Yep this rant’s on me. I’ve ranted about most of you enough and it’s time for me to take one for the team. So, what have I got to rant about me? Well, my dishes and laundry are stacked to the ceiling. The floors need sweeping and mopping. My yard is a mess. My dog needs a bath and a trim. My car needs washing. I haven’t been to the store in a week and my taxes aren’t done.

When I was little, Mom used to tell me I was perfect. She would look at my fingers and tell me that I had wonderful little fingers and that I was for sure going to be a piano virtuoso. I learned to play the tuba instead.

Dad used to tell me I would be a first class meat cutter and he tried, Lord knows he tried, to make me one. I failed meat cutting class, got a teaching degree, and when they wouldn’t trust me with a class, I became a meat inspector. Now I write instead of a daily 9 to 5 job.

The question is, “why is my life, especially the living quarters of it, in such a mess?”

The answer is that my mind has been living in a place where my body is not. Which brings up another question, “How did that happen?”

Some of you might know that I’ve been writing a book. The amount of energy and time needed to complete a task of this sort is gigantic. It takes away from the time you usually set aside for the work I’ve described above that isn’t done. Writing this novel has sent my mind to another world where laundry and yard work are rarely considered. As I typed out the manuscript, there were no thoughts of doing the dishes, no guilt for not cleaning the house. Nothing else mattered except the story.

“What genre is it?”

People are always asking me this about my work. One thing about my writing is that I never write the same nor use the same language in any thing I do. Everything comes out totally different from all I’ve done before. As for the genre question, I rarely pay any attention at all to genre. I go where the story leads me. This particular story could be classified as a fantasy-sci-fi-romance-action-murder mystery. Say that ten times real fast!

“What’s it about?”

Glad you asked. A young man whose family has been murdered goes on a quest to become a sorcerer. His journey delivers more than he expected: magic he never knew existed, a woman who wants to love him, powerful enemies who shower him with cash to work for them and promise destruction if he does not, and a group of children who desperately need help. Danger lurks around every corner. What choices will he make?

The book was described by a friend as a sharp stick in the eye of the Epstein Class. I describe it as Mulligan stew. Dad used to make this stew. The ingredients are everything in the refrigerator. That’s what The Children of Raven’s Reach is: a mixture of love, martial arts, magic, murder, and mystery topped off with a pet raven. Everything is all mixed together in a story you won’t soon forget.

Get your copy here: The Children of Raven’s Reach. Available in both paperback and Kindle. Thank all of you for reading my writing. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed writing it.