Rest and refuel

I just got back from a much-needed vacation. My wife and I were planning to go to Greece, but over COVID my passport had expired without me noticing, and it took about two months to renew- not conducive to booking a flight during this crazy time. So, undeterred, we rented a car and stayed in

Sample: Noonday in the North

For this week’s post, I thought I’d offer a glimpse of what I’ve been working on these past few months. Below is a very preliminary draft of Noonday in the North‘s first chapter. This is book three in my Absolution of the Morning Star series (book 1: Dawn of the Lightbearer, book 2: The Mourning

Raising word children

I’ve been playing this indie-author game for just over two years now. Apparently, that is still quite the newbie in this world, but I have learned a lot and thought it would be a good time to share some of my key takeaways.  When I decided to self-publish the Island of Stone, I began from

Dump to Dialogue

We all hope that we grow as writers. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it’s imperative for enjoyment in the craft. I’ve become a firm believer that stagnation leads to rot, but thankfully, there can never be an endpoint because there can never be perfection in writing. Sure, some have

The life

I’m a terrible blogger, I know. My last post was almost a month ago! Gosh, time flies. Don’t worry. I’m still writing. I’m at 52,314 words for Noonday in the North, book 3 in the Absolution of the Morningstar series. I also worked some on Desert of Stone, book 2 in my Monuments of Stone

Noonday in the North Updates…and giants!

Noonday in the North, book three of my Absolution of the Morning Star series, is moving along nicely. Currently, I am at 44,890 words, so probably about a third of the way through the writing. Not bad for about two and a half months of work. The saga continues as Erik makes his way from

My life in China, Part 33- My in-laws’ US adventure 2

When we last left off (read part 1 here), my wife and I were in the international arrival area of JFK airport, eagerly awaiting the arrival of my in-laws on their first trip outside of China. At this point, it was an hour after their plane arrived, and still no parents. As I mentioned, they

Zombie no more

Why am I compelled to write? What is this incessant drive that pushes me to spend hours each day crafting a story? Why do I put myself through the stress, loneliness, and frustration? I honestly don’t know. But the question of why I can’t sit and binge-watch Netflicks like everyone else? Ah, now there’s an

My life in China, Part 32- My In-laws’ US adventure

As promised, it is time for the telling of my in-laws’ first great adventure to the United States! It’s a long tale played out over months, so I’ve decided to break it up into a mini-series. My in-laws have now been to the US three times and were supposed to come last summer, but COVID

Trip down memory lane

Has it really been two years since I started this rigamarole? According to WordPress, it has. After my latest post, I was checking my stats when a little message sent me down memory lane. Gosh, what a journey. I published my feeble attempt at a website on April 1st, 2020. Since February of that year,