Husband, father, communication professor, frustrated writer and novelist. I love Jesus, my wife and kids (and grandson), kayaking, football and science fiction.
Words of Radiance: Book Two of the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson. 1096 pages. Tor Books. It took me a while to get back to this series after the immense first book that was The Way of Kings. At 1,258 pages, it was a lot to swallow, and took me a while to read. The … More Review: “Words of Radiance” by Brandon Sanderson
I attended a writer’s conference in Park City, Utah back in 2007 because I had a question in my head. I’d been writing for quite a while, but mostly for my own people. When I say “my own people,” I talk about members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. There’s about a million of us in … More Big fish in a small pond…or small fish in a big pond?
The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi. Tor Books. 372 pages. John Scalzi is a very good writer. I thoroughly enjoyed his award-winning and bestselling book Old Man’s War, which really put his name on the map as far as science fiction writers. This book, The Collapsing Empire, is an example of a book that was … More Review: “The Collapsing Empire” by John Scalzi
I was watching Jerry Seinfeld’s great series on Netflix called Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee where he interviewed Seth Rogen. Something Rogen said stuck with me, and I immediately thought of writing books–of course. Seth Rogen was talking about being a stand-up comedian, and why he decided to quit. “It’s like that famous quote, ‘I … More What Writers Can Learn from Boxers (and other Pugilists)
Deliverance: Forgotten Colony Book 1 by M. R. Forbes. 350 pages. Amazon Digital Services. Once in a while I treat myself to my guilty pleasure of military science fiction for some brainless fun. That’s especially special when the book is offered free of charge, as was the case for Deliverance, courtesy of Amazon Prime. It’s … More Review: “Deliverance” by M.R. Forbes
Author: Dear God… God: Glen! Good to hear from you! How are you doing? Author: Fine. Sorry, it’s been a while. I’ve been busy. I have something to ask you. God: Of course you do. Why else would you be here? Author: I need help with my book sales. God: (pauses) Are you sure you … More An Author’s Conversation with God
Once we got past the morning parade in the local city of Keene, my project for July 4th morning was to complete the demolition of my grandson’s treehouse in our backyard. I built it for Gavin when he was a little shaver, barely able to climb the ladder to get up into the treehouse, and … More It’s All About the Work
The Kingdom: Here Be Dragons, Here Be Dreams by Joanne Rolston. JKR Publishing. 311 Pages. This was another book designated to me as part of a thread on Goodreads for those interested in Christian Speculative Fiction. I’m blessed to be a part of that thread, both as someone whose able to contribute manuscripts and someone … More Review: “The Kingdom–Here Be Dragons, Here Be Dreams” by Joanne Rolston
In my 21 years as a university professor, I’ve seen the same thing time and again. An exceptional student comes to college and is overwhelmed by all the extracurricular options available to him or her. I remember one particular journalism major. He was a Student Association officer, on the gymnastics team, on the elite choir, … More What are you willing to give up?
The Young World by Chris Weitz. Little, Brown and Company. 373 pages. I’ve learned–and I’ve tried to teach my students–that there are significant differences between writing movie scripts and writing books. One might think that if you’re good at writing one, you’ll probably be good at writing the other as well. It’s not necessarily the … More Review: “The Young World” by Chris Weitz
