BEHIND THE SCENES: What Inspired and more interesting facts about my work!
Sponable Tales is back for a Fourth Time! How many Easter Eggs are hidden in here? I don't even know. I would say this is more adventure than "spooky" but I had a lot of fun writing it and making myself a character!
I wanted to follow up on Doctor Mad from the first Festival of Fear, and I did! I intend to do a 3rd Festival of Fear and introduce a character at the end, Blood Lust. I also created a fun character, The Marshal, who I've dressed up as on multiple occasions. This character will also be featured in upcoming stories.
Off to Victor Colorado and in honor of the fun Steampunk Festival there comes the story of The Dread Pirate. The festival did inspire this story, and they really did burn the effigy of a pirate at the end.
Finally, I wanted to do a Slasher character. I created two: The Lumbering Jack and a person we have yet to meet, BLOOD LUST! In the midst of this creation, the Questors find
life again and enter as campers trying to find a murderer!
The Spookable Tales series has really added to my depth. I've written stories about a Madman, Vampire Detective, Ghosts, Demons and Angels, Slashers, Cult Leaders, Grave Robbers, haunted houses, tortured souls and created a hero.
I wanted to follow up on Doctor Mad from the first Festival of Fear, and I did! I intend to do a 3rd Festival of Fear and introduce a character at the end, Blood Lust. I also created a fun character, The Marshal, who I've dressed up as on multiple occasions. This character will also be featured in upcoming stories.
Off to Victor Colorado and in honor of the fun Steampunk Festival there comes the story of The Dread Pirate. The festival did inspire this story, and they really did burn the effigy of a pirate at the end.
Finally, I wanted to do a Slasher character. I created two: The Lumbering Jack and a person we have yet to meet, BLOOD LUST! In the midst of this creation, the Questors find
life again and enter as campers trying to find a murderer!
The Spookable Tales series has really added to my depth. I've written stories about a Madman, Vampire Detective, Ghosts, Demons and Angels, Slashers, Cult Leaders, Grave Robbers, haunted houses, tortured souls and created a hero.
The Arelis Complex
-My first Space Novel, the story applies to many dilemmas in our current society of self-defense and morality. Both stories originated 20 years ago, I finally decided to finish them.
-This book started and remained as two different stories: The Arelis Complex and The Ninth Protocol.
-It was only later that I decided to merge them and have them relate. Can you tell how they relate?
-The original title for The Arelis Complex was Too Late and it was published on a science fiction website of short stories. The premise is the society realizes it’s too late to stop it’s own demise.
-The Ninth Protocol deals with the moral dilemma of justice or revenge vs. Duty and is a story of self-control over emotions.
-The name “Arelis” is used in one story and “Aurelis” in the other as they are told from two perspectives but are about the same planet.
-The Ninth Protocol is the second story but actually precedes The Arelis Complex.
-I got the cover picture from my friend Narn who lives in outer space
-This is my 15th book published
-My first Space Novel, the story applies to many dilemmas in our current society of self-defense and morality. Both stories originated 20 years ago, I finally decided to finish them.
-This book started and remained as two different stories: The Arelis Complex and The Ninth Protocol.
-It was only later that I decided to merge them and have them relate. Can you tell how they relate?
-The original title for The Arelis Complex was Too Late and it was published on a science fiction website of short stories. The premise is the society realizes it’s too late to stop it’s own demise.
-The Ninth Protocol deals with the moral dilemma of justice or revenge vs. Duty and is a story of self-control over emotions.
-The name “Arelis” is used in one story and “Aurelis” in the other as they are told from two perspectives but are about the same planet.
-The Ninth Protocol is the second story but actually precedes The Arelis Complex.
-I got the cover picture from my friend Narn who lives in outer space
-This is my 15th book published
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Anna's art center will continue with book 3 in process currently!
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Anna's Art Center! Behind the Scenes!
-Children showed up at my appearances and I had no real "kid" books. I wanted to create something for kids and parents/grandparents to SHARE! -Inspired by an Art Center I created for my daughter and our relationship of me being a single father. -Wanted to use my business skills, so there's a lot of organizational and analytical skills along with positive messages about confidence! -Characters are made of clay because I don't draw too good, eyes, lips, glasses etc. are stickers. -Celery was the hardest to make! -Anna's Cat Rosie is inspired by my cat, Rosie. -This book also contains original songs and some that appear in The Calling of the Protectors series. |
Spookable Tales is a series I decided to write to have some fun with short stories. I enjoyed them because they were easy to write and I could have some variety!
-First story about Jaspar Jones was written for Cutty's Resort in Coaldale Colorado as a campfire story.
-The Vampire Detective Play originally started as a story for this series before I made it into a play
-The Cover Art for each story is a picture of a pumpkin I carved for Halloween!
-I created my first Supervillian in The Festival of Fear.
-I came up with the idea for The Festival of Fear while attending The Colorado Festival of Horror in Denver!
-The stories are not intended to be scary or gory but, more supernatural in suspenseful!
-First story about Jaspar Jones was written for Cutty's Resort in Coaldale Colorado as a campfire story.
-The Vampire Detective Play originally started as a story for this series before I made it into a play
-The Cover Art for each story is a picture of a pumpkin I carved for Halloween!
-I created my first Supervillian in The Festival of Fear.
-I came up with the idea for The Festival of Fear while attending The Colorado Festival of Horror in Denver!
-The stories are not intended to be scary or gory but, more supernatural in suspenseful!
A Good VS Evil Tale, The 13th Month: The reception was so good, I wrote a sequel!! 13 Days!
Finalist Foreword Review Book of the Year 2015!
Do you believe the decisions you make every day matter?
What if I told you that every decision you make causes a chain reaction
that ripples through time and impacts future moments.
Would you be more cautious in your choices if you knew the effect?
Our Decisions, Our Actions, Our intent and the energy behind them affect
the amount of Evil in this world. That is the lesson of this story.
Do you believe the decisions you make every day matter?
What if I told you that every decision you make causes a chain reaction
that ripples through time and impacts future moments.
Would you be more cautious in your choices if you knew the effect?
Our Decisions, Our Actions, Our intent and the energy behind them affect
the amount of Evil in this world. That is the lesson of this story.
The 13th Month is my second work that can be related to Christian Science Fiction. The first being Savior. In both, I strive to not overwhelm the reader as I am not trying to preach or alienate the reader by convincing them of any line of thought other than to think. I want to attract an audience, and in doing so, get a message across:
WHAT YOU DO MATTERS!
The premise of The 13th Month, is that we are in control and that our decisions impact the world around us. A better world is in reach if we just start making better decisions. It is my desire to get people to think about the every-day choices we make to accept or not accept evil influences into our lives. I wanted to give the force a different element than a possessive force since this theme has been done so many times. I further wanted to explore the option of humans really being in control to an extent. I came up with the concept of Shadows that creep in and out of our time through a portal. How does this portal come about? A person attracts the energy by the decisions he/she makes opening up a window. Just like a ripple in a calm pool of water, the bigger the stone you cast, the bigger the ripple and the farther it extends. Only, this ripple extends in time. If you cause a ripple due to anger, hatred, etc. it can ripple for moments of time long after and the shadows feed on this emotion, this temptation.
Mythology and History Behind the Concept!
Ancient texts tell of demons and evil beings that roamed the earth. Where did they go? In the ancient stories, there are many battles between the forces of good and evil. I use this mythology, if it is mythology, to explain what happened; evil lost and was banished into time. At first, evil is restricted to the 13th Month. Then, the forces of evil disappear altogether. But, evil is not gone, but rather exists in another dimension and creeps back into our time through portals opened up when our intentions turn foul. The evil entities take the form of shadows that can only exist with a host.
There is also truth in the usage of a 13th month. There are historical calendars that have 13 months in them. In the story, it is revealed that many religions know about the shadows and secret groups have formed to battle them. It is the catholic church, however, that has taken the lead in hiding the fact that time has changed in the elimination of the 13th month and the very physical time that evil once controlled. This has been done by shifting the calendar over the years and hiding the fact that it was done so because time itself was shifting. It's a fascinating concept that time itself can expand and contract.
Different than possession, the shadows don't control, but influence. It was important to me that there is a clear understanding that humankind is in control but susceptible to influence. The weak-minded are more subject to these influences. A person confronted with insecurities will find themselves a perfect target for these creatures.
WHAT YOU DO MATTERS!
The premise of The 13th Month, is that we are in control and that our decisions impact the world around us. A better world is in reach if we just start making better decisions. It is my desire to get people to think about the every-day choices we make to accept or not accept evil influences into our lives. I wanted to give the force a different element than a possessive force since this theme has been done so many times. I further wanted to explore the option of humans really being in control to an extent. I came up with the concept of Shadows that creep in and out of our time through a portal. How does this portal come about? A person attracts the energy by the decisions he/she makes opening up a window. Just like a ripple in a calm pool of water, the bigger the stone you cast, the bigger the ripple and the farther it extends. Only, this ripple extends in time. If you cause a ripple due to anger, hatred, etc. it can ripple for moments of time long after and the shadows feed on this emotion, this temptation.
Mythology and History Behind the Concept!
Ancient texts tell of demons and evil beings that roamed the earth. Where did they go? In the ancient stories, there are many battles between the forces of good and evil. I use this mythology, if it is mythology, to explain what happened; evil lost and was banished into time. At first, evil is restricted to the 13th Month. Then, the forces of evil disappear altogether. But, evil is not gone, but rather exists in another dimension and creeps back into our time through portals opened up when our intentions turn foul. The evil entities take the form of shadows that can only exist with a host.
There is also truth in the usage of a 13th month. There are historical calendars that have 13 months in them. In the story, it is revealed that many religions know about the shadows and secret groups have formed to battle them. It is the catholic church, however, that has taken the lead in hiding the fact that time has changed in the elimination of the 13th month and the very physical time that evil once controlled. This has been done by shifting the calendar over the years and hiding the fact that it was done so because time itself was shifting. It's a fascinating concept that time itself can expand and contract.
Different than possession, the shadows don't control, but influence. It was important to me that there is a clear understanding that humankind is in control but susceptible to influence. The weak-minded are more subject to these influences. A person confronted with insecurities will find themselves a perfect target for these creatures.
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Behind the Scenes of
SAVIOR
Glimpse the Future in this Sci-Fi thriller that tries to answer How Far will we go to save ourselves? Science and Religion clash in this novel about the path of genetic testing and stem cell research. A timely novel for today's issues.
The story to Savior was originally conceived in 1986 when I wrote down the events of a dream I had one night. It was ten years later in 1996 that I started to actually spend serious time writing. Work on Savior didn’t begin until 1998, and it is actually the fourth story I’ve finished.
Starting as a short story, it was originally 40,000 words long. I had finished working on it in the Spring of 1999, and put in on the shelf because I had an agent who was telling me that the other book I had written, The People Across the Sea (PAS), was good and that I should be focusing all my attention on getting it refined. She also informed me that Savior was too short to be sold as an individual novel.
Once PAS was out to the publishers, and I was waiting for my agent to get me into the “Big time” by selling it, I decided to put my efforts into lengthening Savior. I also decided that I would no longer wait on the excruciatingly slow traditional publishing industry, which I still can’t believe can be so slow in these modern times of computers and faxes, and sent Saviorto a freelance editor to proof.
It was only when he informed me that the story was readable, and that he felt it was worth publishing that I decided to go to 1stBooks Library and publish on my own.
In the end, I was happy I proceeded with publishing Savior. I have received several rejection letters on The People Across the Sea, and my agent closed her business and went bankrupt in February 2001.
A never ending story
The reader will always find an opening in my stories to lead your imagination. As I grew up, I latched on to books at a very young age. I had allergies and seemed to always be sick, and often spent time reading. I remember getting to the end of a story and feeling like I wanted it to continue, as though the characters had become people in my life.
So I often imagined my own sequels. In Savior, I leave an opening with the character Rhonda, and the dreams Kyle keeps having about her, and whether or not she will be found.
The effect Kyle’s offspring will have on the world is also left to the imagination of the reader, as they will be a combination of the new and the old.
Words with meanings
There are many words and names throughout the book that actually have meanings. Among my favorite
inventions was the name for the evil director, Rein Carn.
Upon reading the book the reader will find that out that Rein is actually two people that are somehow merged together: one, the previous director of Kytec, Dr. James Smith, and the other, a Knight of the Silver Cross who was lost in battle. Since both men were supposed to be dead, but are actually still living as one, it only seemed right to give them the name Rein Carn: Rein-Carnation.
Another character in the book that is among my favorites is Tyr Huse. The first name, Tyr, was taken out of a mythology book after a Germanic god of war that usually was associated with law and justice. The last name, Huse, also the name used for Tyr’s brother, Father Huse in the book, was taken from the Catholic priest whom I admired growing up and who gave me my first communion. Two other characters, Kyle Reed, and Rhonda Schraeder owe their first names to people I worked with, and the rest of the character names are from my imagination.
In the opening, the Knights of the Silver Cross are attacking a facility they call“Dirge Five.” The definition of Dirge is: a slow mournful song, a funeral hymn, and the term was used during WWII in reference to Nazi concentration camps.
The scientist in me was dying to get out!
Although this is a science fiction story, I did try to put accuracy into the science behind the story. The story itself deals with many controversial issues that are present today, and you might be surprised to find out that the technology of genetic engineering, cloning, and freezing people all exist as well.
Is freezing people possible? And what is the technology involved?
Preserving people in a frozen state is possible, and there are companies in existence that perform this service. Although in the book I refer to the process of freezing people as “cryogenic stasis” or “cryo-preservation,”the term used by the industry that actually does these procedures refers to the body of science as “cryonics,” and it has been around since 1964.
Just as I stated in the book, people with the money are lining up to take the chance of being frozen in the hope that they will wake up to a better future, where science has learned how to cure their affliction, whatever they may be.
In the process, liquid nitrogen is used as the freezing agent, and not Freon as I referenced in the story. There are successes in using these procedures to freeze simple tissues, such as sperm and embryos used for fertilization.
However, there has been no success of actually freezing and bringing back a complex organism. Science has yet to devise a way of freezing complex cells, made up largely of water, that when freezes, turns to ice crystals and punctures the cell wall thereby destroying the organism.
The story behind genetic testing and engineering:
It takes a very scientific mind to understand all the research about genes, DNA, RNA, and how they relate to each other, and how scientists thinks they can help the human race with this filed of research. I’m not sure I understand it all, but will try to be as accurate as possible without getting too complicated.
DNA structure is the blueprint that gives the building blocks to be a frog. Genes are part of the DNA structure, and are what tell us to have brown or black hair, blue or green eyes, and may even predispose us toward certain behaviors or make us susceptible to certain viruses.
The project that is being used to map the human DNA structure is called the Human Genome Project, and is very real. Medical doctors and scientists believe that by learning about DNA, they can actually understand how to treat and cure diseases, and discover what patterns in our DNA can lead to such things as birth defects, and genetic predisposition to certain ailments or diseases.
Imagine having your blue print modified so that your body wouldn’t be susceptible to cancer, or the HIV virus.
In Savior, I use the concept of this project many times. Rein Carn tells Kyle that they have “cracked the code.” In the book, not only has medical technology cracked the code and mapped the human DNA structure, but also they have found the control mechanisms in the brain that can turn on certain functions of our immune system, and use our structure as a better self-defense mechanism. At the current time, only about 5% of the human DNA structure is known to be useful, the rest is called “junk DNA” that scientists really don’t understand how it functions or what it is there for.
In Savior I also make the people in the future look perfect. One of the goals of science using genetic engineering is to eliminate the possibility of birth defects. Despite the noble ventures of our science, it is my belief that if we are able to manipulate our own genes, that one of the first things we will try to accomplish is to have a flawless physical appearance. The other change that is notable is that society has found the genes that predispose a person to violence, and eliminated it to an extent. Imagine if you could, that in the future, parents will be able to pick out the physical characteristics of their baby before it is born.
Virus!
One of the biggest worries of the CDC, Center for Disease Control, is the amount of international travel to areas where there are deadly viruses, and the possibility that someone will bring it back to the United States.
It’s also one of the reasons you have to go through customs when you return, and why food is not allowed, and animals from another country go through quarantine.
There are many terrible viruses existing today that have no cures. The usual method of treatment is to quarantine those contaminated, and if they do indeed have a deadly virus, to let them die. Anything and everything that comes into contact with a carrier is then burned.
Due to the fact that most viruses need a carrier or host to exist we are able to control their spread to an extent. But, as depicted in many movie plots, it wouldn’t take much for an outbreak to occur and spread to an international level if a single host carried it into an international airport and spread it to multiple other hosts.
In a time of crisis, as depicted in the book, extreme measures are called for. With such an outbreak, there is not time to follow the usual protocols, and human testing is used. Kytec is able to cure the epidemics and save the human race, largely by creating a better human that is invulnerable to the viruses. For Rein Carn, the stalemate is not good enough, and he desires to continue perfecting the human species so that our bodies will adapt to any biological threat around us. He wants live ubjects to experiment upon, and it benefits him to use the Twenties because they are not engineered like those in his age, and they offer a much better diversity of lab rats.
Kyle’s cancer:
In writing the story, I wanted to give Kyle a real and legitimate reason for turning to the cryo-preservation. Although not stated, the type of cancer that I had given Kyle is called asopharyngeal” cancer, and is rare but real. I don’t know much about the symptoms of this particular cancer, but like many forms, it currently has no cure and is very hard to treat. The treatment that shows the most promise for the future of this type of cancer is the use of gene therapy, and follows with the technology Kytec has developed and is how he is cured.
A parting note:
Each of us is a unique individual, and it is my sincerest wish that you enjoy the story I have written, although I’m aware that it may not appeal to some people. If you do enjoy my book, I ask you to recommend it to a friend. "Savior" can be purchased or ordered through most franchise bookstores.
The story to Savior was originally conceived in 1986 when I wrote down the events of a dream I had one night. It was ten years later in 1996 that I started to actually spend serious time writing. Work on Savior didn’t begin until 1998, and it is actually the fourth story I’ve finished.
Starting as a short story, it was originally 40,000 words long. I had finished working on it in the Spring of 1999, and put in on the shelf because I had an agent who was telling me that the other book I had written, The People Across the Sea (PAS), was good and that I should be focusing all my attention on getting it refined. She also informed me that Savior was too short to be sold as an individual novel.
Once PAS was out to the publishers, and I was waiting for my agent to get me into the “Big time” by selling it, I decided to put my efforts into lengthening Savior. I also decided that I would no longer wait on the excruciatingly slow traditional publishing industry, which I still can’t believe can be so slow in these modern times of computers and faxes, and sent Saviorto a freelance editor to proof.
It was only when he informed me that the story was readable, and that he felt it was worth publishing that I decided to go to 1stBooks Library and publish on my own.
In the end, I was happy I proceeded with publishing Savior. I have received several rejection letters on The People Across the Sea, and my agent closed her business and went bankrupt in February 2001.
A never ending story
The reader will always find an opening in my stories to lead your imagination. As I grew up, I latched on to books at a very young age. I had allergies and seemed to always be sick, and often spent time reading. I remember getting to the end of a story and feeling like I wanted it to continue, as though the characters had become people in my life.
So I often imagined my own sequels. In Savior, I leave an opening with the character Rhonda, and the dreams Kyle keeps having about her, and whether or not she will be found.
The effect Kyle’s offspring will have on the world is also left to the imagination of the reader, as they will be a combination of the new and the old.
Words with meanings
There are many words and names throughout the book that actually have meanings. Among my favorite
inventions was the name for the evil director, Rein Carn.
Upon reading the book the reader will find that out that Rein is actually two people that are somehow merged together: one, the previous director of Kytec, Dr. James Smith, and the other, a Knight of the Silver Cross who was lost in battle. Since both men were supposed to be dead, but are actually still living as one, it only seemed right to give them the name Rein Carn: Rein-Carnation.
Another character in the book that is among my favorites is Tyr Huse. The first name, Tyr, was taken out of a mythology book after a Germanic god of war that usually was associated with law and justice. The last name, Huse, also the name used for Tyr’s brother, Father Huse in the book, was taken from the Catholic priest whom I admired growing up and who gave me my first communion. Two other characters, Kyle Reed, and Rhonda Schraeder owe their first names to people I worked with, and the rest of the character names are from my imagination.
In the opening, the Knights of the Silver Cross are attacking a facility they call“Dirge Five.” The definition of Dirge is: a slow mournful song, a funeral hymn, and the term was used during WWII in reference to Nazi concentration camps.
The scientist in me was dying to get out!
Although this is a science fiction story, I did try to put accuracy into the science behind the story. The story itself deals with many controversial issues that are present today, and you might be surprised to find out that the technology of genetic engineering, cloning, and freezing people all exist as well.
Is freezing people possible? And what is the technology involved?
Preserving people in a frozen state is possible, and there are companies in existence that perform this service. Although in the book I refer to the process of freezing people as “cryogenic stasis” or “cryo-preservation,”the term used by the industry that actually does these procedures refers to the body of science as “cryonics,” and it has been around since 1964.
Just as I stated in the book, people with the money are lining up to take the chance of being frozen in the hope that they will wake up to a better future, where science has learned how to cure their affliction, whatever they may be.
In the process, liquid nitrogen is used as the freezing agent, and not Freon as I referenced in the story. There are successes in using these procedures to freeze simple tissues, such as sperm and embryos used for fertilization.
However, there has been no success of actually freezing and bringing back a complex organism. Science has yet to devise a way of freezing complex cells, made up largely of water, that when freezes, turns to ice crystals and punctures the cell wall thereby destroying the organism.
The story behind genetic testing and engineering:
It takes a very scientific mind to understand all the research about genes, DNA, RNA, and how they relate to each other, and how scientists thinks they can help the human race with this filed of research. I’m not sure I understand it all, but will try to be as accurate as possible without getting too complicated.
DNA structure is the blueprint that gives the building blocks to be a frog. Genes are part of the DNA structure, and are what tell us to have brown or black hair, blue or green eyes, and may even predispose us toward certain behaviors or make us susceptible to certain viruses.
The project that is being used to map the human DNA structure is called the Human Genome Project, and is very real. Medical doctors and scientists believe that by learning about DNA, they can actually understand how to treat and cure diseases, and discover what patterns in our DNA can lead to such things as birth defects, and genetic predisposition to certain ailments or diseases.
Imagine having your blue print modified so that your body wouldn’t be susceptible to cancer, or the HIV virus.
In Savior, I use the concept of this project many times. Rein Carn tells Kyle that they have “cracked the code.” In the book, not only has medical technology cracked the code and mapped the human DNA structure, but also they have found the control mechanisms in the brain that can turn on certain functions of our immune system, and use our structure as a better self-defense mechanism. At the current time, only about 5% of the human DNA structure is known to be useful, the rest is called “junk DNA” that scientists really don’t understand how it functions or what it is there for.
In Savior I also make the people in the future look perfect. One of the goals of science using genetic engineering is to eliminate the possibility of birth defects. Despite the noble ventures of our science, it is my belief that if we are able to manipulate our own genes, that one of the first things we will try to accomplish is to have a flawless physical appearance. The other change that is notable is that society has found the genes that predispose a person to violence, and eliminated it to an extent. Imagine if you could, that in the future, parents will be able to pick out the physical characteristics of their baby before it is born.
Virus!
One of the biggest worries of the CDC, Center for Disease Control, is the amount of international travel to areas where there are deadly viruses, and the possibility that someone will bring it back to the United States.
It’s also one of the reasons you have to go through customs when you return, and why food is not allowed, and animals from another country go through quarantine.
There are many terrible viruses existing today that have no cures. The usual method of treatment is to quarantine those contaminated, and if they do indeed have a deadly virus, to let them die. Anything and everything that comes into contact with a carrier is then burned.
Due to the fact that most viruses need a carrier or host to exist we are able to control their spread to an extent. But, as depicted in many movie plots, it wouldn’t take much for an outbreak to occur and spread to an international level if a single host carried it into an international airport and spread it to multiple other hosts.
In a time of crisis, as depicted in the book, extreme measures are called for. With such an outbreak, there is not time to follow the usual protocols, and human testing is used. Kytec is able to cure the epidemics and save the human race, largely by creating a better human that is invulnerable to the viruses. For Rein Carn, the stalemate is not good enough, and he desires to continue perfecting the human species so that our bodies will adapt to any biological threat around us. He wants live ubjects to experiment upon, and it benefits him to use the Twenties because they are not engineered like those in his age, and they offer a much better diversity of lab rats.
Kyle’s cancer:
In writing the story, I wanted to give Kyle a real and legitimate reason for turning to the cryo-preservation. Although not stated, the type of cancer that I had given Kyle is called asopharyngeal” cancer, and is rare but real. I don’t know much about the symptoms of this particular cancer, but like many forms, it currently has no cure and is very hard to treat. The treatment that shows the most promise for the future of this type of cancer is the use of gene therapy, and follows with the technology Kytec has developed and is how he is cured.
A parting note:
Each of us is a unique individual, and it is my sincerest wish that you enjoy the story I have written, although I’m aware that it may not appeal to some people. If you do enjoy my book, I ask you to recommend it to a friend. "Savior" can be purchased or ordered through most franchise bookstores.
Behind the Scenes of The People Across the Sea
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While studying the Anasazi and visiting many of the ancient sites; Hovenweep, Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon, I contemplated the effect an invasion would have on a relatively peaceful society. What type of culture change would result from such an event, and how would the people of
that society view the world around them?
This is the idea of how a society based on fear would react.
Stay Tuned: This is only the first novel in planned Trilogy that maybe I'll finish before I die...
Characters
Out of the stories I have done thus far, I consider "The People Across the Sea" to be the most creative. This was the fist time I not only created characters, but envisioned an entire different world complete with new creatures.
While some of the characters have common names, Brit and Caln for example, I spent a lot of time developing the surrounding cast withmore creative names.
Terr was simply a copy from the work Terror. He is evil. Fenre, another of the sand demons, is taken from mythology.
Oristi ‘d Culu is a cult character. During the novel and at the end, the reader does not really know if this character is truly good or evil, we just know he is unique. In order to develop such a character that was a player in the middle between good and evil, I wanted to develop a special name so that he was memorable.
There are two creatures still living that I developed during the course of the story. The Sand Demons- of which there are three classes, and the KI. The reader will notice that a single Ki is spelled with a lowercase “i” while multiple KI or talking about the species, KI, uses both capital letters.
When I imagined the KI, I wanted to come up with a powerful beast that would inspire awe. I decided to use one of my favorite animals, the Rhinoceros, for this. Think of it as a cross between a large draft horse and a rhinoceros with beautiful, silky, short fur and you have a Ki. The additional feature is that these beasts possess not only intelligence
comparable to humans, but a spirituality beyond that of humans. The Ki are connected to the world around them and because they do not have technological advances, they remain in touch with their ecosystem.
The Sand Demons are a race of predators and they are territorial hunters that hang out in packs. Depending on the class of sand demon, they not only possess intelligence, but have the ability to trick the mind of humans. The first class of Sand Demons looks like a cross between a Komodo Dragon and an alligator. To conserve their energy, they stay in state of hibernation until their prey approaches.They are able to sense when prey approaches and awaken to eat.Although they are fierce predators, they have adapted a technique which allows them to distract their prey while they sneak up for the attack.If the mind of the prey is weak enough, it may not even put up a fight. It is of particular notice that while these creatures feed on flesh, they are also driven by the terror of their victim and feed on fear.
The second class of Sand Demon is capable of standing upright and can give off the appearance that they are human. These beings are more intelligent then their crawling cousins but have no desire to develop technology or build things. They would rather rule and hunt.
The final class of Sand Demon is rare and possesses an additional ability of flight. Not quite as big or powerful as the second class of sand demons, these are the most intelligent of all the Sand Demons and usually position themselves as servers
to the leaders.
The story itself is not finished. While there is an ending, I left this book open for a sequel which I even names at the end of the book; Tides of Darkness is coming soon.
that society view the world around them?
This is the idea of how a society based on fear would react.
Stay Tuned: This is only the first novel in planned Trilogy that maybe I'll finish before I die...
Characters
Out of the stories I have done thus far, I consider "The People Across the Sea" to be the most creative. This was the fist time I not only created characters, but envisioned an entire different world complete with new creatures.
While some of the characters have common names, Brit and Caln for example, I spent a lot of time developing the surrounding cast withmore creative names.
Terr was simply a copy from the work Terror. He is evil. Fenre, another of the sand demons, is taken from mythology.
Oristi ‘d Culu is a cult character. During the novel and at the end, the reader does not really know if this character is truly good or evil, we just know he is unique. In order to develop such a character that was a player in the middle between good and evil, I wanted to develop a special name so that he was memorable.
There are two creatures still living that I developed during the course of the story. The Sand Demons- of which there are three classes, and the KI. The reader will notice that a single Ki is spelled with a lowercase “i” while multiple KI or talking about the species, KI, uses both capital letters.
When I imagined the KI, I wanted to come up with a powerful beast that would inspire awe. I decided to use one of my favorite animals, the Rhinoceros, for this. Think of it as a cross between a large draft horse and a rhinoceros with beautiful, silky, short fur and you have a Ki. The additional feature is that these beasts possess not only intelligence
comparable to humans, but a spirituality beyond that of humans. The Ki are connected to the world around them and because they do not have technological advances, they remain in touch with their ecosystem.
The Sand Demons are a race of predators and they are territorial hunters that hang out in packs. Depending on the class of sand demon, they not only possess intelligence, but have the ability to trick the mind of humans. The first class of Sand Demons looks like a cross between a Komodo Dragon and an alligator. To conserve their energy, they stay in state of hibernation until their prey approaches.They are able to sense when prey approaches and awaken to eat.Although they are fierce predators, they have adapted a technique which allows them to distract their prey while they sneak up for the attack.If the mind of the prey is weak enough, it may not even put up a fight. It is of particular notice that while these creatures feed on flesh, they are also driven by the terror of their victim and feed on fear.
The second class of Sand Demon is capable of standing upright and can give off the appearance that they are human. These beings are more intelligent then their crawling cousins but have no desire to develop technology or build things. They would rather rule and hunt.
The final class of Sand Demon is rare and possesses an additional ability of flight. Not quite as big or powerful as the second class of sand demons, these are the most intelligent of all the Sand Demons and usually position themselves as servers
to the leaders.
The story itself is not finished. While there is an ending, I left this book open for a sequel which I even names at the end of the book; Tides of Darkness is coming soon.
Map from People Across the Sea
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The Questor's Series! |
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What do you call a group of boys who seek out the paranormal? They called themselves "The Questors!"
What happens when they go to visit a haunted house in their neighborhood? Adventure! Excitement and mayhem!
The Questors' Adventures is based upon my childhood experiences which makes parts of the story true. The Roundhouse was actually my first work finished. I used a brief version of it for a college English class assignment and deciced to make it longer and soon, it became a short story.
The orignal goal with the series was to create something young boys would read. During the second adventure, Shane's sister, Stacey, enters the boy's exclusive club; something I thought would make it more appealing to girls.
I wrote the book with the vision of what I liked to read from fifth grade up- mystery, suspense, supernatural. However, the stories are meant to show that you can explore the unknown and solve mysterious withough being a juvenile delingquent.
Most parents will appreciate the adventure and find it a refreshing story with plenty of excitement and adventure but with positive reinforcements on some of the challenges kids this age face.
(HERE IS THE ORIGINAL FOREWORD FOR THE BOOK)
Foreword
The first stories I remember telling were those told at picnics, on camping trips, and during sleepovers and were meant to scare friends or family members. While spinning the yarn, fragments of truth were thrown in to make the fabric of the story appear as if it could actually be true, a game I play with my listeners.
I have always considered myself a realist, and for such a person, seeing is believing. Even those things we cannot see have some type of scientific explanation: the wind, the force of gravity, and the quest for knowledge.
An event lies in my memory that, despite my years of education, I am still unable to explain. It is because of this experience that, if I were I asked, “Do you believe in ghosts?” I would be lying if I said, “No.”
Following is my true account of the events surrounding the Round House and The Questors’ First Adventure.
--Louis DeGrado
Facts about the Story
1)The houses in both stories really existed!
2) The Dog "Mutt" really did exist, but he lived next door to us. The dog in the story is real; there was a black dog on the street that we feared and he did chase us often (despite what some city-folks may thing, leash laws were not in effect back then). We never knew this dog's name.
3) There was a class taught at our middle school that was "In Search of Strange Phenomena." Shane and I did take the class and the teacher in the story really did exist.
4) Chad, who was the smallest in our group, really did have a problem breaking bones. Luckily, he grew out of it and is now the tallest of our group.
Updated Dec 2012:
Both the House in The Round House and The Moaning Walls existed. My friend really did live in the house in the second adventure and the house still stands.
One of the questions I'm often asked is about the class the boys take in there middle school which was called "In Search of Strange Phenomena." At Pleasant View Middle School, teachers were allowed to teach an open lab at the end of the day and pick topics that interested them. Ceramics, Civil War History, Computers, and yes, In Search of Strange Phenomena, were some of the topics offered. Despite misgivings, this part of the story is true!
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The Calling of the Protectors, The Legend of Chief.
I have always had a desire to teach and reach others through teaching. It’s been a tough lesson as an author to realize most adults no longer read. I remember the movies growing up always had scenes about a character breaking down and claiming “and I never learned how to read.’ This is something we really take for granted these days.
With everything being presented by video, it’s hard to consider the mental muscles needed to read will last for long. But, that’s another story.
Through my concept of teaching and reaching out to the younger generations, I had a combination of ideas. First, I was a cat lover but noticed a large negative presence against cats. I did have a cat named Mouse, and I wanted to honor her memory. I was also a parent watching my daughter grow up and I was trying my best to teach her some lessons without being too hard on her and expecting her to live up to my past; whether it be my successes or failure.
This story, inspired by my pets, my role as a parent, my desire to teach, was influenced by one last factor- my poetry and songs. I've incorporates seven of them into the story. You can hear these songs in the "Poetry/Song" section of this website.
The original title of this book was The Might Adventures of Mouse, the Cat. Bases partly off of a real cat I had that I named Mouse. During the editing process the recommendation was that since Mouse wasn't introduced until Chapter Four and that the story was more about her dad, Chief, that I change the title, so I did. Funny thing, all the review companies are pointing out that the story is more about Mouse. Go figure.
Characters and Songs!
Some of the funnest characters ever!!! (Yes I used the word Funnest, take that Editors!)
Slim and Slouch are two rats that are inspired to do nothing and become as little as possible. Still, they struggle with the moral dilemma of right and wrong; of respect and earning your share.
Carl is a Sulfer Crested Cockatoo that escaped his cage and has decided to be free. He hangs out with pigeons although he feels they are inferior type of bird. The cockatoo character was inspired by the bird I love to visit at the Pueblo Zoo.
Carl is s Sergeant Major in the Pigeon Brigade and sings The Imagination Song which is my favorite song I did for this book. The concept of using imagination to solve problems is always appealing. Of course, this applies to positive solutions and creating vision that is good.
The entire story seemed to come natural as I started writing it. The only difficulty I had was in trying to decide how much interaction the animal characters would have with humans. Since this was targeted to juvenile readers, I decided to keep the story simple and not overcomplicate the relationship, but instead, focus on the relationships between the main characters.
Character names
Most of the names came form the names of pets I've had. Little Foot, Mouse and Baxter were names of Pets I’ve had. The rest were made up but each representative of a concept. It's fun to create the character names. For instance, Streets, he’s a rat that knows the down-low of what’s up or happening on the streets.
There are two main groups of rats in the story. The Mafia rats, which aren't altogether bad. And the hoodlum rats. Head of the Mafia Rats is Wilber, a figure I named after my father, Wilbert. He is the head of the family. Many of the issues the rats are dealing with mirror the issues we are dealing with in our own society. Wilbur wants respect, but has earned it through hard work. He has an issue with those that are lazy and don’t do their part to support the family. He expects certain behaviors. Slim and Slouch represent a certain aspect of society- they aren’t necessarily bad, just mis-directed. They don’t like authority and want to call the shots for themselves, but then they get unhappy when they realize that although they had a goal to be free spirits, they have really just traded one boss for another.
Ladie: Imagine a canary- they seem like happy birds, so Ladie is this happy, positive character that counsels Pigeons on relationships. She also manages to bring Mouse up when she is down.
Little Foot: you are a mouse, a real mouse, but because you’ve never had anyone around to tell you what you are, you don’t know that. In the first scene where Little Foot meets Mouse, Mouse tells her she should run. Little Foot responds, to Mouse’s surprise, “why, is there something scary coming?”
STRUGGLES: I write like I’m making a movie- point of view doesn’t matter as much when you are watching screen and can see what everyone is doing and that is often my approach. I want to show the story from different aspects and perspectives and often struggle with showing simply form one character- so, my work will most likely always have multiple point of view shifts which editors have been so kind as to point out. However, I will keep writing- it's what I do!
I have always had a desire to teach and reach others through teaching. It’s been a tough lesson as an author to realize most adults no longer read. I remember the movies growing up always had scenes about a character breaking down and claiming “and I never learned how to read.’ This is something we really take for granted these days.
With everything being presented by video, it’s hard to consider the mental muscles needed to read will last for long. But, that’s another story.
Through my concept of teaching and reaching out to the younger generations, I had a combination of ideas. First, I was a cat lover but noticed a large negative presence against cats. I did have a cat named Mouse, and I wanted to honor her memory. I was also a parent watching my daughter grow up and I was trying my best to teach her some lessons without being too hard on her and expecting her to live up to my past; whether it be my successes or failure.
This story, inspired by my pets, my role as a parent, my desire to teach, was influenced by one last factor- my poetry and songs. I've incorporates seven of them into the story. You can hear these songs in the "Poetry/Song" section of this website.
The original title of this book was The Might Adventures of Mouse, the Cat. Bases partly off of a real cat I had that I named Mouse. During the editing process the recommendation was that since Mouse wasn't introduced until Chapter Four and that the story was more about her dad, Chief, that I change the title, so I did. Funny thing, all the review companies are pointing out that the story is more about Mouse. Go figure.
Characters and Songs!
Some of the funnest characters ever!!! (Yes I used the word Funnest, take that Editors!)
Slim and Slouch are two rats that are inspired to do nothing and become as little as possible. Still, they struggle with the moral dilemma of right and wrong; of respect and earning your share.
Carl is a Sulfer Crested Cockatoo that escaped his cage and has decided to be free. He hangs out with pigeons although he feels they are inferior type of bird. The cockatoo character was inspired by the bird I love to visit at the Pueblo Zoo.
Carl is s Sergeant Major in the Pigeon Brigade and sings The Imagination Song which is my favorite song I did for this book. The concept of using imagination to solve problems is always appealing. Of course, this applies to positive solutions and creating vision that is good.
The entire story seemed to come natural as I started writing it. The only difficulty I had was in trying to decide how much interaction the animal characters would have with humans. Since this was targeted to juvenile readers, I decided to keep the story simple and not overcomplicate the relationship, but instead, focus on the relationships between the main characters.
Character names
Most of the names came form the names of pets I've had. Little Foot, Mouse and Baxter were names of Pets I’ve had. The rest were made up but each representative of a concept. It's fun to create the character names. For instance, Streets, he’s a rat that knows the down-low of what’s up or happening on the streets.
There are two main groups of rats in the story. The Mafia rats, which aren't altogether bad. And the hoodlum rats. Head of the Mafia Rats is Wilber, a figure I named after my father, Wilbert. He is the head of the family. Many of the issues the rats are dealing with mirror the issues we are dealing with in our own society. Wilbur wants respect, but has earned it through hard work. He has an issue with those that are lazy and don’t do their part to support the family. He expects certain behaviors. Slim and Slouch represent a certain aspect of society- they aren’t necessarily bad, just mis-directed. They don’t like authority and want to call the shots for themselves, but then they get unhappy when they realize that although they had a goal to be free spirits, they have really just traded one boss for another.
Ladie: Imagine a canary- they seem like happy birds, so Ladie is this happy, positive character that counsels Pigeons on relationships. She also manages to bring Mouse up when she is down.
Little Foot: you are a mouse, a real mouse, but because you’ve never had anyone around to tell you what you are, you don’t know that. In the first scene where Little Foot meets Mouse, Mouse tells her she should run. Little Foot responds, to Mouse’s surprise, “why, is there something scary coming?”
STRUGGLES: I write like I’m making a movie- point of view doesn’t matter as much when you are watching screen and can see what everyone is doing and that is often my approach. I want to show the story from different aspects and perspectives and often struggle with showing simply form one character- so, my work will most likely always have multiple point of view shifts which editors have been so kind as to point out. However, I will keep writing- it's what I do!
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Book Ideas in order they were first outlined by me between the years 1987-1998
The Preacher The Roundhouse Too Late Change of Season-TRILOGY Journals of a Dying Astronaut The Ninth Protocol The People Across the Sea-TRILOGY The Meadow Of Time and Times Trends, Love and Lonely Ends Songs Of Life Earned My Keep Savior War of the Races New Education Innocent Blood |
Order in which they were Written
Savior-First Book Published 2001 The Aurelis Complex-formerly "Too Late" published on SFF World The People Across the Sea-2003 The Round House-The Questors' First Adventure 2003 The Moaning Walls-The Questors' Adventures-2012 The 13th Month-2015 The Calling of the Protectors, The Legend of Chief 2016 Currently working on: 13 Days-sequel to 13th Month Calling of the Protectors, the Mighty Adventures of Mouse, the Cat The Ghost of Greenhorn-third in the Questors Series |
When writing Savior, I put a hint for a sequel in the end of the book when I italicized the word "Progeny" and have actually started on this book. I am also rewriting Savior to make it a stronger manuscript without changing the story.
to edit.
to edit.