Something New

Head to the grindstone, working hard to keep the ball rolling at work and with my writing. I can't shake the feeling that something big is about to change in my life. In fact, at this point it's more than just a feeling, it's a certainty. I'm not sure what it will be, but I've had this constant feeling of expectation for months now and I'm really excited to find out why.

I guess that might sound a little strange -- but life's always been like that for me. I'm sure there are many others who can relate to it when I say that there are times in your life when you know something is coming -- a tightness in your gut, there for no real reason, one that won't go away. Whatever it is, good or bad, I'm waiting. Come on, already-- let's do this!

I've been working on a slightly different project than the majority of my other books, an end-of-the-world apocalypse scenario. I know... *yawn* right? There are a ton of them out there, I understand. I'd like to think mine's different than most of them, though. In the same way that the Walking Dead focuses more about the people and their personal struggles than the zombies that surround them, I'm zeroing in on a group of characters for mine, really exploring who they are and how they're coping with tragedy on such a mass scale, how they're reacting to losing everything and what they do to try and regain a sense of control in their lives again... all the while trying to deal with an outside threat. I'm about 75% of the way through the first draft, and I like where it's going so far. My editor says this is "the one"... we'll see,

Limited Time Sale

Through 06/15/15, all books in the Watchers Series will be priced at $0.99 or less to celebrate the release of my newest novel, Shimmer.

Shimmer is scheduled for release on 06/01/15 and is the first installment of my new series, The Lost Colony of Roanoke.

WATCHERS OF THE NIGHT         FREE!

THE RISE OF INDICIUM                $0.99

THE FALL OF ASTRALIS               $0.99

DREAMPIRE                                   $0.99

New Release Announcement - Shimmer

The first installment of my new series, The Lost Colony of Roanoke, will be released exclusively on Amazon Monday, June 1st.

Amazon link here.






July, 1587
115 men, women, and children vanished from the Island Colony of Roanoke with no explanation. The only clue left was a single word carved into a post on the fence surrounding the village: “CROATOAN”.

This is their story, and the story of the family who was the cause of the colony's downfall.

Shimmer follows Alexander Croatoan, the modern-day descendant of a man whose brilliance undid an entire community, as well as his family for generations after.


Volume Two is already well underway, with a third and final fourth to follow. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

The Thing About Having a Blog...

... is that you're supposed to make posts.

I'm awful about that, and for good reason--I've been busy writing!

SHIMMER is done. Well, the rough draft anyway. Finally.

It is already a much different book than I originally planned it to be, and I have a feeling after a few rounds of edits that will be even more true. As always, I'm very excited to get to those edits back (no, really... I am!) and I'm waiting with baited breath for the first-rounds from my editor.

In the meantime, I haven't started a new project yet. I can't decide whether to go back to the Watchers series and bang out the next one <for any fans, yes... it is already fully outlined. just needs to be written> or start something new. I have a couple bouncing around in my head that I'd really like to try. So many stories, so little time.

Maybe... maybe... I'll just relax for a week or two.

Another Night When I Should be Writing a Chapter... Not a Blog Post

"The Book That Never Ends..."

That should be the title of my current project, not Shimmer. I have re-written the first 17 chapters (twice), I have removed the final 5 chapters, replaced them with new ones, removed them again, and then replaced again--AND I've added an additional 5 chapters specifically giving the back-story on a supporting character that I never intended to include. The thing is already longer than my last 4 books. By the time I send the rough off to my editor I'm sure it will be longer by far than anything I've ever written, and if I know her as well as I think I do she'll challenge me to add more when I work through the first edits.

I'm sure just about every author who has written multiple titles can relate to it when I say, "This is the book I will always hate." So I'm really hoping it's the one everyone else likes. At least it'll make it worth the effort!

Went to see 50 Shades with the wife today, a movie I swore I would never watch. It was pretty bad, but maybe not Twilight bad. The acting was more or less on track and although I keep hearing everyone say the guy who was casted as Christian Grey was miscast, I can't say I agree. He has just the right level of weird to make him believable in the part. Anyway... check that one off the bucket list. Not that it was ever on there.

With any luck, Shimmer should be out and available by June. After that, I'm still deciding whether I'll write the next installment of the Watchers series or begin on a post-apocalyptic series I have outlined. Both sound just as appealing, especially after slogging through The Book That Never Ends.

The site at bettybookfreak.com is going like gangbusters. Couldn't be happier. If you have chance, head on over to it and join our mailing list. You can find a ton of GREAT books there every single day.

People, Fate, Memes, and a Really Boring Friday Night

I have some time on my hands tonight.

My wife and daughter are two states away at a Drum Corps tryout, my son is spending the night at a friend's house, and all my friends (all two of them) are either working in the morning or have obligations with their their family. So here I am, sitting in front of my computer (where else would I be) having just finished the second sweep of a chapter.

These "A" chapters are killing me. I keep having to add them, like "19A" because "19" is already too long. Maybe I just talk too much.

Quite the Friday night for Mr. Matthew Keith, let me tell you. Thank goodness someone left a bottle of Woodford Reserve here on New Year's Eve.

Inevitably, with no one in the house and silence my only friend (I have to have silence when I write. The only sound that I can have around me that doesn't put me in full-stop mode is classical music and I get enough of that from my son... so silence it is) my thoughts start to wander. And so does my internet browser. Click-click Facebook, Twitter, and suddenly I've wasted 30 minutes of my day on memes and videos of people getting hit in the nuts by God-knows-what.

But one video really got my attention. It was one of those, "What would happen if I had just made this one choice differently" scenarios and of course, sitting here all by lonesome, I started thinking about any number of times in my life if I'd zigged instead of zagged how things might have turned out. There must be a hundred -- no, a thousand -- of those little moments I could zero in on. And for every one of them I could dream up a thousand outcomes if I'd just done this or just done that.

Honestly, though, once I got over the daydreaming part of it I had to wonder... would any of it really have made any difference? Or would I just somehow have made the same mistakes (and had the same triumphs) at different times or in different ways? What about you? What do you think? Would you? I mean, we all have regrets sure. But for every regret, there is inevitably a positive associated with it. The "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" thing, I guess. And yes, I know, there will be some that read this and say Nope. No way. That was the worst <day, moment, week, year> of my life and NOTHING good came of it! And to that I have to say you're just not seeing the bigger picture. Call me Mr. Glass-Half-Full. Whatever. I'm still right.

It's easy to remember all the bad shit. Usually when it happens, we're pissed off or sad or scared. It makes sense that you'd remember things that produce such a visceral reaction. But if you really think about it, it's pretty awful that we focus so naturally on the negative and it's actually work to remember the good things.

If I'd have kissed <that girl> would I be married to my wife today? I think: absolutely. If I'd have moved up north instead of staying where I was, would I be living in Kentucky today? I think: you bet I would. Too much of my life has lined up. Too much just makes sense.

It's nice to think about the 'what ifs' and daydream about a different life, but (in this very bored and mildly mentally exhausted writer's opinion) it's just as important to reminisce about all the moments that got you to where you are today. If you really work at it, you'll probably realize there's been a lot more good moments than bad.

It's Been a Good Day

Today has been a good day. Honestly, it's been a good year. I have no complaints.

My writing has slowed down, but that's been a result of so much more going on both at work and at home. The pizza business is booming. As a matter of fact, sometimes it booms too loud. But that's a good problem to have. It means we're doing things right.

I got as far as Chapter 17 of my current project and had to stop. I think that was sometime in November. I fell out of love with the main protagonist, had to step back for a while, allow myself to redefine who he really is. I've done that and now I like him again and I'm back in full swing. I've reworked most of previously-written chapters and, as a matter of fact, just finished the first proof of Chapter 21 tonight.

I had the pleasure of sitting across from one of my oldest friends today and presenting him with legal papers that made him a partner in two of our locations, something I feel is long overdue. He's been with us as long as I have and he's a good guy--the real deal--so I was proud to know that his future is cemented (at least financially) from here on out. It took 8 months for that deal to become a reality through negotiations with our majority stakeholder. Good stuff. I'd say congratulations to him on this blog, but he's not a reader so... no point. LOL!

My newest side project, one that I started with the help of my technically-astute but reader-retarded brother, is going gangbusters. If you haven't had a chance to stop by our site yet, please do.

www.scififantasyfreak.com - or click on the graphic at the right-hand side of the page. I really believe this is going to end up being a great resource for authors. I know for me, I could never have enough outlets for advertising and this one in particular is great because of the way it focuses on specific genres.

Looking forward to posting items of more substance soon, just wanted to check in because it's been so long. As always, thanks for reading!