Ketchup

First, an open call to friends and fans:   I’m in need of a web mage.  You don’t need to be such a Matrix-Hacking E-Ninja that you can rearrange the very fabric of my web site.  Someday I envision a big shiny overhaul.  For now, the basic site is fine, but I have a regular if [...]

It should be no surprise to friends and fans that I have a taste for the undead.  Well, maybe “taste” isn’t the word we’re looking for.  An “appreciation.”  Ha!
I grew up on the original Romero movies and excellent knock-offs like The Return of the Living Dead and Army of Darkness.  What were my parents thinking?  [...]

These guys totally rock! If I was blurbing Riptide, I’d say it was “Engrossing and unique, a vertical adventure full of lethal traps and surprises!” Love the pirate history. Love the engineering. Love the mission. Great fun. Love it. Go read this book if you haven’t [...]

I’ve also managed to read a few books this summer, and lately I’ve been on a tear for Douglas Preston. I guess I’ve been living under a rock! This guy’s books are awesome good fun.
First we have The Codex. I won’t get into plot descriptions except to say I had to wonder [...]

For anyone (like me!) who hasn’t read Douglas Preston yet, jeez, people, get out there and get into his stuff.
I picked up a copy of Blasphemy at the behest of an online friend. Naturally it sat in my to-read stack for months. You all know how much leisure reading I’m doing [...]

Last week I had the pleasure of reading Marsbound by perennial Nebula- and Hugo-winner Joe Haldeman, whom I consider one of my major stylistic influences Joe’s writing is deft and evocative. This guy can accomplish in one line what many writers need several paragraphs to express. Marsbound isn’t one of his [...]

Most of you know I’m not much for fantasy. It just don’t speak to me. Magic is such a slippery thing, and the epic plots often drag. So it may surprise you that among my All-Time Best Library is The Gandalara Cycle, a seven-volume set of swashbuckling swords-and-sorcery. Why? [...]

Here’s a freak twist of fate for you. I can see Alan Jacobson’s house from my front yard. He lives on the street across from us, and, through bad fortune, is also much closer to the new construction than I am. The 5000 sq. ft. monster-mansion is basically done… but the [...]

Pimping other people’s work is something I’d like to do more on this blog—a lot more. The irony is that I first started to write because I love to read and wanted to play, too, but as a full-time pro I barely read at all anymore. I’m too busy trying to keep [...]