Sunday Drive

Take a walk in the woods every once in a while. Feel the sunlight filtered through towering ponderosas, two hundred feet tall or more. Hear the rushing roar of rivers cresting rock strewn banks, swollen with snowmelt, pale green torrents of liquid ice. Walk paths overcast with whole trees crossing over, wend through the underbrush, see the ants scurrying, their body segments much larger here than in the city; here they look to be made of bits of juicy wild mountain blackberry.

Smell the earth. Breathe in the scent of freshness; clean, airy, light, woody, peppered with the spice of drying needles that crunch underfoot. Feel the river roaring nearby; shaking the boulders that stand on the sloping banks.

Be reminded of how we're quite small at the wrestling rapid riverside; under precipitous tree bough stabbing high at the winds in the air, where the eagles soar. And be reminded of how we’re also quite large as we stand high, stooping over the black ant, our head cocked to one side in curiosity as he goes about his business. Take time to stop along the way and see.

Drive your car on two lane roads. And slow it down, roll with all the windows open so you can smell the fragrances, feel the cool breezes, see the sheer sides of the canyon walls on which you ride. Don’t rush. The Sunday drive is an American tradition that’s older than cars. Imagine what it might have been like to ride in a horse drawn buggy. Take it slow. And when you see something amazing, pull off and stop. Get closer. Pause. Soak. Dip a toe in. You packed a picnic lunch, right? Good. And you brought the kids, too. Show them why their jaw should drop in awe, even now, even in this age of terminal boredom, when they behold the work of the Creator. Get up close and personal. See what’s to see.

Thank God for today, and trust Him for tomorrow. Live apart from regret by seizing the now; drink in deep, empty the cup today, for it is all we have. Life will keep happening to you until you begin to happen to it. Don’t sit at home. Get out and about. Take a drive in the mountains. Get right up alongside their roots, drive right up through the crevices, ride up their ramps into the heights, and behold the view from the summit. Feel the intensity of the sun up there and let it burn its warmth into your skin, and carry that into your next Monday. It will better you.

Michael, Book II in the Airel Saga

I’ve been privileged to work with Aaron Patterson for a couple of years now, co-writing and brainstorming with him on a few ideas that have proven to be more than worthwhile. I can state now for the record that we work well together.

And I hope when Michael releases on May 17^th that you agree.

Fans of the Airel Saga won’t be disappointed. Book I, Airel, ended with a big bang and our intent all along was to follow that up with more of the same. Michael opens with the long-awaited explanation of just what the heck happened up there at the top of the cliff, though of course we take our time revealing all the consequences of that as the story unfolds. I don’t want to spoil anything for those of you who have yet to read Book I, but you can bet you’ll find plenty of drama in these e-pages.

You’ll also find new characters. We introduce a go-getter FBI agent and her rookie assistant, Harry, to the story. Naturally, in a missing persons case the authorities would nose their way into the situation. What they find at the bottom of their investigation is quite a shock. We also decided that we had to give Airel’s parents a little of the stage, so they make a cameo or two. But two of my new favorites are Ellie, a brass knuckles badass kind of girl who carries a mysterious accent and an even more mysterious past, and Mr. Emmanuel, who wears a white fedora when first we meet him and who has… let’s just say… a way about him. Whatever the case may be, and I’m not making any specific statements about any of these characters (you’ll just have to read the book), but I just adore a good villain. Let’s just say that chameleons can give a guy lots of character ideas. Plus it was really cool to dip into African mythology. Beyond that, I cannot go here.

I had lots of fun writing this one. If Airel bore more of Aaron’s imprimatur, Michael bears more of my own. Aaron and I tried changing up the nuts and bolts of our creative process for this one, and it shows in the final product. When we decided to collaborate on Airel, the rough draft had already been completed and edited by the time I had a crack at it, so I didn’t intrude much. But Michael was rather formless and void, a book with which the creative process was far more open-handed between us. Aaron delivered it to me in four sections over the space of many months, so when I made certain tweaks I wasn’t sure necessarily where he was going with some ideas. By the time we got down to the fourth section (Part Eight in the Saga), I found that I had a lot of catching up to do in order to reconcile our work. In the final analysis though, it just flat works. And well, I think.

We’ve pulled out all the stops on this one. When Aaron and I first started talking about Michael, we decided that we had to really go for broke on the setting. From the beginning we’ve been thinking about the Airel Saga in terms of high production value in regard to what the “camera” sees; we look at the storyline as if it’s a storyboard for a movie in a lot of ways. We want to write something that might translate well to the silver screen, in other words. We therefore decided to incorporate dynamic and sweeping visuals into the story, utilizing all the imaginative tools in our kit. The action scenes in Michael go beyond what you’ve seen in Airel. Where the first book had plenty of awesome Old World epic battle scenes that were a total blast to write, the second is a study in contrasts, not only to the first book but also in comparison to each other right inside Michael. There’s a high speed car chase in the rain at night, the blending of high tech weapons with swordplay, and two gorgeous places: Ascension Island in the South Atlantic, and Cape Town, South Africa (I actually spent six months there in 2002, so I was itching to write a bit of that into the story line from the get-go).

If you’re craving romance, Michael delivers on that front as well. As I said earlier, I don’t want to spoil anything, but there’s a scene with Airel and Michael in a torrential downpour that ought to spark something in you, at least if you’re not dead inside.

But that doesn’t compare to the scene near the end where one major plot twist comes finally unraveled with Airel and Kreios. That one is my favorite.

As always, the intent with the Airel Saga has been to provide a little something for everyone: drama, romance, action, adventure, intrigue, suspense, even some light humor. Michael delivers all of these and more. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

To all our fans: thank you so very much. We couldn’t do this without you.

Darrin’s Coffee Signature Blend Coffee

Full disclosure: I went to school with Darrin Marion, now the craft roaster of fine coffees in my old adopted hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana. I’ve been chatting off and on with him via social media for the last year or more, talking about all things entrepreneurial and coffeeish. I finally pulled the trigger on a pound of his whole bean Signature Blend last week after he shared a video with me, in which he appeared on local TV in Indy talking about his small coffee roasting biz.

I was more than excited to receive my coffee in the mail. It arrived parcel post, taking about three days to get from Indiana to Idaho, in an air locked gold foil bag; very high zoot. I was therefore assured that my coffee would be as fresh as possible.

The first thing I did was coarse grind a goodly dose of his Signature Blend (I used ten tablespoons for a standard large sized French press, typically called a four cup press) and got the water on the boil. You’ll want to use filtered water, natch.

The first thing I noticed was that he roasts his coffee quite light; it’s nothing like what you get from “Big Coffee,” as he says, which tastes burnt to some of us. Now that the green mermaid has mostly stopped taking over every other street corner, I believe it might be safer for some of us to express our true feelings about over-roasted coffee. Darrin’s is decidedly unique.

I brewed for five minutes, which is pretty standard for French press coffees. When I took my first sip, I was blown away. Darrin’s Coffee is like nothing else I have ever experienced. Somehow he has managed to engineer a roast and a blend that brings the totality of coffee’s flavors to the fore. His Signature Blend is very full bodied; it explodes on the palate with an intense cocoa flavor that is balanced with fruity suggestions of berry and orange. I tried it black first, and for my second cup I added cream and sugar. It was just as good that way.

The next day I tried using a little less coffee and brewing his Signature Blend in my Bunn drip coffee maker. This machine brews a full pot of coffee in three minutes; ideal for drip (you don’t want it stewing for like, ten minutes or anything). While it was good, with Darrin’s, I personally felt that it was better as a French press coffee.

And that brings me round to the final verdict. Darrin’s isn’t an everyday coffee for me. Here’s why: One, it’s best in a French Press (though my wife preferred it brewed as drip coffee—to each their own, and you’ve gotta experiment). Two, that implies some attendant ideas about how to best use it; i.e. making the enjoyment of Darrin’s an event in and of itself. Three, a pound of Signature Blend costs $15, which is reasonable, but shipping for me was $7.50. If we’re rounding up, that means I threw down nearly $25 for a pound of coffee, and that’s probably too much for most of us.

But that’s what makes Darrin’s Signature Blend a coffee for occasions, as far as I’m concerned. In other words, I think it’s best to brew a French press of Darrin’s and pair it with a snack. Darrin recommends apples and almonds for his Signature Blend, but I daresay it’s great with orange slices or even chocolate and berries. It’s such an intense explosion of flavor, and it’s so unique—I mean, like nothing you have ever tasted—that it needs to be paired with something equally as intense that can stand up to it.

Darrin’s Signature Blend is a powerful coffee. Contrary to what the green mermaid, peace be upon her, might tell us about real flavor requiring longer roasts, Darrin has managed to extract huge flavor from his craft roasted blend with a light roast. You'll probably want to try his other varieties as well, including his organic Yirgacheffe, his Sumatra, and of course Kona. He even has Jamaican Blue Mountain, the rarest of the rare. When you open a bag of Signature Blend for the first time, you’ll know what I'm talking about here. You’ll be greeted with the intense scent of cocoa intermingled with the slightest berry tartness. It’s a revelation. And while, for me, the cost makes his coffees a little prohibitive, it’s worth paying more for quality on occasion. ‘Nuff said, and all the best to Darrin in his endeavors.

Check out his Web site and his Facebook page. Thanks, Darrin for sharing your work with me.

Amethyst is free today, Saturday and Sunday...

Amethyst is a digital short story that I originally wrote just to see if I could pull off a blind character... with the idea that a blind man wouldn't be scared of the dark. My mind worked in all kinds of interesting angles, including an incident that occurred straight out of the history books. I've tweaked it, of course, fictionalizing events, changing names, and making up entirely new and chilling motivations. This is one of my faves; I'm most proud of this one, as far as digital shorts go.

Synopsis:

"Rosewood, Florida was a peaceful little town just off the Gulf coast until January 1st, 1923. Then Frannie Taylor claimed she'd been attacked, and for six days it became a black and white war zone. Five were murdered in the purge. Sam Cooper was tortured and then shot. For what? Whatever dark motivation that was behind the massacre remains forty years later, and a simple blind man, Mario Laforest, is right in the middle of it. He's a criminal inmate at the Rosewood Sanitarium. But is he really so insane just because he refuses to speak the word 'Amethyst?'"

Yes Dear is free today and tomorrow...

Yes Dear is just about eight pages of pure dialogue. I challenged myself to try to write a short story with nothing outside of quotation marks. There are two characters, there's a beginning, middle, and end, and some twists you probably won't see coming. Check out this digital short thriller for free today and tomorrow. This is a second edition, with one minor correction and a new cover.

Synopsis:

"A man and woman arrive finally at the country house after journeying all day from London. She tells him to get the kettle on and stoke the fire; it’s cold and the snow is deep. She’s accustomed to bossing him. She’s used to his response to everything: “Yes, Dear.” But what destiny has pent up comes swiftly, without warning…and the works of a life produce consequence."

Marsburg is free today and tomorrow...

Book One in the Airel Saga Diary series, The Marsburg Diary, is free today and tomorrow. Tell your peeps.

Synopsis:

Harvey Marsburg, son of the late William Marsburg, is reading through his deceased father's long-lost diary. At first, Harv is annoyed at the peculiarities of his father, irritated that he has to uncover old wounds by reading this old book. But he finds to his amazement that his father might not actually have been mad. In fact it appears that William may have been nearly 150 years old when he died in 1977. Now his body lies decomposing in a Yorkshire mausoleum, but his legacy lives on. Harvey reads cryptic notes from the executor: "May your father rest in peace. He deserves it." Something watches him from the darknesses of his house as he reads the diary with growing interest. Plus, there are two other books in that old trunk that the foundation sent. One of them, he could swear it, is calling to him...

Simplifying

Life is a thing that complicates itself, I’ve noticed. It’s a constant battle we fight to gain and regain simplicity. You make a decision to take on something you think is inconsequential, then you turn around a while later to discover that one new thing has bred twenty new subsequent obligations that you never imagined or foresaw. 

One learns to be careful what one commits to.

Me and my family, we’re having to do this right now. We’re having to make decisions about some major stuff in our lives, and I think we’re heading in the right direction. We’re coming up on a major transition in our lives as I finally start to garner enough income from royalties and other earnings on my writing to be able to support us.

My oldest, for instance, is in the third grade now. We were able, through a lot of sacrifice and effort, to send him to a private school for years. But it’s proving to be too much strain, and believe it or not, it’s not mostly financial, though there is a monetary component to our decision to pull him out of school starting this fall. Mostly it’s the schedule that is influencing us, plus an honest desire to test drive home schooling.

But this is a great example of how decisions beget decisions. For instance, we used to have two vehicles; a car and an old truck. We sold the old truck in order to frugalize and simplify our lives a bit. And it’s true that our lives have changed since then, but it took a while to adapt to it. It makes the school run more of a major event, and I'm finding our lives sort of revolve around it a bit too much for my taste. It’s interesting for me to see how that decision has impacted my family. Overall it’s been positive, because I have had to take my bike on certain errands, or even walk. Having one car has forced us to simplify quite a lot. Once we got used to it we liked it. That’s not to say we won’t at some point have another vehicle. But for now, overall, it’s ideal to have just one, even with the school run issue.

Time will tell if our decision to home school my oldest will unnecessarily complicate our lives. I know there are pitfalls, but we’re going into it with our eyes open and we’re prepared. For now I’m hoping to turn more ordinary moments into educational possibilities. I’m wanting to head out to the desert for an evening with the telescope and stargaze; study astronomy. I’m wanting to transform camping trips into explorations in basic botany, geology, zoology. I’m wanting to recall scriptures as we gaze at mountains, go to the park and read poetry, apply multiplication tables to shopping trips, and so on. But I’m a naturally inquisitive person who enjoys sharing little insights with people, so perhaps I’m pre-wired to be more successful at home schooling my kids. I know this is not the case for everyone. And of course it’s also important to be in agreement with your spouse on stuff like this. That’s the most important consideration, actually.

Pulling back from the school-run schedule, the Monday through Friday slog of the rat race, I think will prove beneficial to me and my family. Now that I am bringing in enough money from my writing to support us, we don’t need to be tied to schedules and seasons as much. I see us taking more spontaneous trips. Vacations in September. Or February. Odd stuff like that. Mid-week camping trips. Family bike rides at 10 AM on a Tuesday just because we want to and we can. That kind of thing. I want to build a fort in the back yard for my boys and watch them play as I sit sipping lemonade on the back patio. I want to smoke a cigar over lunch. Ride my bike more. Read a book under the shade of a tree. Maybe even write one. I want to build a little dorm-style loft in my boys’ bedroom so they can have more space. If we put their mattresses up on the loft, the whole floor will be clear for them to play Legos, cars, watch the occasional movie on a rainy day, have more fun. And it will be easier to vacuum. See how that works? Genius.