Husband, father, communication professor, frustrated writer and novelist. I love Jesus, my wife and kids (and grandson), kayaking, football and science fiction.
After a year of not writing, I am back in front of the keyboard, working on book #26. I use the term working loosely for two reasons. First, because like most writers, I am finding every excuse in the book to procrastinate and do everything else but write. I tolerate that to a certain degree … More Shaking off the Cobwebs
It’s been a year since I left teaching, and I miss it. One of the things I miss the most is my student writer’s club that met every Thursday, Rough Writers. We’d get together and plan events, do writing exercises, and most importantly, critique each other’s ongoing writing projects. What I got a kick out … More Why You Should/Should Not Write a Book Series
Open Season: The First Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box. 323 pages. Putnam Books. This isn’t the first time that I picked up a book because I watched a movie or TV series. But usually I waited until I was done with the viewing before I turned to the book. In this case, my … More Review: “Open Season” by C.J. Box
1919: The Untold Struggle of Adventism’s Struggle with Fundamentalism by Michael W. Campbell. Pacific Press Publishing Association. 124 pages. 1922: The Rise of Adventist Fundamentalism by Michael W. Campbell. Pacific Press Publishing Association. 144 pages. It was my honor the last few years of my tenure at Southwestern Adventist University to share the campus with … More Review: “1919” and “1922” by Michael W. Campbell
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, And Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson. Crown Books. 591 pages. I picked up this book while I was on vacation, mostly because I recognized the author’s name. He’s the same author who wrote In the Garden of Beasts, the excellent book about the … More Review: “The Splendid and the Vile” by Erik Larson
We have a big backyard. In fact, we own two acres. We live just outside of town here in Texas, which gives us the occasional opportunity to run into wild animals–and loose tame ones–on our property. We’ve played host to possums, snakes, wild pigs, and lots of squirrels over the years. We like it. It’s … More Two Rabbits
Six Years with the Texas Rangers: 1875 to 1881 by James B. Gillett. University of Nebraska Press. 260 pages. I have neglected this blog and this website for quite a while. Seems like real life has gotten the better of me. But I have recently finished a few good books that I want to share … More Review: “Six Years with the Texas Rangers” by James B. Gillett
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. Picador Books. 355 pages. Some books you read because they are a lot of fun to read. Some books you read because you come away with a memorable message. And some books you read because, well, because you just have to. I am a big Cormac McCarthy fan. My two … More Review: “Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy
Necessity is the mother of invention. –English Proverb I was in my car this evening, driving back home after dropping my grandsons off, when Paul Simon came on the radio singing his song, “Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover.” To paraphrase a section of the song, he has a woman trying to convince him that … More Fifty Ways to…Write a Book
Draig: Book 2 of the Call of the Lorica. 274 pages. Self-published. Once again, I get to introduce you to an author and a work introduced to me via the Goodreads thread devoted to Christian speculative fiction authors. We’ve had a lot of fun reading each others’ books over the past few months, and I … More Review: “Draig” by Anne C. Miles
The Great Adventure 