Calling All Readers! I Need to Know....

In 1978, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released their second album, You're Gonna Get It! It was a very good year, in my humble, unbiased opinion. Any year we get new Petty is a good year, right?

I could go on for days about my life-long love affair with his music - I can listen to most of his songs in my head, no LP or iPod required. Which (sort of) explains how I Need to Know got stuck in my head this morning. Have a listen so we're on the same page-

Now I'll explain the why....

An excerpt from The Shadow Watcher - Chapter 7

Curious about The Society in the Shadow of Civilization? This week I'm sharing Chapter Seven from The Shadow Watcher ... which is where he finally starts to explain himself.

Character Spotlight: Adjatay - Keeper of the Tree

(Spoilers, maybe? Be warned....)

Sam first meets Adjatay in The Shadow Watcher, and visits him again in A Shadow in Doubt. Though Adja's appearances are brief, he is a key figure as the keeper of the Flamella tree.

According to www.babynamespedia.com, the name Adjatay is of Cameroon/African origin, meaning prince". It was meant to be; in my head, Michael called him Adja, before I even started looking for names. 

Adja was taken in by the Society in the Shadow of Civilization in the mid-eighteenth century, and in recognizing the purity of his soul, he became a sort of spiritual center for Samuel, and later Sam. It takes a special kind of person to live alone in the jungle for more than a century, without going bananas.

Staring at the Stars

Orion Nebula

Today was my father's birthday, he would have turned seventy-eight. It's been over fourteen years, but, I still miss him every day. Tonight I spent some time watching the clouds dance around the stars.

Between summer camping trips and many weekends at one spot or another along Colorado River, we spent countless hours staring up at the sky. He taught us how to read a star map, and used the big, extra-bright flashlight to point out the constellations. I've always been fond of Orion, probably because it's one of the few that shines through the light pollution back home.

Just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you today, Dad. Love you always.


Photo courtesy of user WikiImages at Pixabay.com 

#SundayLinkParty - Writers Helping Writers

Look at Twitter, Facebook, any social media platform, or anywhere else on the internet, and you'll find hundreds of thousands of writers. One might think we're all extremely social, and perfectly comfortable talking about ourselves and our work. Some of us are, I'm sure, but, not me. I know I'm not the only one.

Writing, in all forms, is a personal process. All writers have their own quirks. Some need music, others need silence. Some need chocolate, others need the rumble in their stomach. Some need coffee, I need Pepsi. It's when the writing is done, when we have to come out of our caves and share our work with the world, many of us struggle with facing our fears.

Happy Escape Day!

August 5th, 2169 is when is all began ... The night two strangers appeared on the moon, and told Dr. Samuel Marks what he already knew, he and accomplices must flee the Colony before the govenment discovers his project - the Flamella tree. But, there's only one way to keep it from the U.C.E.; they must Escape 2169....

Fore Shadows is a Society in the Shadow of Civilization short story - both prequel and sequel to The Shadow Watcher. It's available free from:
Amazon (US & UK) http://bit.ly/10yV0XL     
Smashwords http://bit.ly/Smash2169
iTunes http://bit.ly/iTunes2169 

B &N http://bit.ly/Nook2169 

Midnight Rambling On Nightmares: Horror Flicks, Ghosts and Aliens ... Oh, my!

When I was little, I had nightmares. I know, kids have bad dreams, but, these were terrifying. They were REAL.