"Neverqueen" A new series ready to begin!

That satisfied feeling I have right now is because Neverqueen the first book in the new series is finished today!

Also, the cover underwent a minor change that has made it 'pop' better. The heroine's eyes needed to be glowing. All part of the story. And a key part of the story!

Story pitch line is next and a summary to tease all the Fantasy lovers out there.

Coming November 2013!

Getting rid of it!

Clutter. We have so much of it in our lives, don't we?

In preparation for creating a mobile family lifestyle, my wife and I are de-cluttering. Really we do not have a lot of stuff, but even so it is amazing how many things we do have! (-: Does that sound conflicted?

God is glorified more the less value we place on material things. This is one reason we are excited to live out of an RV beginning in 2015 and travel the country again selling books while I speak wherever the opportunity is presented. In preparation for that we are starting to get rid of things we do not need. I sold a couple of PC games for $10 and that modest amount is the start of our "RV Fund." I also have a violin to sell and a loveseat. We are going to digitize my very large movie collection, so I will sell the DVDs, too. I am even going to make a valiant attempt to get rid of a large number of my books, but we'll see how that goes.

I am excited about this. I place a lot more value in my possessions than I like to admit. Some of these things are gods in my life, and God will only bless as we seek to follow His will in our lives. We want to turn away from the material to better focus on connecting to God and the world around us.

BTW, we watched the movie "RV" last night (Robin Williams). Yep, that was a funny movie!

The G-word

Our culture thinks it is becoming so good. After all, it will no longer tolerate racial slurs. Yep, I am thinking of Paula Deen. A lawsuit because she used the n-word. That is good, right? It means that people are becoming more ethical. The US is becoming a tolerant culture that does not discriminate.

Let me point out one sad fact: I have never heard of a lawsuit over someone using the name of God in vain, and I have never heard of one in association with the blaspheming of the holy name of Jesus Christ.

The other day at work I was utterly horrified to hear an employee combine a crude word with the name of Jesus Christ. It sank so ugly deep into my gut that I immediately confronted the individual. But the sad thing is, I don't think they fully realized what they had done even after they apologized to me for using those words.

Our culture has backslidden so far that even many professing Christians think nothing of using OMG in their vocabulary.

We need to stand up for the name of God and the name of Jesus Christ for what they are: Holy and Sacred. Do not desecrate the very name that has given you hope of salvation! Do not stand by and let those around you think that it is ok to use those names in derogatory, offensive, or crude manners. Stand up to the fallen world around you! Let them see the light of Christ with patience and authority.

"... the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain."

What is a discerning reader?

"A story for discerning readers." This was something that I wrote as part of the original marketing material for my first novel. In my mind I was trying to catch the eyes of conservative Christians who should "discern" that my book was wholesome. However, many people were confused by that phrase and, in fact, took it to mean that my novel contained material not suitable for many readers... So I disposed of that marketing line in favor of a more simple approach! But to this day I still am creating books for discerning readers.

While it is not possible have an ideal human culture in this present world, I like to look for the things in life that better our society and make us better human beings. We can and we should strive to become the godly culture that leads people toward high ideals of justice, love, and commitment.

That is part of why I write fantasy novels. I can create characters that stand up for what is right no matter the cost to themselves and show the contrast of those who make wrong choices and follow the wrong ideals. Sadly I often fail to meet that ideal in my personal life but I have discovered that the more I look up to those who are stronger than I am spiritually, the better a person I become. And the more I participate in the culture of worldliness when I am away from home, the more I despise that culture and the person it pushes me to become.

The old testament prophets stood out as examples to the people to whom they ministered and led them to desire righteousness. Today we need more than ever to glorify the pursuit of righteousness. Think on those things that are good and noble.

So here is my encouragement to readers everywhere, and to the other writers out there: Put forth the good stories, challenge yourselves with righteous characters, and learn to discern the bad from the good. Do not accept everything at face value; instead analyze the books you read and the entertainment you watch. Do not always drink only the milk, but eat the meat as well. There is right and there is wrong in all of our entertainment, and that is the way it needs to be... so that we can be intelligent in our approach to this Ever Fallen World.

For parents: consider that if you are not teaching your children about the Wrongs in this world, the people in the world will. So teach them to discern with a godly understanding. The world is waiting for your children and it is adept at taking the naïve mind and twisting it toward the devil's path with promises of pleasure. Show them those pleasures for the superficial things they are and the eternal consequences they bring.

Thoughts anyone?

God's crazy plan!

My wife and I have struggled the last several months to determine exactly what kind of lifestyle we want to lead in the coming years. We have looked into buying a house up here in Connecticut, buying down in North Carolina, renting in either of those states, and hitting the road full-time in an RV motorhome.

We feel strongly that I need to be around the kids a lot more as they are growing up, instead of being away from home five days a week at an hourly job. Also I find great spiritual fulfillment in sharing my books with people all over the country and I have been unable to do that for the last year.

God has laid it on our hearts to hit the road again in another year, maybe two. That way Daddy's career can involve the kids and my wife. They can learn business practices and logistics alongside of me, see new places, meet fascinating people.

This will also be the best move for my writing career. We can hardly wait! But this will take time to prepare for. We need to slim down our worldly possessions and pick the RV that will work best for our lifestyle and our budget (they are not cheap). So if you want to meet me on the road, just wait a little while... I'm coming! (-:

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Have you ever watched Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn? In my opinion it is one of the greatest science fiction movies ever made. The heroes and the villain are original and fantastic in their roles.

...But that is an older movie and a new generation is making its attempt "To explore new worlds and new civilizations... To bravely go where no man has gone before."

Enter this year's theatrical release, (unlike its predecessor) Into Darkness was stellar! The cast did a phenomenal job and the story was a clever re-imagining of Kahn. They inserted a lot of elements that only Trekkies would pick up on, and I enjoyed that, too! I won't give any spoilers but I felt it was worth recommending this film. I am definitely getting a copy of this on DVD.

Cloud Atlas... Changing the face of mortality

Having come down with a cold yesterday I had trouble sleeping last night, so I used some iTunes money to purchase the relatively new sci-fi that I have heard very little about: Cloud Atlas. I was curious, as the previews looked intriguing and I knew that it had been made by the Matrix trilogy masters.

Visually, this movie is stunning. The special effects truly dazzled, especially in the looks in the world of the future.

Plot-wise, however, it seriously lacked and contained what seemed to be major omissions and errors. And I must say that I was unpleasantly surprised by some of the more adult content. Do not show this to your teen! I was expecting an original sci-fi classic with perhaps a few liberal characters, but instead the film was awash in anti-traditional messages.

The main characters appear to be reincarnating. They lived in the past, they live in the present, they will live in the future. In this storyworld mankind is immortal, and not (it would appear) in spirit only, but in body as well. We see each of the main characters in the same body in each era of time. This is particularly noticeable in Halle Berry's character as little changes other than her wardrobe.

At one point a character is asked if they believe in God. The character deflects the question by stating a belief that love continues forever, for she loved, loves, and will love the same man. Her answers leave you believing that she expects to see him after death and not in a place of eternity, but back in a temporal existence. Humankind are corrupt gods in this film. There are no eternal consequences to their good deeds or their evil outside of passing into the next life.

A large part of the film is devoted to a gay man whose life is truly tragic in that his only happiness seems to be found in his lover.

Cloud Atlas shows a life without God, without the moral strength of a people that are accountable to their creator. Unapologetic, it shows a never ending cycle of humankind in their depraved condition. The heroes are those who are able to look past their own meaningless existence and accept death as one step on their endless journey.

I could not help but feel as I watched this film that the producers are only showing the mindset that they themselves believe along with a large portion of the world. They want no accountability to God, therefore their "morality" becomes a farce. Instead of advancing Civilization (by the only means Civilization has advanced through history, which is Christianity), instead of recognizing that we are degressing into a modern-day Rome where all kinds of sin are accepted (homosexuality, infanticide, abortion, polygamy, etc.) the makers of this film make this present world their Utopia.

Would I recommend this film? No. But I will say that it paints an accurate picture of how people without God are now viewing the world around them, and the hopelessness of their philosophies.