I'll admit, the last year has been a tough one for writing. I mean, you'd think with the lockdowns and all the extra time around the house, I would've gotten more done. The computer was there. I was there. The ideas were right there in my head. More books! There should be more books!

Oh, if only it were so simple. Because of the nebulous plan for school attendance at our local school, we decided to give home schooling a try for all three kids last year. The experience was a mixed blessing.

On the one hand, it was nice to see the kids more and to have more of an impact in what they were learning. I even dug out and recycled my college coursework in order to teach my oldest how to program. (He did great! Even has an already-functioning game he's working on.)

On the other hand, it meant there were three more not-necessarily-quiet people around the house. Plus, to allow for a little more social interaction, we encouraged the kids to continue band at the local school...which meant five trips to school that someone had to make every day...

That said, I did get some writing done. Most notable was a story for the Takamo Universe about a crew of intelligent space-rats that found themselves in France near the Belgium border a few days before the Battle of Waterloo began. (In 1815.) The book is in the final stages of preparation, with a soon-to-be-announced release day.

Last year, I had the pleasure of attending (virtually) author Steven James's class at the Realm Makers conference. As another organic (seat-of-the-pants) writer, he taught a lot of things that really resonated with me. Came away with lots of useful information.

Soon after, I contacted his office about getting him to sign a book for a birthday gift for a friend. Over the course of the year, there's been a number of communications, including me sending his office manager, Sarah, a copy of "Amish Vampires in Space," and me accidentally also sending them an Amazon order for an HDMI cable. ("Why did you change my default setting, Amazon? Why!")

All the back and forth eventually culminated in an invitation to be on Steven's "Story Blender" podcast.

If you've never listened to Steven's show, it is great. He's interviewed tons of working authors, such as Orson Scott Card, Frank Peretti, and recently, Dean Koontz. Lots of insight into the crafting of stories that even non-writers can appreciate.

My Story Blender podcast is now available. You can find it here:

One of the story-fuel podcasts I enjoy listening to is Astonishing Legends. Week by week, hosts Forrest Burgess and Scott Holbrook deep dive into legends both popular and obscure. Bigfoot, hauntings, aliens, lost airships, and sundown clowns--you name it--they've probably covered it. They also allow listeners to record segue segments. So I did! Catch my voice at about the 29:05 mark at the link below. Fun stuff.