... Don't waste them on exercise . Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

---

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?

A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient delivery mechanism of concentrated vegetable nutrition. A pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

---

---

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?

A: Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

---

To Blog or Not to Blog

That is the question...

The existence of this blog seems to indicate to which conclusion I have come. However, it is not a conclusion I come to without reservations.

The upsides of a blog are that I'm able to keep contact with friends and readers (and if you are one of my readers then there's a good chance I consider you a friend) and keep them apprised of my latest writing projects, make myself available to answer questions, and as a forum to spew out a few random thoughts here and there.

The downside of a blog is a large one for a writer who has limited time to write: Any time that a writer spends writing a blog is time that writer is not using to work on their latest short story or novel.

The solution? To limit my blog posts to once or twice a week. So I'm going to give it a shot and see how it goes. As always, I am open to revising my plan or opinion after further deliberation--but in the meantime please bookmark this page, put it on a feed, and feel free to drop by once a week and say hello.