• The Story Behind the Book

    Just Another Week in Suburbia: The Passive Casper

    The best stories feature characters who take journeys. And that doesn’t necessarily mean geographical journeys, but intellectual, emotional, and spiritual journeys. The simplest example is Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit. While he does take a physical journey, it’s all about how his adventure shapes him, and who he becomes: he goes from a meek Hobbit to a bold, courageous leader – a Hobbit who would dare banter with a dragon and betray a friend to broker peace. I’d written other stories where characters took physical journeys, and their change is a byproduct of their experiences. But now I was interested primarily in focusing on the character’s growth. Part of this…

  • Life of the Mind

    An Exploration of August Falling

    I’ve had one novella published, and there’s maybe fifteen unpublished manuscripts that sit on my computer in various states – from, This has potential, to I should revise this one day, to This should never see light again. One of my favourites is my most recent published novel: August Falling (Pantera Press 2018). I read a romantic comedy/relationship novel about six years ago. The writing was good. The voice was excellent. The story engaged me immediately. Then it proceeded to enrage me. It was a just happens to story. That means nothing was earned. No reaction was a result of somebody’s action. Things just happened because they needed to in…