BOOK RELEASE: The Awakening of David Rose

Some ten years after the bond between my children inspired the idea, my novel The Awakening of David Rose is at long last a reality. It’s a young adult/fantasy about a 15-year-old boy who in his quest to protect his sister and discover the truth about their mom’s disappearance, awakens a sinister plot centuries in the making, and unlocks the door to worlds he never knew existed.  Counting all drafts and revisions I’ve likely poured near a million words into this labor of love, so on this day when it is finally released, I’m going to keep things brief. I’m just going to say thank you for your support, and that while this is a huge step in my literary journey, I very much hope and intend it is the only the first.

If you might be interested in the book you may find it on Amazon, B&N, and iBooks, and I’d love for you to drop by the virtual launch party tonight.

From childhood three callings beckoned: becoming a father, becoming a writer, and becoming a baseball player. While I may have to reluctantly stop waiting by the phone for a ball club to call, two out of three ain’t bad.

Thanks for letting me share my dream, and heartfelt best wishes in the pursuit of yours….

Who Wants to Live Forever? The Theme of Time & Immortality in The David Rose Series

Immortality, he understood now, wasn’t about living forever: it

was, more than anything, about those who forever refused to let

things die. And now he lurched unsteadily as this great portal which

connected time and place and people and souls opened and began to

fill him with a great many things.

The Awakening of David Rose

Now that the cover has at long last been revealed for The Awakening of David Rose, it may be readily deduced that time—among other things—is a major theme. All those years ago when the idea came to me, a bit of a different turn on immortality began to swirl in my head. I thought about bitter, historic feuds—Hatfields-McCoys and the like—and the book in fact touches on a bit of it. Stephen King mentions in his book On Writing how he most successfully conjures his tales by starting with a simple What If proposition. What hit me was the consideration, what if some feuds, some antipathies, simmered so intensely as to endure beyond even death? What if some conflicts raged so bitterly as to be uncontainable by time and space, and perpetuated through lifetimes? What if immortality “wasn’t about living forever, “but was instead “about those who forever refused to let things die?”

Hence was born a key theme of my story. Something of a dark, even violent theme, to be sure, but it wasn’t destined to be all doom and gloom. Our world has been undeniably subject to terrible moments of darkness, and so very much shaped by violence, but somehow we have found a way to carry on, to retain at least some glimmers of beauty and hope. And this construct begged for me and my tale that additional question: what are those things inside us which, when things are darkest, we call upon to help light our way?

It is my hope that this book—and the series—represents a compelling journey along the way toward finding some of those answers.

Thanks for your support, and I hope you’ll drop by on the 25^th for our launch party!

COVER REVEAL: The Awakening of David Rose

Ah, very excited for this! The search for the right cover designer/the right cover, took time...more time than I anticipated in fact but after so much time and effort had gone into this project--by me and others--I knew a little more time to get this right was well worth it.

So a huge shout-out and thank you to Elena Makanski who donated her (considerable) time and talent to conjure this awesome cover, which beautifully represents the themes and tones of the tale. And big gratitude to Melody and the BT team for their support and help with this(and all) aspect too.

I hope you like it(let me know your thoughts), and I hope you'll join us Monday, April 25,  6-10PM CST(drop in anytime) for the Launch Party, where the book will be available, you can interact with me and other writers/readers, there will be give-aways, and more.

Join the Awakening here, on the 25th.

The Awakening of David Rose

BOOK LAUNCH: The Awakening of David Rose

Ten years ago the first ember sparked for The Awakening of David Rose, a Young Adult Fantasy novel--first of the David Rose series--inspired by the bond between my children (we’ve since had a third!). I am proud and humbled to finally be able to announce my book release, right around the corner, on Monday, April 25! I would like to invite you to my Launch Party, to be held here on April 25, 6-10pm CST.  You’ll be able to access the book, engage with me and other authors and readers, and maybe win some prizes. J

You will also find updates and links to the book here on my website starting on the 25^th. I hope you’ll check it out, and I would love and appreciate it if you spread the word about the book/launch to anyone you feel might be interested.

A huge thank you to the friends & family who have supported me throughout this journey, and to my publisher, Booktrope, and my amazing team: Melody, Samantha, Elena, Ally and Andie. It truly takes a village.

Thanks again, and hope to see you on the 25^th!

The Awakening of David Rose, launching April 25, 2016.

DAWN OF THE LIGHTKEEPERS: Prelude to the David Rose series

Stay tuned this week for a special announcement about The Awakening of David Rose, a 15-yr.-old boy whose quest for truth unlocks a sinister plot centuries in the making. But the seeds of conflict between good & evil were sown  far longer ago than that...

Please enjoy this short prelude to the David Rose series, DAWN OF THE LIGHTKEEPERS, and look out for the exciting announcement in coming days. Thanks!

Coming Soon: Cover Reveal

The Awakening of David Rose represents a labor of love ten years in the making. And so it may be fitting some of the production aspects have taken a bit longer than expected--but it's all good--we are getting close! Thanks for your support and please stay tuned for a cover reveal I am more than a little stoked about.

PS: If you haven't already, have a look-see at my FB author site, where you can find some quotes from the story(and my WIP) and keep up to date about release news. Thanks, and as always, happy writing and reading to all!

Announcement: Work in Progress: Cucariva

While the finishing touches are put on the cover design and marketing plan and what not for The Awakening of David Rose, I've been deeply immersed in writing a literary suspense novel, titled Cucariva. While that might seem a curious direction for someone with an impending YA/Fantasy release, truth is my writerly voice has always leaned toward the literary, and I'm pretty stoked about this project.

I've a writer/editor friend who might be interested in the piece and she recommended the infusion of suspense so we'll see if I can pull it off. 

It's a tale of Jacob, a wayward scribe who on the same day that he learns his labor of love novel has at long last been commissioned, finds his wife has, along with their young son, moved out. Drowning his sorrows--and gambling away a small fortune--that night in a seedy tavern he is approached by and compelled into a fateful  parlay by an amiable but fiendish stranger. He must in one month's time find, engage and, using every bit of his prowess make the case in writing for the lives of four strangers across the globe--all without revealing to them the true nature of his entreaty. Refuse or fail in the task and their lives will be lost, their blood on his hands.

And so begins a race against time and a quest: to come to know these purported strangers whose lives rest unwittingly in his hands, and piece together the connection among them; to unravel the motivations of he who commissioned this insidious mission; and to come to understand all that which--when all else is stripped away--truly authors our lives. 

Only if Jacob can succeed in this when everything seems lost, might he retain a flickering hope at preserving all that which truly matters.

Stay tuned for updates, and I hope you'll come along for the ride. 

As always, happy reading and writing!