Posted in Giveaways, Publishing Day, The Last Gladiator
Hi all! Congrats to the winner of my Last Gladiator and Roma Aeronautica giveaway! Today is the day you can get The Last Gladiator live on Kindle, Nook, and for all other e-readers through Smashwords!
05 Sunday Jul 2020
Greetings all!
This is a combination post for both my Year of Accountability Project and my Camp NaNoWriMo Progress! I’ve been working on the novella pretty heavily over the last few days, and reached the first major milestone! 10,000 words! I’m excited to share a brief except from the short story in the novella below, but first I wanted to also share the goal for next week.
Goal for this week: Reach 10,000 words in the ‘Colonia’ book – Goal Achieved!
Goal for next week: Reach 20,000 words!
Remember that my novels are on sale for 25% off for Smashword’s Summer Sale, going on now! Stay at home and read my books! Subscribe to the blog for more news and updates!
Read on to discover more!
04 Saturday Jul 2020
Posted in Sale, Steam Empire Chronicles
Tags
Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone has a safe, socially distanced, and mask-wearing day.
Missed getting your copy of my novels during Smashword’s Give Back Sale? Their annual Summer/Winter Sale is on now! Get my novels on Smashwords for 25% off! Stay at home and read my books!
03 Friday Jul 2020
Here’s another Camp NaNoWriMo Update! I missed yesterday’s, but that’s fine. I’ve already been getting some good feedback from my beta readers as they look at the (very imperfect) writing that is underway. Today’s writing looks at some of the first Roman explorers to reach Nix Insulam – Otherwise called Iceland – and their encounters with the Nortlanders who were already there.
If you like what you see, remember that you can get my latest novella – The Last Gladiator, on Kindle, Nook, and for all other e-readers through Smashwords! Onto some of today’s writing. Remember, this is the roughest of rough drafts, but any critiques are always welcome! Click beyond to see today’s snippet!
01 Wednesday Jul 2020
Hi all,
Here’s today’s first writing progress from Camp NaNoWriMo. The goal is to post a snippet of each day’s work. That way, you can see progress!
If you like what you see, remember that you can get my latest novella – The Last Gladiator, on Kindle, Nook, and for all other e-readers through Smashwords! Onto some of today’s writing. Remember, this is the roughest of rough drafts, but any critiques are always welcome!
Foreword
Greetings reader, I hope you enjoy my trifling effort to summarize some of the most critical events in the history of the colonization of New Caesaria. I was commissioned by the Byzantium College of Warfare to compose this volume of primary resources on the development of New Caesaria. Exploring the time period from discovery to initial exploration and colonization efforts to the present day, it is my foremost desire that this volume sheds some light on the westernmost reaches of our Empire’s power. As always, all dates in this passage are in ‘After the Emperor’ – A.E. (although some sources use A.D. – Ad Dominum, especially those from Christian sources, and others use P.I. – Post Imperator, as in traditional Latin, rather than the more evolved version used today. But I digress…)
I make no promise of extensivity; rather I have pulled from the most original and noteworthy resources. Some may question my inclusion of so-called “barbarian” accounts of colonization. To them I say that Rome has always worked hard to integrate the people, including those ‘less civilized’, around our empire. We like to think of Rome as the most enlightened in the world, but as a nation we have much to learn from our neighbors.
Certainly, their ways, methods, and language are foreign to us. In some cases, such as the Aztlan Dominion, their methods are abhorrent and bloodthirsty. Others, such as the republican traditions of the Hausonadee Confederacy, leave much to be admired. I would be unable to tell the true story of our colonization efforts without their truth.
27 Saturday Jun 2020
Good morning! Welcome back to another Year of Accountability post. Hopefully, with school done, I’ll be back on the right swing of things for this!
24 Wednesday Jun 2020
Some new maps for your pleasure. I’m excited to have these be part of my next project – a Brief History of the Colonies of New Caesaria! Which map do you like better?
16 Tuesday Jun 2020
Posted in Year of Accountability
Hi all, Here’s yet another post in my Year of Accountability challenge!
Photo by Suliman Sallehi on Pexels.com
14 Sunday Jun 2020
Posted in Thoughts
The Work White People Must Do.
It is not anothers' responsibility to tell us whether or not we are acting, perceiving, being, racist. It is ours. It has always been ours. We hide obfuscate blame others. If only... But he... Why didn't she just... Yet We, the White Folk, don't even follow these rules ourselves. We are the rioters. We are the betrayers. The Police, and the Criminals. We cannot ask demand request that our Black and Brown fellow citizens teach us how to not be racist. We must change. One day, one moment, one interaction at a time.
I will also add this. A book club will not fix this problem. Posting a black square on your Instagram will not fix this. This problem – the systematic influence of racism on our institutions and society in the United States and around the world – is bigger than you or I. But we can push for changes to the system.
The challenge is avoiding the ‘false success’ idea. Making one thing change, isn’t actually change. To maintain the political will for change, we – White allies – must use our voices to press for change. Change that makes a difference, not simply ‘let’s establish a commission.” There are many places to learn more, and the process of education and training yourself in the manner of anti-racist teaching/learning/acting is ongoing.
06 Saturday Jun 2020
Posted in Dungeons & Dragons, Maps
Hi All,
As my D&D Campaign for Redwatch Island continues, I’ve added some additional map resources that help build the world. Here’s a map of Seaton, the capital city of Redwatch, and the scary Dreadwood Forest. Enjoy!
These maps will be added to the resources in the Campaign Missions. As usual, feel free to use them with the rest of the materials, but with recognition. Thanks!
Stay safe out there.
31 Sunday May 2020
Posted in Self-Publishing, Thoughts
Hi there,
Normally, on a Sunday, I’d be doing a Year of Accountability post, but seeing as it’s been a rough week for a lot of people, it just didn’t sit right with me.
As a white male, I have privilege. Privilege I cannot always recognize and see. As a graduate of the McDaniel Equity in Excellence program, I expanded my ability to recognize my privilege and the spaces where it flexes its muscles – both literally and figuratively. I cannot sit here and simply say “I understand what my fellow black and brown citizens of the United States are going through”.
Because I can’t. I can witness it. I can empathize. I can feel frustration for them and anger at the system that willfully allows such actions to occur, time and time again. My own frustration comes from the feeling of being limited in how to respond. I am not in a place to go out and protest, and while talking and sharing facts and support online is something, it doesn’t always feel like something. It is hard to be an ally when you feel like you cannot do anything to help.
Normally, I would bring up these issues in my school’s social justice program – our Student Diversity Leadership Team – but with distance learning coming to a close, this limits my ability to work with my students in this regard. 2020 has been a solid 1-2-3 series of blows to our communities and families, to our sense of ‘normalcy.’
But if it is normal for African American men and women to be murdered in their own neighborhoods, their own cars, their own homes, by police, in situations where their white neighbors would not, is normalcy what we want?
We can either push forward, or fall back. I’m honest in saying that I don’t have answers, just some half formed ideas. I’m not an expert in community organizing or reforming the police department, but I have some thoughts that may, or may not, be useful. Starting with this one simple idea.
As a teacher, if I get fired for misconduct, my teaching certificate gets yanked. No more teaching. I have to jump through hoops to get it again. I can’t roll into the county next door and get a job. Why can these officers? If places in our country continue to operate in a ‘three strikes you’re out’ – shouldn’t we hold police to a higher standard? One strike – you’re out, and obviously not fit to be a police officer.
I have other ideas. None of which will solve the problem – there’s no ‘solving’ this. There is mitigating and reducing and building community relationships.
Most importantly of all, I think the best idea is to listen to what others, with better ideas, have to say. Listen, follow through, listen again.
Stay safe out there, wear your mask.
