Steven Symes, Writer

Paranormal Fridays: Think Before You Prank

2012-01-27T07:15:00.005-07:00

If you're going to prank your friends using a ghost gag, or really any paranormal-themed gag, you should probably think twice about how you pull off the whole thing. This advice holds especially true if you live in a country like Indonesia, where many have strong beliefs about ghosts.

Case in point: this recent news story of an apartment building security guard in the Indonesian city of Bandung, who has been charged with assault. Apparently the security guard thought he was doing everyone riding in an elevator with him a favor when he kicked a "ghost" in the face. That's right, the elevator doors opened to a ghost sitting on the floor in front of the elevator. Did the security guard whip out his proton pack and ghost trap? No, he went for just brute force against the ghost.

Last time I checked, ghosts are supposed to be intangible. I'm probably missing something here, but I thought I would bring that up (after all I write about the paranormal on a regular basis).

The bad news for the security guard is that the "ghost" was the friend of a girl riding in the elevator. It turns out the whole thing was a joke, until the security guard kicked the girl's teeth in. Making things even worse, the girl's father is an influential businessman in Bandung. Now the security guard is facing criminal charges.

So what is the point of all of this? Well, I have never heard of such a situation, but I guess it is possible you could be shot by someone if you are trying to prank your friends by dressing up and acting like a brain-eating zombie. You could get staked through the heart if you put glitter on your skin and slicked your hair back, and then started stalking high school girls.

I guess you should think before you prank. After all, there are people who will secretly harbor some Buffy the Vampire Slayer tendencies, and are just itching to kick the crap out of some paranormal creature who just happens to be you.

And no, I was not talking about the cheesy Sarah Michelle Gellar television show that paled in comparison to the original movie, thank you.

So remember: prank responsibly.

Rough Draft Complete!

2012-01-24T09:20:00.016-07:00

I have finally finished the rough draft for my next novel, The Devil's Nightmare.

Big sigh of relief.

They say your first novel is the hardest to write. In some ways The Devil's Nightmare has been more difficult to write than Shadow House was, at least up to this point. Part of the problem, I think, is all the life events that have provided wonderful interruptions to my work. I don't write in a vacuum, and so I have had to just deal with the problems and try to work through it all.

I think another part of what has made The Devil's Nightmare harder is that the book has so much more to it, both in plot and in characters. One big challenge has been telling a story with a female main character. I have learned quite a bit so far from the process as it has stretched me.

Now the real writing begins with the revisions. With Shadow House those numbered at least 30, so it is substantial work. Right now, though, I just want to rejoice that the book is moving closer to publication. I will keep you all updated as a more firm publication date nears.

I do have one thing to say about the book: expect a faster and more action-packed plot versus Shadow House. That, and the ending is pretty spectacular.

Pirates Stole My Sex Tape: a Lesson in SEO

2012-01-23T12:11:00.000-07:00

Yeah, that title made you click on this blog post, didn't it? I'm not saying you're a sick pervert (necessarily) but just that the title was crazy enough to pique your curiosity. Also, I am sure such a title about pirates and sex tapes is going to draw in more traffic off search results, which I just don't want to know what people are Googling that they land on this blog post. The increased traffic from the title of this post about pirates and sex tapes doesn't mean my blog is now going to be a roaring success.

As stupid as this may seem, there are some people who have branded themselves as Internet marketing experts who use very similar tactics to drive traffic to their websites. These people try to manipulate SEO (search engine optimization) to gain higher standings in Internet search results, which often equals more traffic. There is nothing wrong with using SEO: that is part of my daytime work. There is something wrong with trying to manipulate SEO to trick search engines and people using the Internet. This tactic of SEO manipulation presents several problems for those who think they are going to work the system.

An increased bounced rate is one huge negative result of SEO manipulation. If you are just using certain keywords, dropping them several or dozens of times on your website, you might see an increase in traffic. You will also see an increase in your site's bounce rate, or the percentage of visitors who only view one page before leaving or "bouncing" off the website. This is the result of tricking people into visiting your website. These people who try to work the system seem to forget that real people are the ones sitting on the computers, and those real people are very critical of the information rolling across the screen. If you don't deliver some useful information to visitors--and quickly--those same visitors will leave in droves and never return to your website.

Internet search engines have started to become wise to how some people have abused SEO. Google especially has taken measures to combat this abuse. Google measures multiple variables when choosing how to rank search engine results. An Internet site's bounce rate is one such factor. How many other websites link to the site, as well as the ranking of those linking websites is also factored. There are many other factors, which if I got into them all would be a long blog post in-of-itself. The point is that these factors combine to discover crappy websites that are trying to act like they have the goods, when in fact they don't.

Really, what this all comes down to is one thing: it doesn't matter how much SEO you use on a website, if you don't deliver the goods you are going to fall short. If your website is supposed to give home improvement advice, it needs to give spectacular advice so users return and link to it. If your website is supposed to be about Audi cars, then it needs to deliver useful information about the cars and the company instead of being chock-full of advertisements.

The Internet has a lot of junk information and websites on it. In my opinion, it is time to weed out the garbage.

Paranormal Fridays: UFO News Roundup

2012-01-20T06:39:00.022-07:00

Once more it's time for my Paranormal Friday post, and this week's post is focusing on our little neighbors in the sky. Really, this is about two news pieces, both of which were interesting enough I couldn't choose which to post.

A week into the new year, MUFON (Mutual UFO Network, a UFO investigation group) reported UFO sightings in 36 out of the 50 states in the United States. That is a dramatic increase in UFO sightings in comparison with any other year on record. Of course, the theories are running rampant about the increase in UFO sightings. Personally, I think it is migrant extraterrestrial workers who are taking good-paying jobs from our engineers and surgeons.

The other piece of UFO news was the possibility a UFO-ologist from Arizona killed a couple from New Hampshire, and then a Maricopa County deputy. The couple was found dead in their car near Sedona, Arizona while the deputy was killed after responding to a call of a break-in at a medical building in Phoenix. I am writing this post several days in advance, so right now news outlets are only speculating that the man named as the possible culprit in both attacks is the same Drew Ryan Maras that was killed in the shootout with Maricopa County officers. I will add to this post as more information becomes available.

***UPDATE***

News reports are pouring in now about the shootings in Arizona as the identity of the suspect has been confirmed as 30-year-old Drew Ryan Maras, who was a resident of Arizona. Maras had authored a book about the end of the Mayan Calendar, UFOs and the end of the world. No information is available about Maras' motive in the killings. All in all, it seems like a bizarre and senseless string of events. My fiction-writing mind has been coming up with all sorts of wild theories about what Maras was up to, but it is all just speculation.

More Books in the Future

2012-01-19T08:29:00.003-07:00

I have posted on here about my progress with The Devil's Nightmare, the next Shades of Night story and an unnamed young adult book I am working on. I brainstorm projects well in advance, and so I am constantly thinking ahead like I am playing a chess match.

The other day I started to explain to my wife the premise of a book I want to write some time after The Devil's Nightmare is finished. Usually my wife loves to hear my ideas, even if she tells me they suck. With this book idea, though, she stopped me cold after about two sentences. Why? The premise was too scary, too disturbing for her.

Seriously.

Just how disturbed is the story? Well, let me tell you that I have been collecting and reading books on criminology, even more specifically on serial offenders. Yeah, this will not be a book for the weak of heart, but I promise it will be something that sticks with readers. Essentially, I am thinking it will be a cross between The Silence of the Lambs and the show Medium. And the best part is it will bring back a character from Shadow House whom I personally found fascinating and really want to feature in a story of her own (yes, her).

I have to admit, though, that the book kind of scares even me. But still, the story is too compelling to not tell. More details will be coming about the book as things become more solid.

Stop SOPA PIPA

2012-01-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

Normally I don't use this blog to promote politics of any form, but I do feel strongly about SOPA and PIPA. If you have not done so, contact your state's congressman and let them know SOPA and PIPA go too far. I am not the only one opposing SOPA and PIPA, with organizations such as Google, Wikipedia, Facebook and Twitter speaking out against them.

A Writer or a Storyteller?

2012-01-17T06:15:00.001-07:00

I remember once a few years ago when a co-worker of mine made a comment about how J.K. Rowling is not that great of a writer. I was shocked by what she said, since I also happened to know she was a huge Harry Potter fan.When I questioned her further, I began to understand that she meant nothing about Rowling's storytelling ability, which she thought was top-notch, but rather that she did not think Rowling as a pure writer was up there with the "greats."

I thought a long time about what she said, and I have to admit I feel a little conflicted about the whole thing. I like to draw, although I don't do it now as much as I used to. Back when I was in art class in high school, I got into a heated discussion with a friend of mine who was a musician. He was explaining to me why a song that was playing on the radio was not "real" music because it was easy to play. To him the only thing that mattered about music was the level of difficulty in executing a particular piece.

I have known writers who feel the same way. These people stress that "real" writing is all about how flowery the language is. It does not matter if what they write is not accessible to the average person. In fact, these people pride themselves in writing things that "commoners" just don't understand.

I don't have anything against flowery language. In fact, some of my most favorite writers are masters at the craft of intricate language. I do, however have a problem with the assertion that the only stories that are good are those that involve flowery language.

Going back to that art class so many years ago, I put up an argument against the case that the only good music is music that is hard to play. I used art as an example, because it is something that I know. Level of difficulty certainly does count for something in the value of a piece of art (or writing) but it does not count for everything. I have seen many pieces of art, listened to many songs and read any books where technically they are amazing, but they lack one thing: heart. These endeavors are cold and unfeeling.

What J.K. Rowling might lack in linguistic abilities I think she more than made up for in other areas. The Harry Potter series was pretty imaginative, and yet it built off what others had done before so there were things about it that were familiar to us as readers, making us kind of feel like we were coming home again as we read the pages in her books. Rowling put a lot of heart into what she wrote. It was so obvious that she cared for her characters, almost as if she were their mother.

I often sit and ask myself if I am a writer or a storyteller, when it comes to my creative works. I hope that I am both, even if I am not a perfect ratio of the two. I strive to use literary devices and to avoid linguistic falters, but I am not perfect. I push myself to tell original and compelling stories. I have come under fire by some for being too "commercial." Personally, I don't see anything wrong with writing stories that the average person can pick up, understand and enjoy. I don't see anything wrong with writing to entertain, either, instead of always writing with some preachy agenda.

Enough of what I think and my ramblings on here. I really want to hear what the rest of you think on this. Like I said, I feel conflicted to a degree about the whole thing. Perhaps your insights can help me, and maybe others, find a more perfect balance.

Six Sentence Sunday!

2012-01-15T02:16:00.006-07:00

I participated Six Sentence Sunday for the first time last month, and since then things have been a little crazy. I enjoyed Six Sentence Sunday so much, though, so I am back on the horse. For those of my readers who don't know what Six Sentence Sunday is, it is a blog crawl a variety of authors participate in. You sign up for each week you want to participate, and then you post six sentences from any work of your choosing.

Last time I shared six sentences from a work-in-progress, the next Shades of Night story I have been working on. This week, I have decided to share six sentences from my paranormal thriller novel, Shadow House, which has been picking up an increasing amount of attention lately.

Here are my six sentences:

Patricia led Scott into a bedroom that was one of the smaller rooms. Patricia did not actually walk into the room, and in the moment before Scott set foot inside the room he understood why. His nose was assaulted with a stench that smelled like stale urine. Scott looked down at the brown carpeting, which was splotchy with stains of all types as if a battle had taken place in that very room. There were scratches in the pink and white teddy bear wallpaper, scarring deep into the plaster underneath. Some of the scratches were so deep the studs underneath the plaster were exposed and ravaged as well.

Paranormal Fridays: Lucky Friday the 13th

2012-01-13T06:51:00.049-07:00

It's time again for my weekly Paranormal Friday post. Since today is Friday the 13th, I thought it would be appropriate to dedicate today's post to Friday the 13th.

I have to admit that I am partial to Friday the 13ths having been born on one.Because of my personal affinity for Friday the 13th, I am a little perplexed why some people in this day and age still dread them. I almost always have great things happen to me on them, or at the very worst they are average days. In fact, there is an actual condition for people who have a fear of Friday the 13ths, called friggatriskaidekaphobia. It's really pretty crazy.

So where did all this irrational fear of the luckiest day of the year come about? As far as historians can puzzle it out, the whole tradition cropped up in the late 18th to early 19th century. Conflicting theories exist about how Friday the 13th was targeted as a bad day. The leading theory points out that in European society, the number 13 was considered unlucky. Couple that with Fridays also being considered unlucky (they must have no worked in an office), and that is where the whole thing started.

How widespread is the fear of Friday the 13th? I did not believe this at first, but according to The Stress Management and Phobia Institute located in Asheville, North Carolina (which is a beautiful area where my book Shadow House is set), between 17 and 21 million people in the United States suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia. These people avoid flying, bungee jumping and even going to Macaroni Grill on Friday the 13th for fear they will die of a heart attack in the restaurant (which, having eaten there myself, could happen to anyone dining there at any time considering the nutritional value of the meals there).

So what should you do if you suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia? Whatever you do, do not watch the old Friday the 13th movies, since those will not sooth your fears. Also, avoid watching the newer version of Freaky Friday, since the fact Lindsay Lohan is in it will probably rattle your nerves (at least it does mine). I personally think we should make Friday the 13th a holiday somewhat similar to Halloween. We could all dress up and bob for apples (assuming nobody is going to be afraid of drowning) or do a pinata (assuming nobody is afraid the pinata's head is going to break off and strike somebody in the head, putting that person into a coma).Better yet, we can all huddle under the blankets at home, with a flashlight, and read old Calvin and Hobbs books as we snicker violently, just like I did as a kid when I wanted to escape everything scary in the world.

Happy Friday the 13th, everyone!!

Projects Report

2012-01-10T06:39:00.001-07:00

Just as I said, here I am blogging on Tuesday. Today I am going to give you all a report about my various projects, giving me incentive to keep moving forward.

First off, for The Devil's Nightmare, the writing is moving along nicely now. So far I am pleased with how everything is turning out, and am thinking we definitely will have something ready by fall, or maybe even in the summer in electronic form. The story is very action oriented, yet it has human elements to it like in Shadow House. There might be the possibility the book will be made into a graphic novel--more on that later.

As far as my young adult novel, it is on hold right now. I might work on it when I need to step back from The Devil's Nightmare, but it is temporarily set aside.

The next Shades of Night story is partially done, but honestly I want to get The Devil's Nightmare to a good, polished state before I continue on with the Perfect Village story. I promise this will be worth the wait, as the story is already longer and provides more twists and turns than the other three Shades of Night stories that are published right now. I also have to admit that the story has painted the main character into a corner, and I was having trouble getting him out. Perhaps he won't get out. In any case, I am thinking this will be ready definitely by late spring/early summer, but probably sooner than that. I have lined up at least one more Shades of Night story after that, which will likely come out in the fall.

In addition, I am working on some other projects, both by myself and with some other creative people. One project I will debut in the Amazon film contest, but it won't be ready for some time now. That story I am keeping a tight lid on, but you will all get to see not only the story but how it does in the contest in the future.

So that is what is going on for right now.

Freelance Isn't Free

2012-01-07T20:51:00.000-07:00

My wife recently showed me a graphic somebody put together, which said "freelance isn't free." I laughed when I first saw it, because it really resonated with me. I, and several friends of mine who do freelance in other fields, have encountered quite a few people who think they can squeeze free work out of us. I, unfortunately, have fallen victim to this more than a few times, and always feel like socking somebody in the mouth when it happens. These people seem to either not care or not process that they might as well pull food right out of my kids' mouths.

What irks me even more, though, are freelancers who want to perform work at rates that are so low, they might as well be working for free. Really, I wouldn't care that these people think making $2 for a 400 word article is great pay, but it affects everyone in the marketplace. The sad fact is that many people who buy articles from freelancers are horrible writers themselves, and they don't see the value in paying someone a decent rate for an article that is of high quality versus paying next to nothing for an article that is poorly written. I highly suspect many of these people don't even realize how poorly written some of these articles are.

So what does this do? Well, it turns into what my wife calls the "Etsy Effect." See before the website Etsy came along, people who did crafts could get decent money for their hard work. When Etsy was created, though, the marketplace was suddenly flooded with inferior work, but at cut rate prices. Consumers, being ever-so price driven (thank you Walmart and others for hammering this mentality into our society) stopped paying fair prices for superior work. I have known people who used to make a fair or even great amount of side money from knitting, making pottery, etc who now can't even cover the costs of their supplies because people want to pay so little for their work.

So that is my rant. If you are working as a freelance writer (or anything else), do yourself and everyone else a huge favor and don't work for peanuts. Your time and energy (and talents) should be worth more.

Paranormal Fridays: The End of the Mayan Calendar in December of 2012

2012-01-06T09:52:00.001-07:00

I thought it was appropriate that my first paranormal post of 2012 covers the whole end of the Mayan calendar and end of the world prophesies for December of 2012. I know there is a lot of talk surrounding the end of the world that the Mayans prophesied a long time ago, and I am here to clear up some misconceptions.

First off, I have it on good word that the world will not explode in December of 2012. Instead, a wide-scale extraterrestrial invasion of Earth will happen. The result will be humans farmed for slave labor, with a select few being used as hip hop entertainment dancers on some alien spacecraft (the aliens just can't seem to imitate our grooviness). How do I know this? Well, I didn't watch all of those seasons of the X-Files for nothing, you know...

Some people wonder how the Mayans could have possibly known about the end of the world. Well, it's pretty simple when you realize that they studied the stars. After all, everything you need to know about future events is contained in the stars. Now, don't ask me how exactly that works, since I just took physics and other science classes that talked about stars being large balls of gas. Obviously there is something about stars I just don't understand.

So how did the Mayans come to have such vast knowledge? I'm not sure, but I'm going to guess that it had something to do with their love of playing soccer with their enemies' heads. I mean, honestly, any culture that plays a sport with dismembered body parts has my attention when those same people predict the end of times.

How does the Mayan calendar work? It's complicated, I will tell you that much. There is a lot of debate about whether the calendar actually ends in December 2012 or whether it is the end of one calendar and the beginning of another. For an intimate discussion about the complex workings of the Mayan calendar and concept of time, click here (it'sWikipedia, but the sources listed at the bottom are actually quite interesting and helpful).

According to NASA, though, the end of the world talk is a bunch of talk, and nothing more. The scientists at NASA apparently have looked into claims that the stars tell that the world is going to end, and I'll have you know that they have interviewed each of those stars thoroughly. NASA's ultimate conclusion is that the world will continue on past the end of the Mayan calendar (which ends, by the way, at the winter solstice). They also predict that we have to suffer through several more years of bad music on the radio thanks to Lady Gaga.

So what am I going to be doing in December of 2012? Hopefully I will be watching the rumored new X-Files movie.

New Blog Schedule

2012-01-03T09:46:00.000-07:00

As part of the new year, I am changing here at the blog. Starting this week, and continuing indefinitely, I will be posting at least twice a week. To make the blog even more predictable for you all, I will be posting on Tuesdays and Fridays. There may be other posts during the week, but you can count on posts being up on Tuesdays and Fridays.

The Tuesday posts (like this one) will be in general about my writing, or whatever else I think you all will be interested in hearing about. Friday posts, on the other hand, will always be about something paranormal. Subjects might include paranormal news, books, movies or just interesting facts.

So brace yourself for this Friday, as I begin my regular paranormal Friday posts.

New Year's Resolutions for 2012

2012-01-01T10:31:00.000-07:00

It's a new year full of possibilities. This last year was a crazy one for me, and honestly I unfortunately fell short on several of my writing goals for the year. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, or making excuses about why I did not achieve my goals, I am deciding to pick myself back up to try again, because I am just stubborn like that.

As part of the process, I am publicly posting my writing new year's resolutions. I figure if I make them public, I have more incentive to actually follow through with them. Without further fanfare, here is the list:

1. I will stop letting what others think I should write influence my writing. I will no longer allow naysayers to discourage me, but instead vow to prove them wrong. I unfortunately allowed some people who had nothing constructive to say about my writing throw me off track in 2011, and I completely regret it now.

2.I will make and keep realistic deadlines, publishing at least one book this year. 2012 is the year The Devil's Nightmare sees publication, period.

3. I will spend time every day promoting my books and stories, even if it is five minutes. I have been inconsistent in my efforts, and so my book sales have suffered as a result. Sales this past December proved to me that more readers would be interested in what I write, if I did more marketing. If I am to be successful, it is up to me applying myself consistently.

4. I will reach out to other writers more, supporting their work. Writing does not have to be a lonely task, and too often I have isolated myself as I have become consumed with my own problems. I have a lot to offer other writers, and can learn from them as well.

5. I will publish no less than two new Shades of Night stories this year, adding further to the series. These stories will be innovative, taking the series to a new level of creativity. I am not going to rush the telling of these stories, but rather let them flesh out to whatever length they need to be.

6. I will push the envelope in everything I do. Instead of comparing myself to other writers, or even to the successful writer ideal I have created in my mind, I will strive for my personal best every time I set out to write. I will be tireless in improving my personal best, using all of the available resources I have not used as I should.

There we go, those are my goals for 2012. These will do me absolutely no good unless I know about them and constantly check in with myself about my progress, making corrections as needed. I am confident that if I achieve these goals, by January of 2013 my writing career will be in an entirely different place than where it is now.

New Article Published

2011-12-27T21:15:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I publish articles all the time on a variety of subjects, but rarely do I get really excited about them. Tonight is one exception, since an article I worked on for a fairly long time, interviewing people around the globe, posted on the Internet. The article is about the hidden costs of reproductive technologies, and you can read it by clicking here. I found the subject fascinating and learned quite a bit while doing research and interviews. In the end, I found many of my preconceptions about the subjects altered as I really dug into things.

I've Just Begun to Write

2011-12-27T08:48:00.001-07:00

I know some people only have a book or two, or maybe even three in them, but I am sincerely just getting started. I don't plan on just putting out a few books and then moving on with the next thing on my bucket list. Instead, I always have been and always will be a storyteller, and the amount of stories I have to tell will continue to grow.

Last I counted, I had a solid 13 book ideas in various stages, which should keep me busy for a while. I am sure more ideas will come to me while I work on those, and so I will continue to produce more books. I also have several short story ideas in store for the Shades of Night series, and even a couple of script ideas I am weighing what to do with.

I am hoping I become more efficient at producing books, because I love telling stories that move people, whether they cause people to dive behind their couch, cry or improve their life. 2012 should see at least two more books of mine come out, as well as at least a few more Shades of Night stories, and so it is with this excitement that I greet the new year.

This is going to be fun...

The Devil's Nightmare Cover Work Progress

2011-12-21T07:23:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

One of the great pleasures I partake of when I put together a book is working on the cover concept. Despite the old saying, people do judge a book by its cover, and I have learned that an attractive, interesting and different cover can generate interest about the text behind the cover.

I have been working with a talented artist by the name of Mike Collins on a cover design for The Devil's Nightmare, my upcoming paranormal thriller novel. I want to give you all a sneak peak into the creative process that is going on with the cover, with this early sketch of the concept. Keep in mind this is very rough (we have moved beyond this), but this gives you a first look of the Purple Man character in the novel.

Once you see the finished product, I think you will be impressed with how far Mike has taken this rough concept and made it something beautiful, interesting and polished. What you see in the drawing is the mysterious Purple Man, who is the main villain in The Devil's Nightmare.

As the book nears publication, I will be letting everyone in on some more information about the Purple Man. I should mention that in the finished product, the Purple Man will be clothed, making him look quite different, but for now you're going to have to use your imagination.

Six Sentence Sunday!

2011-12-18T03:00:00.001-07:00

This is my first time participating in Six Sentence Sunday. In case the name doesn't explain it, Six Sentence Sunday is a blog hop that posts every Sunday morning. Writers posts six sentences of their choosing. I have decided to use this as a chance to give people a six sentence sneak peak at my new story, Shades of Night: Perfect Village, before it publishes. Here it is:

As the garage door slowly rolled up, creaking with an incessant chatter, Flynn noticed the dark sedan’s lights were on. He fired up his car, which at first sputtered sickly and then began to roar with only a slight cough. Slowly at first, Flynn backed out of his driveway as he closed the creaking garage door. Flynn looked at the dark sedan in his mirror for a minute, and then he punched the gas and jerked the wheel, sending his car flying backwards into the road. Flynn switched gears and slammed on the gas again, jerking his car forward so hard it began to fishtail and a cloud of smoke kicked up behind it. The dark sedan spun around in pursuit of his car, smoke pouring from its tires as well.

Deja Vu Blogfest: Flashbacks

2011-12-16T06:00:00.018-07:00

This post was originally put on the blog on July 29, 2010 but I am re-posting it as part of the Deja Vu Blogfest. This was one blog post where I opened up about something in my past I just don't talk that much about, and yet I felt the need to share. You can think I'm crazy for what I posted, and you would be right. Here you go, the original blog post, named "Flashbacks":

I'm about to get a little personal here, and I hope people do not take this wrong. I consider myself a pretty logical person, but I am also of the belief that science (at least current scientific understanding) cannot provide us with an explanation of all things.

The other night I was watching the season 2 finale of the X-Files. I had not seen the episode, I think, since it originally aired, but something about it stirred up memories I have not thought about deeply for years. When I was about 14, I went with several Scouts and two leaders from our troop to a remote part of western New Mexico, around the area of Grants. If I remember correctly, we were at the edge of a wilderness preserve near El Malpais, which in Spanish means "The Bad Country."

The purpose of the trip was to help one of our fellow Scouts complete his Eagle project. We were going to be constructing "dams" out of chicken wire and cement in an arroyo at the edge of the wilderness preserve. We arrived in the area after driving quite some way from Grants, where we had stopped for dinner. The area was remote; it was not a place people normally camped in. We had to drive on a small dirt road for at least a couple of miles before we settled down in a stand of trees, just a short distance from the wilderness preserve.

After darkness fell, one of the Scouts started to tell me about how the area we were in used to have homesteads, and that he thought he saw the ruins of a house or barn near the dirt road we have traveled on, just outside the stand of trees where we had set up camp. With our leaders' permission, me, this Scout and one other boy set off with flashlights in hand. We talked excitedly about finding old coins, boot spurs or other interesting artifacts at the homestead site. The walk took several minutes, since the supposed location of the ruins was on the opposite side of the stand of trees from where we were camping.

When we arrived at the site, we began searching the ground for any indications of where the building had been. It was dark and the ruins were badly decayed and overgrown. We started to comb through the dirt and underbrush with our hands, hoping we would uncover something interesting to take back to camp.

A light appeared in the distance, in the middle of an open patch of desert about a mile from where we were. The light looked very similar to a car's headlights, only it was brighter and there was only one light instead of two. The light was shining directly at us, and so we stopped what we were doing and began to wonder what was going on.

A second light, much like the first one, appeared from behind the first light. The first light stood stationary, but the second light began to advance on our position. We turned off our flashlights, realizing they had probably given us away. The boy who had come along began to panic and say he was going to run off to the camp. The boy whose idea it was to come to the homestead site decided he would crouch behind a bush and wait to see who would show up. A sick feeling welled up in my stomach as the light quickly approached us. The one boy was already running down the dirt road. I was able to convince the other boy to go back to camp. By this time the light was very close. I listened intently, expecting to hear the roar of an engine, yet I heard absolutely nothing.

We took off running as fast as we could. When we were several hundred feet up the road from the homestead site, I looked over my shoulder and saw the light arriving at our original location. I ran faster, sure they would guess the direction we had gone and overtake us before we reached our camp. I'm not sure I have ever been so frightened in my life. Fortunately, the light did not come up the dirt road. I lost sight of it as we delved deeper into the stand of trees and finally arrived at the camp. We yelled to the leaders what happened, and at first they did not believe us. After we insisted someone was out there, they grabbed their guns and ran off to investigate. After a while the leaders showed back at camp, saying there was no sign of lights or anything else.

I am not claiming I saw a UFO, partly because the lights were at ground level and partly because I still have absolutely no idea what I saw. Unlike some people, I really don't like jumping to conclusions too quickly, since often in strange situations there is more than meets the eye. The fact I did not hear the roar of an engine does not mean the lights were paranormal. I could have simply not heard anything because I was panicking. I will say that the most disturbing fact about the incident came the following day, when we were driving back towards Grants. As we drove out of the stand of trees, I and the other two kids who were with me gasped as we realized the ground the light that advanced on us had to cover was chock full of rolling hills. The light did not bob up and down as it would have if it were attached to a land-bound vehicle. This single fact cast the greatest doubt in mind about who or what the light was.

I have considered the possibility that what we saw was a manifestation of the infamous ghost lights, but they moved as if they were attached to a vehicle of some sort. I have heard rumors, but have not found any authoritative sources, that say the Navajos absolutely refuse to enter the area, believing it has been cursed for generations. None of my sources cite why the area is supposedly cursed. I have found many, many accounts of other supposed paranormal activities around the Grants area. The area is down the road from Chaco Canyon, a site where an entire (and very advanced) group of Native Americans mysteriously disappeared, leaving behind tools, clothing and food on their tables. Some have theorized these people were part of a massive alien abduction. I say pretty much any theory is possible since nobody can seem to come up with any conclusive evidence about what happened at Chaco Canyon.

I have no idea if what I saw was connected to the Chaco Canyon mystery, or any other mystery. I do wonder what would have happened had we not run away from the homestead site, had we stayed to see what the lights really were all about. When it comes right down to it, I am glad we ran, because something deep inside of me told me if we hadn't I wouldn't be writing this today.

The Importance of Sources in Writing

2011-12-06T15:22:00.000-07:00

When you are writing about factual things, your article or book is only as good as the sources you use to back up what you say. If you are an expert in a field (like a master plumber with 18 years experience) and are leaning on your own experience, then you need to explicitly say so either in the body or at the byline. If you are not an expert in the subject, you must couch any controversial points with references that are verifiable and reputable.

Case in point: take a look at this article on KSL.com about whether alcohol cooks out of food. This piece has stirred up quite a bit of controversy, if you look at the comments on KSL's Facebook page and the story's comment board. Whether or not your agree or disagree with what the article has to say is not what I am focusing on here. My beef is with the source cited in the article.

If I were to use a source like Ochef.com when writing a food or nutrition article, the editors I work with would gleefully send the article back for a rewrite. Who writes the content for Ochef.com? Good question. Go to the website yourself and try to figure it out, because there is no information about who runs the site, let alone that person's credentials.

In all fairness, the Ochef article that talks about cooking with alcohol does cite a source, a book called The New Making of a Cook, which the unnamed author on Ochef.com claims is "as authoritative a source as you can find." Christopher Miller, the contributor who wrote the piece for KSL.com, calls the article on Ochef.com a "study." Ochef.com, which is arguably not an authoritative site, cites a book that was published in 1997, not a scientific study (if you don't believe me, check out the book on Amazon right here).

Is this agenda writing, or just plain ol' laziness? Christopher Miller, with a byline that says he is a member of The League of Utah Writers, cites an unreliable source, which in turn cites a book that was published 14 years ago. A quick Google search, which is the laziest way to research, yields results from universities and research hospitals on the subject of cooking with alcohol, such as this gem from Clemson University. Not surprisingly, Clemson's facts vary from the "study" published in 1997.

If Christopher Miller had done more digging, he would have also run across more authoritative information to put into his article, such as Whole Foods' recommendations on what to add to food if people are concerned about using alcohol. Such sources certainly would have rounded out the article and made it more informative and useful to readers.

In case you were wondering what it takes to join The League of Utah Writers, you only need to click on their home page to find out. Spelled out on the bottom of the page are the membership requirements. Adults need to pay $25 a year, and that is all. You do not need to apply, be published or even (obviously) need to be a good writer. Perhaps at their next conference, The League should school its members on sources and how to use the right ones properly.

Your Rough Draft Sucks

2011-12-04T23:42:00.000-07:00

Your rough draft sucks. This is bad news for all of you who participated in NaNoWriMo, but I can't let everyone live a lie. It is a well-known fact in the writing world that everybody's rough draft--no matter if it is for a 400 word article or a 140,000 word novel--sucks big time.

Cry, stomp your feet, scream, etc.

There, now don't you feel better?

But your rough draft still sucks. When Shakespeare first penned Hamlet... you guessed it: his rough draft sucked. Thankfully, the Bard realized what other great writers have realized: the real writing starts after the rough draft is complete. It's great to get a rough draft hammered out, but it's... rough. You must polish something that is rough, and the polishing process takes time and a considerable amount of effort.

In fact, I would argue that the "real" writing starts with the first revision of your rough draft. I can't tell you how many of my rough drafts I have hated, even despised. I make it my personal mission to morph these sucky drafts into something great, and I feel kind of like a mad scientist working in the laboratory. If you don't enjoy rewriting what you have already written, you don't have what it takes to be a writer. It's just that simple.

Shades of Night

2011-11-30T18:35:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, it's been a little while. Like I said before, I am scaling back to post about once a week instead of multiple times a week. I am using this extra time to write more on the different projects I have going on, both in my "day" job and my "night" work. Really, my day job work has spilled over into night more than usual, but that's a discussion for another time.

The next creative project that will be available for all of you to read is my new Shades of Night story. If you haven't read the other Shades of Night stories, I think you should check them out. I may be a little biased but that's just me. The stories are only $0.99 on Amazon. I know, you are saying you don't have a Kindle. Well, you don't need a Kindle to read the Shades of Night stories. I have the Kindle Reader software on my phone and computer and can download and read the stories that way.

Shades of Night stories are short and more experimental than my other work. The stories give me a way to produce finished-product works that explore different subjects and use different characters. I love to hear back from readers about the stories, even if they hated them, because it helps me become a better writer.

I am hoping the next Shades of Night will be out sometime in December, but this is a crazy month so it may not be until January. This new story is worth the wait, though, since it introduces who I personally think is my most interesting character to date.

Projects Update

2011-11-24T20:54:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, I'm back and hoping you all had a great Thanksgiving. In case you have not noticed, I have started to scale back how often I am posting on the blog here, transitioning from posting every two to three days to now posting once a week. The reason for the change is simple: it gives me more time to work on my projects.

In case you don't remember, I am working on three major projects right now. I was supposedly going to be partcipating in NaNoWriMo this month and finally finishing the manuscript for The Devil's Nightmare, but some shifts in my day work has derailed that. As of right now, I am not sure when I will finish The Devil's Nightmare, but I hope it will not be in the too distant future.

The second project is my new Shades of Night story, which will be titled Perfect Village. I have been able to post some progress on the manuscript, and am hopeful I will have a finished product sometime in December or January. So far, I am very pleased with how the story is fleshing out, and I am sure you all will appreciate it as well. Rather than go on and on about the story right now, I will be taking more time to finish it.

The third project is an undisclosed young adult novel. As of right now, I have a pretty good partial rough draft and am hoping in the near future to be picking that back up so I can finish it by spring. Of course, life is full of surprises and at this point I am basically counting on things to change. I have learned, though, that if I don't make goals and deadlines, my work does not flow as quickly.

On another note, I will have some bigger non-fiction pieces being featured in some fairly large web and perhaps even print publications. Since details are still being finalized, I will let you know about them once everything is set.

That's all I have right now since I am staying busy with the projects.

Still Around

2011-11-16T16:06:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I have not posted on the blog for longer than I normally go between posts, so here is a quick post to let you all know I have not fallen off the face of the planet. I am busily developing new writing opportunities that hopefully will give me more time to work on my creative writing endeavors. Nothing is really cemented right now, but I am working on multiple projects right now that I am hopeful will lead into some good avenues. I will try to write some longer and more interesting blog posts in the near future, but for now this is sadly about all I have time for. To be blunt, I am dedicating much of my energy into other forms of writing at the moment to bring my day job writing to a higher level. All of this has meant that NaNoWriMo has been a bust for me, but that is alright. Maybe I will do my own write-a-novel-in-a-month party in February or something like that.

Until next time...

Paranormal Old Pueblo

2011-11-07T14:35:00.000-07:00

I'm back writing about the paranormal in the world, doing so at a website called Paranormal Old Pueblo. I don't have too much to say about the whole thing, other than to tell you that you can read my first post by clicking here. In it, I talk about how anyone is to know if an event was paranormal or the product of something else. Check the site and this blog, since I will be writing more for Paranormal Old Pueblo in the future.

Juggling Too Much

2011-11-04T10:21:00.000-06:00

I am starting to realize that I often commit myself to too many activities. I could blame this fault on several factors. For one, I have broad interests and am talented in a number of things, including art, the outdoors and repairing both mechanical and electronic devices. Another factor I think feeds into this taking on way too much is an internal drive to be my very best, coupled with an external environment that glorifies near perfection. I am starting to realize that this all just leads to my coming up short on too many things.

This realization is coming to me in grades, and so I am making adjustments as I go. A classic example of me not learning my lesson: NaNoWriMo (that's National Novel Writing Month). I have a lot on my plate this November: holidays are coming up, my day job is getting very intense with shakeups in the content writing world and I am launching into more article writing opportunities. Have I gotten myself in over my head with NaNoWriMo? Probably so, and I know my wife thought I was crazy (because I am).

So what do I do? Well, first I need to constantly tell myself I do not need to be perfect, producing sick amounts of work or obtaining proficiency in difficult subjects basically overnight. Deep breath, let it out. Yes, I am still a good person even if I am not flying high in 8 different areas at once.

Don't worry, I am still going to be writing in this blog. I need this space to air out what is going on with my career, and it also is helping me develop new business. What am I going to do about NaNoWriMo? I'm not going to worry about it. If I happen to have some time to work on it, then I'll work on it. If I don't, then that is okay because I have some very pressing issues that must take priority.

This doesn't mean that now I have an excuse to be a slacker. My internal drive is still strong, but I am not going to practically kill myself as I try to do too much. Doing that hurts some of my efforts, and so I sabotage myself. It's a complicated dynamic in my life, one that I am learning to manage, and one that I know holds many people back from success.

As far as on the fiction writing front, I am starting to realize I just don't have the luxury of time to promote my work that I really need. This means I need a publisher, at least while I am young and still establishing myself, who can help with my promotional efforts. That, and I wouldn't mind even a small up-front from a publisher, I have to admit. There, I said it. I have denied it for quite some time, but I am at a point in my life where I know I need to write fiction to make money, not just to have fun. I want to be writing fiction full-time, and that means I need to be making a full-time salary doing it.

So there you have a little peak into my psyche as I lay on the couch for this blog post. I will continue to share with you on this journey to find a publisher, as well as what ultimately happens with my participation in NaNoWriMo. I'll warn you right now, my experience with finding an agent and a publisher has taught me it can be a difficult and arduous process. Hopefully my experience can help educate the rest of you, maybe inspire you or at the very least amuse and distract you from your everyday cares.

Writing a Book in a Month

2011-11-01T09:09:00.000-06:00

For the month of November I will for the first time be participating in NaNoWriMo or the National Novel Writing Month. This means for the month of November I will be writing an entire rough draft for a novel. Actually, I will be completing my The Devil's Nightmare rough draft, since the book has been elusive to me and I just need to get the rough draft hammered out. I already have a head start on the book, with about 23,000 words already logged. Still, completing the rough draft is going to take considerable effort and focus, considering I still have my day job and other responsibilities to keep up with.

Participating in NaNoWriMo is more than just about finishing my rough draft quickly. The month is also about raising funds for a good cause. You can make donations linked to my writing effort by clicking here. Your donation may be tax deductible, plus you know the money is going to a good cause.

Look for more posts during the month of November letting you know how my rough draft is progressing.

Mormons, Halloween and the Paranormal

2011-10-28T09:05:00.005-06:00

Recently my wife pointed out an article published on KSL.com, the NBC affiliate for Utah. In the interest of full disclosure, I contribute pieces to KSL on a fairly regular basis. The article my wife pointed out was another contribution piece by someone writing about Mormons and Halloween, which you can read for yourself by clicking here.

The author of the article is also Mormon and expresses his thoughts and feelings on the Halloween holiday, although I would argue he does it not very clearly. The overall feeling I got from the article was that the author still does not know what he thinks about Halloween and how it meshes or clashes with his religion. Being a good writer requires introspection, and not just some cursory reflections now and again. You have to be comfortable in your own skin and know where you stand.

Because I write about the paranormal constantly, I have already thought extensively about how I as a Mormon view the paranormal and Halloween, as well as how other Mormons do as well. I have also studied how other religious groups handle the two subjects, which is fascinating to me. The author of the article on KSL's website seems to float back and forth between viewing Halloween as a Satanic celebration and something that is silly and harmless and mostly for the kiddos. One big mistake I see the author and many others making is mislabeling druids, Wiccans or other groups as "Satanic" just because they don't understand/like what they believe. I have been on the receiving end of this religious ignorance, and it is not fun. To say that Halloween is fundamentally Satanic brings about all sorts of problems, like saying Harry Potter teaches kids how to perform witchcraft. If these people like Shakespeare, then they would be shocked to know that the incantation performed by the witches in Macbeth was a spell Shakespeare looked up in a real witchcraft book.

I could go on about this subject for a long, long time and am actually kicking around the idea of writing a book on it, just because I have so much to say about the subject. Some religious people love to label things as evil a lot, so the label starts to become almost meaningless. Really, these people label things as evil because of personal preference or fear, rather than reserving the label for this that truly are evil. I run into people all the time, both Mormons and from other religious groups, who think the paranormal is "evil." This translates into Halloween being an "evil" holiday. I sometimes ask these people if they believe in an afterlife, ghosts, and so forth. The responses I get are always entertaining, as these people really don't know what they believe but they love to run around and label things as "evil." For example, I have run into some Mormons who think that believing in hauntings is "evil" and yet they profess to believe in the Mormon concept of a spirit world, which is located here on earth. This means they believe spirits are all around us, yet hauntings just do not occur because the subject makes them uncomfortable.

I'll stop there, not because I don't have more to say, not because I'm afraid of offending anyone, but because I really should just write that book I have been considering. A book format would give me the space to really make my arguments and observations.

The Adventure of Working From Home

2011-10-27T13:23:00.000-06:00

I have worked from home for a few years now, and it has been one of the most frustrating, wonderful, awful, enriching and detrimental things in my professional life. Confused? Well, I have learned one of the big secrets to working from home: it is what you make of it.

If you are thinking of working for yourself, it may be one of the smartest moves you could ever make. Many of the truly happy and fulfilled people I have run into in my life work for themselves. Also, some of the most haggard and negative people I have met have also worked for themselves. The big difference I have always perceived is that the people who are happy and fulfilled did not look at working for themselves as their only alternative to standing in the unemployment line. Instead of jumping into the self-employment pool like a cornered rat, these people saw power and freedom working for themselves.

I must admit that my own self-employment journey has swung both ways at different times, but recently I have started to gravitate further and further to the self-empowerment side of the spectrum. Would I then recommend self-employment to everyone? Absolutely not. Working for yourself takes guts, discipline, creativity and other traits not everyone has. Some people are very content to sit in a monochromatic cubicle under fluorescent lighting in exchange for the promise of consistent pay and other perceived forms of stability. The reality is that especially in this present economic situation, none of us are in highly stable situations. Still, though, for some people working from home would probably be a complete disaster.

So what is the secret to working from home? I'll tell you what I have learned thus far: there is no one-size-fits-all solution to how to work from home successfully. I have quite a few friends and associates who work from home, and I can tell you the ones who do so with any measurable success all do it differently. Some people sit down at a desk in an isolated room at 8 o'clock sharp each morning, wearing a nicely pressed shirt and slacks and they work until noon when they take an hour lunch break and then work until 5. Other people I know go days without working, and then they go on a work binge where they work constantly for days. Yet other people I know laze around the house during the day and then somehow cram all of their work into the nighttime hours. Of course, the type of work a self-employed person engages in does help dictate a working style, since some people work on independent projects while others may be chained to a computer or phone so they can collaborate with colleagues throughout the work day.

The dynamics of your household plays a factor in how you work from home. If you have small children at home, they naturally do not understand limits as well as school-aged children. Having a separate office area with a door creates different dynamics than having counter space in your kitchen to work on. One way is not inherently superior to another, just some people work better under certain conditions than others. The beautiful thing about self-employment is that it allows you the flexibility and the power to work the way that is best for you. Instead of having an idiot who used to manage a sports fanatic store in the mall telling you how to structure your life, you get to call the shots. Of course, some people need the structure brought by an idiot boss, and that is okay for them.

New Paranormal Articles by Me Coming Soon!

2011-10-24T09:31:00.000-06:00

I used to write for Examiner.com as the Salt Lake City Paranormal Examiner and had a fair amount of success in that position. The articles I wrote often would hang around in the top 5 list for long periods of time and would draw in a steady and heavy flow of traffic. I would regularly be contacted by people--both here in Utah and even other parts of the country and world--for information about the paranormal, particularly about haunted locations in the state.

I enjoyed writing those paranormal articles on a regular basis, but for reasons I posted before I left Examiner. To my great pleasure, I recently received an opportunity to return to writing paranormal articles, but this time for a blog that specializes in just the paranormal. The blog is called Paranormal Old Pueblo and I am very excited to be moving forward with them. The good news is that Paranormal Old Pueblo steers clear of the crazy paranormal crowd, taking a more level-headed approach to the subject. I hope to have my first article up on the site soon, and will post on here when the article is live. For those of you who are interested, you can read my articles on Paranormal Old Pueblo for deeper thoughts and analysis of various paranormal subjects, including (one of my favorite) how culture shapes people's perception of the paranormal.

Update on Current Projects

2011-10-21T08:29:00.000-06:00

Since I have this blog and it is supposed to be about my writing (as well as my interests and thoughts) I think I am going to start giving regular updates about the progress of the different creative projects I am working on. This way you can stay in tune with what is going on, how close different works are getting to publication and have some insight into the crazy life of working full-time on "normal" writing assignments while trying to squeeze in the time and energy to produce creative ventures.

First things first, the anonymous young adult novel project: so far it is still in the rough draft stage. I keep thinking I am going to have a good block of time to hammer out the rest of the rough draft, but life happens and I can't just write 24/7 (I could, but then my wife would kill me and then I wouldn't be writing at all). Seriously, though, I still like to live in the real world, and I have other responsibilities in life I have to attend to. I am hoping (yeah, yeah, you all say) to have a rough draft in the near future. No, I have not set I date. Yes, I know I should, but every time I do the date just sails past me. I have decided to at least shop this book with agents and publishers once I have polished it up, so I will be posting updates on that whole process. The last time I tried that, I didn't get very far, but again I was not as seasoned in the writing profession as I am now.

Secondly, the new Shades of Night: Perfect Village short story: this is also in the rough draft stage. I keep debating in my mind what I want to have happen, but in the end I think I am just going to set the characters loose and let them create a big mess I get to clean up. This one is looking like it will be significantly longer than the other Shades of Night stories, which will be good. I am hoping for a finished product up on the Internet by early next year (maybe sooner if luck smiles on me).

Third, The Devil's Nightmare: where do I begin with this one? I have a partial rough draft, which I have had for over a year now. I need to tear a lot of it apart, which goes against my instincts since I usually just get out a rough draft in its entirety and then I begin slaughtering the story into something else. Maybe I will do that with this, but there is so much I already know I want and need to change. When will this be ready? I am hoping next winter sometime, but that all depends on what happens with the young adult book (i.e. if anyone is interested in picking it up or if I take it independent like Shadow House).

So there you go, a little peek into what is going on right now. Like I said, I think I am going to be posting updates more often on here, including the big achievements, frustrations and setbacks I experience with each project. Who knows, maybe I will dissuade some of you from trying to write that book you have been mulling over in your head.

High vs. Low Fantasy

2011-10-18T13:11:00.001-06:00

So many times in life we throw around terms we don't understand instead of humbling ourselves and looking up the meaning of what we are saying. I have learned the value of actually knowing--instead of just assuming--the meaning of a word through some embarrassing scenarios in my life.

I hear people all the time misuse the terms "high fantasy" and "low fantasy" like they mean "good fantasy" and "bad fantasy." I'm here to help set the record straight on what constitutes high fantasy versus low fantasy, and hopefully put an end to confusion.

High fantasy involves a story that takes place in an alternate or other reality, where the natural laws that rule our world are not entirely followed. The prime example of high fantasy would be Tolkien's books about Middle Earth, which is completely separate from our world. There magic very much exists, as well as a wide variety of fantastical creatures.

Low fantasy, on the other hand, involves fewer fantastical elements in the story. The fantastical features in the story exist in a real-world setting, so the line between fantasy and reality are blurred. There are numerous examples of low fantasy, such as Stephen King's book The Green Mile or Neil Gaiman's Coraline.

You may have a preference between having your fantasy in a straight shot, completely in another world, versus mixed with a good dose of our very real world. Whatever your preference may be, "low fantasy" does not mean it is inferior to other fantasy stories.

Who Should Die: Mom, Dad or the Kids?

2011-10-15T08:03:00.000-06:00

I don't know if any of you know of or about Dr. Laura Schlessinger, the radio talk host who is also a therapist/psychologist or something of the sort. My exposure to Dr. Laura was mostly from when I was a teenager, since her show would be blasted in our house after the Rush Limbaugh Show. Personally, I hated both shows and would have far rather stuck my head in a blender and get it all over with, but I digress.

I remember one time vividly hearing Dr. Laura discussing with someone a hypothetical situation where a married couple is in a life boat with their child (or children, maybe) after the larger boat they were all in sunk in the middle of the ocean. With no land in sight, the life boat starts to take on water and sink as well. The couple deduces that the reason the life boat is sinking is that there is too much weight in the boat. I know, I know, I thought the same thing: perhaps the couple should have gone on a diet before sailing in the middle of the ocean. Well, they made some bad life choices and are now in the middle of the ocean and they can't just drop fifty pounds in five seconds, as nice of a thought as that would be.

In any case, the point of the hypothetical situation was to ask who should be thrown overboard and die in the shark-infested waters: mom, dad or the kid(s)? Well, being a parent who is also married, I can tell you there is no way I would look at one of my kids or even my wife and tell them "sorry, but I want to live" as I tossed them into the water. Makes sense, right?

Apparently the all-wise Dr. Laura saw things differently. She decided that the kid(s) should get the boot from the boat since the parents could always have more kids. Yeah, that's right. The parents both needed to live so they could replace the child so cruelly thrown into the shark-infested water because the parents just couldn't help but eat at the Cheesecake Factory at least once a week (and how could you pass up the appetizers the size of a regularly gluttonous meal?).

Do I think anyone is crazy to seek out Dr. Laura's advice on anything? Yes. But enough about what I think, even though this is my blog and my thoughts. What do the rest of you think about the whole hypothetical sinking lifeboat scenario?

Happy Birthday to Me

2011-10-13T08:14:00.000-06:00

So today is my birthday, but it doesn't really feel like it. As an adult, if my birthday falls on a weekday, for me at least it is just another day where I work, do dishes and sling poopy diapers. Pretty exciting, I know. When I was a kid, the night before my birthday was almost as exciting as Christmas Eve.

I was originally born on a Friday the 13th, which I kind of wonder was some sort of a sign. It's too bad my birthday is on a Thursday this year, since Friday the 13ths are normally very lucky days for me.

What do I want for my birthday? Well, I would love to have a bunch of book sales, or downloads for my Shades of Night stories. Other than that, I really need a new pair of headphones. I listen to music constantly when I write, and actually wore out all of my headphones except for the sub-par ones that came with my phone. Let's just say Apple does not make stellar headphones, and I have been suffering with their hollow sound. Other than that, I am not really hoping for anything else, since I would be paying for other gifts. My how things change from childhood to adulthood.

My Top 10 Scary Movies, Without Gory Scenes

2011-10-10T17:11:00.000-06:00

The wait is over! My top scary movies list has published on KSL.com for you all to view and enjoy. Click here to see how many on the list you have already seen, and to get ideas for other movies you can watch this Halloween season to get into the spirit of things (pun completely intended).

I love each of the movies on the list for very different reasons, which I explain in my article. If I had to pick just one movie to recommend... well that would be hard. I would have to say I would recommend The Others to people the most. Not only is it just a great movie, but it is surprisingly not as well-known as some of the other movies. I actually originally watched the movie for a literature and film class I took in college and was blown away with how good it was. People I have recommended The Others to have said "oh, that's just like The Sixth Sense, I heard." These people heard wrong and it would do them well to see the movie and judge for themselves.

Better yet, watch all of the movies and make it a scary movie marathon leading up to Halloween.

Going Global

2011-10-09T20:57:00.000-06:00

My writing is gaining an increasing global presence. Shadow House has been available in print form around the world for quite some time. Now the digital version of Shadow House as well as my Shades of Night stores are available through Amazon's Kindle service in several countries. At first my digital works were available only in the United States and the United Kingdom. Fairly recently, my works went on sale in Germany. Just this past week, my digital titles were posted for sale in France. More countries should be coming in the near future.

This is an exciting time as I watch my international reach broaden and strengthen. As of right now, my works are only available in English, but down the road there is the possibility that they could be made available in other languages to further broaden my audience.

Who is Flynn Jensen?

2011-10-06T09:34:00.000-06:00

I have taken a several month hiatus from my Shades of Night short story series, which publishes to the Amazon Kindle Store. After a long wait, you are about to see a new Shades of Night post in the near future (more on the exact date later).

With this new Shades of Night story comes the introduction of a new character, one who will be appearing in the Shades of Night series, and perhaps other books and stories in the future. The character's name is Flynn Jensen, and he is an ex-journalist who has fallen victim to the layoffs in the journalism field. Flynn was working at a newspaper in Wisconsin, hoping to one day become an investigative journalist, when his dream was cut short very early in his career. Instead of giving up completely, Flynn started his own investigative journalism blog and quickly began receiving tips and investigating purported paranormal cases.

Along the way, Flynn has stuck his nose in some of the "wrong" places and so he has earned some enemies, some of whom would love to so him quietly disappear. Flynn has people break into his house regularly, has had his computer stolen and has suspected people have tried to hack his phone and computer. Who exactly is doing these things and why is part of the mystery Flynn is trying to uncover, while at the same time keeping up with an increasing amount of leads.

The first story readers get to enjoy that features Flynn Jensen is Shades of Night: Perfect Village. Flynn follows up on a strange lead about a town in the Midwest that is perfect, and is called Perfect Village. Convinced that something paranormal is causing everyone to act in a stringently uniform manner, Flynn rents a house in Perfect Village to get to the bottom of the mystery. Can Flynn determine the cause of the phenomena, or will he become "perfect" as well? Find out when the story publishes on Amazon.

The List is Coming

2011-10-03T10:10:00.002-06:00

I have been doing some occasional contributor pieces for KSL.com, which is the NBC station in Utah. So far, I have done an article about bike safety and another about the BYU and Utah rivalry. Yes, neither one of the published articles have anything to do with the paranormal, but then again my day job deals with writing about business practices, home improvement projects, technology and even gardening.

The next piece I am publishing with KSL involves a list of my favorite scary movies. I asked for input from people on Facebook and Twitter and received some interesting feedback that gave me a wide variety of movies to consider. After some mulling, I finally narrowed the list down to ten, so it is my top ten list of scary movies.

One thing I should mention about the list: none of the movies have any gore. It seems like some people think scary and blood or guts (or both) go hand-in-hand, but I disagree. There are a few (and I do mean a few) scary movies that have some goriness to them. For the most part, I prefer scares that involve building tension, atmospheric fear building and psychological frights. I think a lot of people during the Halloween season are looking for scary movies, but they don't want to be grossed out in the process.

The list is not viewable right now, but here is a picture from one of the movies to give you a little taste of things to come:

I am hoping the list will be published by about mid-October, but we will see. I will definitely post something on here when the list does go live on the web, and then you all can check out any movies on it you have no already seen (or refresh your memories of others you saw a long time ago).

Starting a Successful Blog

2011-09-30T21:19:00.000-06:00

So you've thought about starting a blog, maybe out of boredom or to help launch that writing career you keep telling people you'll do one day. You sign up for a service like Blogger or Word Press and then what?

I've actually been in this position before. I made several unsuccessful attempts at starting blogs, only to have nobody visit them. Eventually I lost interest and moved on.

Since then, I have started this blog. Traffic was slow at first, but it has been picking up steadily since. Along the way I have learned a thing or two about how to successfully launch a and maintain a blog. Here are my tips:

1. Pick a passion. You need to write in your blog consistently to build a following. if you don't pick something you're passionate about, then you will fizzle out in a hurry. This may take some soul searching and pure honesty with yourself. Don't write what you think you should, but instead what you feel.

2. Use pictures. A blog without pictures is boring. You may not use them in every post, but you should use them in most. Pictures help increase traffic and gets visitors to look around more.

3. Use spell check. I can't believe I have to say this, but use your spell check! Some people and their grammar scares me since I wonder how they made it past the 7th grade. Have a friend read your posts over.

4. Use SEO. If you're scratching your head, wondering what SEO is, look at hiring a writer like me who knows SEO, which stands for search engine optimization. To be brief, if you write in certain ways, you actually increase traffic to your blog by having your blog come in high on Google, Bing and Yahoo search results.

5. Offer something more. The best blogs offer something like books, suggestions of restaurants to try or places to visit. By giving your readers an experience related to your blog that is not online, you integrate your blog in their life.

There are more ways to improve a blog, but that should give you a good start. Until next time...

October is Almost Here!

2011-09-27T11:26:00.000-06:00

I've always liked Octobers, since I was very young. In part I really like Octobers since I was born in October. That's right, I was born on a Friday the 13th, to be more precise. Strange, I know.

I also like Octobers for the change in the season. I enjoy summer, with the long days and warm temperatures--to an extent. After living in the Phoenix area for a year and then Central America for two years, I came to Utah and really looked forward to that first winter. I relished when the weather started to change, and the leaves caught fire. It's really hard to curl up with a nice cup of hot chocolate when oranges are still growing on the trees in December. There is just something magical about nature starting to hunker down for the coming snow storms.

October is also really great for the fact that people's attention turns more to things that go bump in the night, as well as other paranormal phenomena. Perhaps those long nights spark people's imagination, or they are just home more to experience strange things in their own home. I don't know what the real reason is, but I do know that my paranormal fiction sells quite a bit, starting in October, and usually going strong into March. Of course, this summer's sales were extremely strong, blowing away the winter's, so I have no idea what to expect this October.

October also brings with it Halloween, one of my very favorite holidays. Basically, it and Christmas rule, with all other holidays paling in comparison. Sometimes I fantasize about being a Jack Skellington type and combining the two holidays. That would be wonderfully awesome. I'm not a huge fan of cheesy Halloween decor or costumes--especially the blood-and-guts garbage--but I really do love original decorations and costumes. Every year I say I am going to start making my own decorations, and I really think next year is the year (yes, I am procrastinating again). Last year I received some glowing compliments from some trick-or-treaters who were probably too old, because they loved the music I had playing at the door (a combination of scary scores from some of my most favorite movies). I really need to plan for what I am doing this year, but honestly I have been so busy that I haven't gotten much of anything ready. Last year we had decorations out on October 1, but this year I am wondering if that is going to happen.

So hooray for October! I will be posting about different things this October on the blog, including my list of top scary (but not gory) movies and some original things you can do during the Halloween season.

Stay tuned for more...

Frustration

2011-09-24T06:51:00.000-06:00

Writing can be an extremely frustrating profession, even though I love it with all my heart. Being a writer comes with a constant stream of criticism, which may or may not be warranted. Being a writer also can mean loneliness of a sort. I do not go into an office everyday, and my colleagues are spread across the globe, meaning I don't get much live interaction with them.

Book sales, article traffic and even traffic that comes to this blog may be sporadic at times. Sometimes I am left guessing why one month my book sales suddenly tripled.

Sometimes as a writer I feel like I am loving a dream, but I also have my bad days. Sometimes I wonder if anyone cares about what I've written and what I'm working on now. It's always nice to hear from fans at those times to help keep me moving.

I suffered what I consider a major setback on The Devil's Nightmare, pushing the book's publication back at least a year. The same problems also tabled my Shades of Night series of short stories. More frustration. I know I should just roll with it, but I expect a lot from myself. I have so many good stories to tell, but telling you that means little while actually showing you the stories means so much. If I had my way, I would have three new books out in the next year. Perhaps once I start selling a lot more books that will happen, but for now I live on planet reality.

Movie Review: The Rite

2011-09-21T13:40:00.000-06:00

It seems like lately the topic of exorcisms has been popular fodder for horror/thriller movies. One of the latest exorcism movies is The Rite. The story is about a young American man who wants to back out of seminary due to a lack of faith in God. Upon the urging of a priest who has acted as his mentor, the young man attends a training course on exorcisms at the Vatican. Through the course he makes the acquaintance of a priest who is a famous exorcist with some unorthodox ways, played by Anthony Hopkins.

The young man at first tries to explain away the events surrounding several people who are supposedly possessed, but eventually the evidence becomes too much for the man to deny. The way the skeptic vs. believer in the paranormal events played out in the movie almost--almost--reminded me of the X-Files when it was in its early seasons. Any time a movie, book or television series hearkens to such a great work, it is a good sign. By the time the main character in The Rite begins believing the possessions and demons are real a demon has singled him out and begins to wage war on him with a fury the young man has never experienced.

The movie had some promise, but I felt the climax fell a little flat for the building up. Some of the scenes portraying demonic possession can be frightening, depending on your tolerance level. I am a big fan of Anthony Hopkins, and he did not fail to deliver in The Rite, but I could not say the same for all of the actors in the movie. Ultimately, though, The Rite's undoing was a script that was not completely developed, leaving a doughy and half-baked taste in my mouth.

Interested in What I'm Working on Now?

2011-09-17T15:13:00.000-06:00

In case you haven't noticed at the top of the blog, just below the title, are several tabs such as "Home" or "Steven's Titles." I have added a "Future Projects" tab recently that serves to keep you, my readers, in the loop with what I am working on currently. I will be updating the tab as different projects come closer to release and as I start working on new projects.

If you click on the tab right now, you will see that I am working on three different creative projects. One is adding to my short stories series available on Amazon, called Shades of Night, and specifically mentioning a character that will start appearing in multiple installments of the series. The second project is The Devil's Nightmare, which I have mentioned on this blog before. I am hoping that I can have The Devil's Nightmare ready for publication by late next year, but I will keep you all updated.

The third project is a young adult or middle reader book (I'm thinking on the same reading level as the Chronicle of Narnia series) that I have actually bumped in front of The Devil's Nightmare. I am staying tight-lipped on the subject and even the name of the book, but I will say it involves ghosts. Hopefully I will be ready to release more information on the book in the not too distant future. As of right now, I am planning on a release date of approximately a year from now. I am very excited for this book, since I think it has a lot of potential, and it is different from what I have published up to this point since it is aimed at a younger audience (although adults may enjoy it as well).

Writing and Entrepreneurship

2011-09-17T11:30:00.000-06:00

With the writing world (including the book industry) changing at an increasingly rapid pace, writers who want to succeed are being forced to keep light on their feet. This means that a writer nowadays is more of an entrepreneur or a small business owner--the days of writers just writing and doing nothing else are over.

If you are not interested in business management, marketing and the like, writing may not be the profession for you. You do not need to be the next Steve Jobs (although that wouldn't hurt) but you do need to get your hands dirty. Authors--whether they have a contract with a publisher or they are independent--must roll up their sleeves and put in a lot of work to promote their book. If an author does not do promotion, thinking he does not need to, that author sells few books.

This means you must work, work, work to make it in the writing world. There is a lot of competition at the lower levels of the industry, partially because the profession looks sexy or easy to a fair amount of the general public. Overnight success stories in the writing world, such as JK Rowling or Stephenie Meyer, happen almost never. Most writers must fight and claw and scratch and put in blood, sweat and tears to become big. You are your best salesperson, marketer and publicist, even if you have people working on those areas. You have to be comfortable talking to people about the work you do, spreading the word and increasing sales.

On the flip side,

La Llorona or the Ditch Witch

2011-09-15T10:16:00.000-06:00

Anyone who has grown up in the southwestern United States or Mexico has probably heard of La Llorona. The tale is of a woman ghost who looks for children to take and murder. While La Llorona has fame across the region, the exact story of who she was, how she died, where she dwells and what she does with children changes depending on the area.

I grew up in New Mexico, where in grade school we would listen to scratchy old recordings telling the tale of La Llorona, or the Ditch Witch as she was called in the Land of Enchantment. La Llorona was supposed to have been a woman who lived in or near Santa Fe (if my childhood memories do not fail me). I heard two different versions of what happened to her. One was that she did not want children but her husband did. One day she found out her husband was having an affair, and so in a fit of rage she threw her children into the river so they drowned. After realizing what she had done and crying quite a bit (hence the name La Llorona, which in Spanish translates loosely to "The Crying One") she threw herself into the river and drowned as well.

In another version I heard, she let her children play by the arroyo or ditch in the evening as the sun was setting. One of the children fell in because the child could not see, and the other jumped in to save them. When the woman realized her children had not returned home for bed, she went looking for them and found their bodies floating in the water. Stricken with grief, she jumped into the water to end her own life.

Both versions warned that the ghost of La Llorona did not know she was dead (cue the Sixth Sense theme music) and so she wandered the arroyos and river banks looking for her children still. The tale then went on to tell about kids playing in the arroyos or by the rivers and La Llorona coming up, screaming and whaling, as she tried to take the kids and drag them into the water, etc. Some people claimed she left huge scratches on children's backs and tore their clothing.

Really, La Llorona served a good purpose since we lived in flash flood territory. An arroyo could be dry as a bone one moment, and then have a ten foot wall of water traveling over 30 miles per hour rush down it the next moment. Playing in or near arroyos and rivers was dangerous, without a screaming ghost lady grabbing kids.

If you want to read even more about La Llorona, click here.

Should I Be Jealous?

2011-09-11T19:41:00.001-06:00

There is a ton of buzz going on not only in the book world, but in the general media and public about the book and movie adaptation of The Help. I have not read the book or seen the movie, but I have heard quite a bit about both. A good portion of what I have heard about the book comes from my wife, who has been reading it quite voraciously.

In fact, she has been reading it with more vigor than anything I have written--at least I say so. She, of course, denies that she has not read Shadow House or any of my other works with as much excitement. Ah, the life of a writer. Not many husbands would be jealous of their wife reading a novel, at least not for the same reasons.

Should I be jealous that my wife is enjoying reading The Help so much? On the one hand, I am always trying to get her to read more (I do this with a lot of people who are close to me). My wife is not a huge fiction reader, so the fact she is so into a fictitious piece is great. On the other hand, I just can't but be a little jealous. Okay, a lot jealous. Really, really, really jealous.

I'm sure I'll get over it. Maybe with my next rough draft manuscript she will forget all about that other book. Maybe. I'm hoping.

Volume Ain't Easy

2011-09-08T17:18:00.000-06:00

I wish I could remember where I read this, but I can't so I'm going to do what I always hate and say that I read this "somewhere." It was a columnist--a rather famous one from what I can recall--who was criticized by a reader once for a piece he wrote. I don't remember the exact criticism, but the reader basically said he could write a better piece. "Ouch," some of you may say, but this happens to writers quite a bit.

What was memorable was the writer's reaction to the criticism. He essentially said that he did not doubt the reader could produce a better piece. The writer went on to explain that what people do not understand about writers is that while we may not always be producing the highest level or writing, we often produce high volumes. Producing original pieces of original thought at a regular pace is the real challenge, something the reader did not care to consider. The columnist probably produced the piece in question in a short amount of time over the space of a day or two, meanwhile the reader would have labored over his superior piece for days or maybe even weeks.

We writers have to eat like everyone else, and so part of what we must do is produce a lot of writing. Unless you are in extremely high demand, a writer must be constantly writing to make a good living. It's always easy to criticize from the sidelines, but doing the job is always a different story. Of course, part of being a writer is dealing with criticism as people contend that they can do better, but often stay in their armchair instead of even trying.

Weird Paranormal News: My New Project

2011-09-05T10:29:00.000-06:00

I have taken on a new endeavor, or another blog, called Weird Paranormal News. As the title of my new blogs hints at, I will be providing commentary on paranormal news items from the week, with a special emphasis on the very strange. The commentary I will be adding to the news items will also feature an occasional splash of humor, mostly in the sarcastic sort of way.

I have already written a few posts for Weird Paranormal News, but I am now looking to make posts more regular. What is my objective with this new blog? Well, you could say that it is to make the public aware of paranormal events as they are covered by the news. Mostly, though, the object is to entertain people with some really crazy stories, including crazy people who swear they saw Bigfoot break dancing in the woods or that a UFO landed in Times Square.

With this new blog, I will be scaling down--not eliminating--the amount of posts on this blog about the paranormal. This blog will mostly focus on my work as a writer, with Weird Paranormal News covering a wide variety of paranormal topics. Since I am no longer working as the Salt Lake City Paranormal Examiner, I have felt a need to stretch my wings and report the paranormal news again.

Check out my new blog by clicking here.

Here Comes the Next (Insert Popular or Timeless Book Title Here)!

2011-09-01T09:35:00.000-06:00

You always know an industry is desperate for success when it constantly is looking for the next big success from duplications of past success. Take a look at Hollywood and its remake fascination for a prime example of this (most of which are horrible failures, ironically). The book industry is no different.

Just a few years ago, everybody was looking for "the next Harry Potter." I noticed an overflow of books about young witches and warlocks going to grade school for magical beings and playing soccer in the sky. Talk about generic. J.K. Rowling did not make it big by copying others; Rowling marched to the beat of her own drummer and wrote about a wizard school when nobody else was. Now I seem to her about "the next Twilight" all the time. And yes, I see books about Bigfoot seducing Medusa at an American community college or a banshee-weretiger-zombie love triangle or the sorts all the time. Again, Stephenie Meyer did not hit it big by copying the current trend (although I do think there is a good argument that she borrowed heavily from Ann Rice, for better or for worse).

So why is everyone trying to follow these trends in the book industry? Are they really all that unoriginal? In part, I think some people really do lack originality and so they want to follow what others are doing. I periodically see advice from some authors who are good at following the trends and feeding off of the sales of others, encouraging others to keep a finger on the trends among the New York Times Bestseller List titles, emulating them so they can have sales success by being trendy as well. That's just not me, since I cannot follow the trends. I have my own ideas and don't care if they become trendy or not.

For those who are looking for big success, you must follow the old business adage: the bigger the risk, the bigger the potential reward. Following the trends admittedly decreases your risks. I could write some vampire erotica and probably capture some decent sales (and lose some of my integrity in the process). By writing something original you take a big risk, but it is the only way you will have any chance of making it big in the book industry.

"Real Artists Ship"

2011-08-29T09:17:00.001-06:00

One time Steve Jobs, the legendary Apple mastermind, said "Real artists ship." Since Jobs uttered this phrase, it has been repeated countless times by countless people. Most who use this Steve Jobs quote are in the tech industry, where they understand the importance of bringing a product or technology to market.

I have not seen anyone use Steve Jobs' quote in the book industry, or in reference to any other artistic endeavor, even though Jobs makes reference to artists. I am sure Jobs was trying to convey to people in Apple that they were not engineers, programmers, etc only, but also that what they created should be a work of art.

Whether you love or hate Apple and Steve Jobs, you must admit that his business accomplishments are impressive. More authors and other artists could learn about marketing and business in general instead of only busying themselves with the intricacies of the English language, plot development or how to best develop characters. In the new world of book marketing, authors are playing a larger role in promoting their work, driving many of the marketing efforts themselves.

I cannot tell you how many people I know who have been working on books--both fiction and non--and yet they continue "perfecting" their works for years and years on end. If these authors were to incorporate Steve Jobs' philosophy in their work, they would realize that they are not really writing unless they are putting their writings in front of readers. Your book will never be perfect, so continually obsessing over it not being perfect only delays you from getting your book in front of readers. If you are concerned about people criticizing your work, I would suggest you either reconsider your desire to be a writer (since we writers are continuously criticized) or that you find a way to deal with criticism since every job I have ever had comes with some degree of critical review.

Real writers get their work to market one way or another, where people can see it, otherwise they are just playing.

Grammatical and Usage Failures Abound

2011-08-25T13:09:00.000-06:00

Nobody is immune to grammatical (and usage) failures in the English language. But as the saying goes, to heir is human (typo intended). As a writer I am more in-tune with language than most, and so I pick up on grammatical errors everywhere: store signs, newspapers (or news websites these days) and even major publications. And yes, I pick up on some of my errors after publication, which is always fun.

Large companies are not immune to grammatical foibles, despite their massive resources. Take, for example, the typos on collegiate shirts being sold at Old Navy stores, with misplaced punctuation as pointed out by Shine. Not nearly as surprising was the use of "your" instead of "you're" on some shirts for The Wet Seal.

And that brings me to some of my grammatical pet peeves. It really grates on my nerves how many people think "they're" and "their" and "there" are all interchangeable. I am less annoyed by people who cannot get "too" and "to" straight since it is a difference of a single "O." I cannot believe how many people abuse the word "that." Most people can delete about 90% of "that" out of their writing and be just fine.

Writing full-time I have learned to drop some constructions I used to favor in the past. "In order to" is evil, so now I just write "to" which floats much better and unstilts my language. I had a college linguistics professor who pointed out that people who stilt language are insecure, and encouraged us to avoid such usage. I also now avoid the word "therefor" since it also is stilted and often completely unnecessary. "Anyways" is one I hear a lot, but rarely do I see it in print. "These ones" and "those ones" also grates on my nerves like nothing else. Isn't it much easier to say "these" and "those"?

In general, just avoid using words you don't know the meaning of. I cannot stand how people abuse the word "ambiguous" when they mean "vague." Perhaps most ironic is when people use "grammar" when they are talking about language "usage."

Sigh, this is the lonely path tread by writers, editors and college linguistics professors...

The More I Learn the Less I Know

2011-08-19T12:53:00.000-06:00

A wise man once said that as you learn more about the world, you begin to become much more aware of the limits of your knowledge. I had someone once explain this concept by drawing a small circle, demonstrating someone with a small body of knowledge. The circle's circumference represented the limits of the person's knowledge, as well as the person's awareness of information he is lacking knowledge of. This person then drew a much larger circle, representing someone who had gained more knowledge. While the size of the person's body of knowledge had grown, so had the circumference of the circle. In other words, the person with more knowledge had also gained more knowledge of information he did not know or understand. I hope that explanation was not confusing, because it makes so much more sense when drawn out (at least it did to me).

I am always at awe of people who have attained a certain level of knowledge through schooling or even personal pursuits, and who begin to act like they know it all. If anything, I am the opposite. The more I learn about the world, the less I feel like I really know. In a way this can be a discomforting thing, since I am constantly being reminded of my own limits. Still, though, this doesn't keep me from learning more, but instead drives me to learn more.

Some educated people I know laugh at anyone who believes in anything paranormal. These people seem to love to couch all of their beliefs in the understood science of today. While I have a great amount of respect for modern science, I am at the same time aware that science has its limits. Those who do not acknowledge this are fools or are extremely uncomfortable with the concept of uncertainty, and so they create for themselves an interesting cognitive dissonance. My education has actually lead me to become even more convinced that there are some very interesting things that science has no way of explaining. I don't jump at any old story of someone supposedly seeing Bigfoot, but I also do not dismiss things simply because I don't understand it.

Anyone who has experienced a strange episode in their life that defies all present scientific knowledge can appreciate the limits of human knowledge. There's nothing like such an event to make you keenly aware of how little we truly know and understand.

Evil Editors

2011-08-16T09:14:00.003-06:00

For anyone who doesn't know, there is a lot of animosity between some writers and editors. I swear it reminds me of fighting cats and dogs who fight because they are supposed to or something like that. I have to admit that for the most part I don't have any problems with editors. In fact, I usually find their input and advice to be quite useful. Editors help catch my mistakes before I air them out to the whole world, helping my writing look that much better.

Then there are the editors that fall into the category of evil. I would say that less than ten percent of all editors fall into the evil category. Evil editors are the ones who live alone because they are so critical of everyone and everything nobody really wants to be around them. Maybe these evil editors live with a cat or two, since these are the only beings that can stand to be in the same room as them. These editors are smug, conceited and cynical about everything. Their edits aren't really helpful, since they only tell you what's wrong with your writing but never offer advice for improvement.

I took an English usage class in college, and it was the toughest class I ever took (along with economics 110 with a final that took me four hours to complete). A good portion of my class was editors, some of whom worked for our school's alumni magazine. A good portion of these editors fell into the evil category, and they thought they knew everything about the English language. My professor, however, knew more about the English language than them or anyone else I have ever known. I still daily use things I learned from that class. I studied my brains out for the final, which we took in class. I was one of the first people to finish the test. My professor graded it right there while I wrung my hands, and then he proudly declared to not only me but also the entire class that I did not miss a single thing on the test. Let's just say I was not the only one surprised, since these editors didn't think much of me and my non-editing career.

Really, though, a good editor is priceless, but bad ones are a dime a dozen. The funny thing is bad editors think they are so special and indispensable when in fact they are pretty much just a sticking point in the creative process, not a resource, and will be tossed out once someone wises up and finds a suitable replacement.

One thing that always gets me is when editors change the meaning of what I have written, and yet my name goes on the piece. This is perhaps the most annoying thing about know-it-all editors who know nothing about the subject you have written on. I have also had some editors actually insert grammatical errors into my work and will not budge on removing it. Equally as irksome is when an editor removes any creativity from a piece, leaving it sterile and not very fun to read at all. Please, if you are an editor reading this and you are angry or don't get why these things bother me (and many other writers) go be a police officer or some other job that satisfies your craving for cruelty and an exercise of quasi god-like power.

Writers Hand/Wrist/Back/Body: Blah!!

2011-08-12T14:45:00.000-06:00

Writing can be a hazardous profession, despite what some people may think. Sure, we don't run into burning buildings, kick in doors at crack houses or stand behind the counter of the local convenience store, but we can become injured on the job.

Yes, that's right: writers are prone to workplace hazards. Take a look at this website if you don't believe me.

I calculate that on the average week I write about 40,000 words. To those who do not know how many words that adds up to, many novels have about 120,000 words in them. With all of the typing, as well as clicks with the mouse, a writer can easily develop pains in the wrist, hands, fingers, back, etc. Of course, a lot of these problems can be avoided by using proper posture and positioning of the keyboard and mouse. It sounds simple, but when you're concentrating hard on what you are writing, sometimes you forget to sit just so.

And so I and other writers deal with the hazards of the profession. I guess the benefits of the profession outweigh the risk of injury, or at least I think so.

Thinking of Killing a Chupacabra? You May Want to Think Again

2011-08-10T11:17:00.001-06:00

Ever thought of hunting down a chupacabra, or any other type of cryptid (unverified creature) such as Bigfoot? If you have a hankering to shoot such a legend (or what you think is a legend), you may face legal trouble.

Don't believe me? Check out this story that was featured recently about a Texas youth who shot and killed what he presumed was a chupacabra. It seems his actions have angered both animal rights groups, and that law enforcement in Texas may be interested in pursuing charges.

What I have always wondered, and now it seems that I am not the only one, is why some people think that if they do see a strange animal it is their God-given right to shoot and kill it. My suspicion is that these people either don't think, or they are thinking they will gain fame and perhaps fortune from their actions.

Maybe now these people will think before shooting. But then again, I wonder how many of these people follow the news.

Can Horror Be Clean?

2011-08-07T10:50:00.000-06:00

I must admit that I don't really enjoy most horror books or movies. I'm not really sure I would classify what I write as horror, even though some people contend that it is. I view my work as paranormal fiction writing, most of it with a suspense bent to it. I have a problem with the horror genre in general: it is too gory and perverse for my taste, overall. Of course, there are exceptions, but for the most part I think horror stories go too much for shock value instead of just telling a good story. I like scary, but I don't think excessive gore or erotica adds to the scary element at all.

When I wrote my first paranormal thriller, or horror novel, Shadow House, I came under fire from some horror-centric people who said the book was too "tame." I knew what they meant was it was too clean since it features no sex or gratuitous violence. The language in the book even is not over-the-top. The funny thing is, though, that I constantly hear from people who do not normally like "horror" books telling me how great Shadow House is. I also get people complimenting me on not loading a bunch of garbage in the book, choosing to focus on real scares and a character-driven plot.

Some people say you cannot have clean horror, that it just doesn't work. Maybe they're right, and maybe what I write isn't horror at all. I don't really care, since all I really want to do is tell great stories and entertain people.

Why You Shouldn't Sell Your eBook for Less Than $3.99

2011-08-04T09:50:00.000-06:00

With the fairly recent advent of ebooks, quite a few people are still trying to figure out how best to market and sell them. One common question among independent authors is how much should they charge for electronic copies of their work. I am going to boldly declare that as a writer you should never, ever charge less than $3.99 for your work.

Some protest this idea, saying they are unknown and must charge $0.99 for a novel. What do I say to that argument? There are a growing number of independent musicians out there, but most of them don't charge $0.99 for their album--that's what they charge for one song.

There's an old saying that you get what you pay for. If there are readers who only want to pay $0.99 for a book, they must not be looking to read anything worthwhile. If these readers would understand the work and dedication that goes into writing a good book, they would gladly pay more than $3.99 for one.

Think I'm the only one saying this? Check out Dean Wesley Smith's blog post about independent publishing and his discussion on price.

There is a principle in marketing called prestige pricing. In prestige pricing, you charge more for a quality or prestigious item, and people will pay the price. Your product must offer a compelling reason for the higher price, but if you are doing your job as a writer that won't be an issue. Instead of peddling your hard work for a penance, sell it at a decent price and forget the people who want something for nothing.

The Great Salt Lake Phantom

2011-08-01T11:43:00.000-06:00

Utah has a surprising amount of paranormal activity. Much of the classic paranormal events are interwoven with Utah’s unique history, and the legend of the Great Salt Lake Phantom is a prime example. Many have heard of the shrieking phantom who haunts the shorelines and islands of the large saline lake, but very few know the history behind the ghastly appearances.

Life in early Utah was different in many respects. The story of the Great Salt Lake Phantom starts with former Utah Governor John W. Dawson, who had been accused of unbecoming advances on a female citizen of Salt Lake City. A group of three “desperados” decided to enact some justice of their own, catching up with Dawson at the stage station in Mountain Dell. The three outlaws - Lot Huntington, John P. Smith and Moroni Clawson – were tracked down three weeks later by a posse lead by the legendary Porter Rockwell. Rockwell shot Huntington to death and the other two surrendered and were brought back to Salt Lake City and the custody of the local police. Soon after the transfer of the two prisoners, they were both shot to death by Salt Lake City police officers after they attempted escape. Clawson’s body was not claimed, so it was buried in potter’s field at the city cemetery. He was buried on the city’s dime, and one of the Salt Lake police officers purchased burial clothing for Clawson.

Legend says Clawson’s brother George lived out East. When he learned of his late brother’s demise, he went to Utah to collect the body. To the surprise of the authorities and the outrage of George Clawson, when the casket was opened Moroni Clawson was inside, naked as the day he was born and face down. Reportedly George was ready to sue the city and anyone else involved in such a disgraceful act. Salt Lake City Police launched a full investigation, and that was where the story gets truly interesting.

John Baptiste (or in some accounts he is called Jean Baptiste or John the Baptist) had moved to Salt Lake City three years previous. Baptiste was Salt Lake City’s first gravedigger and was known for his strong work ethic. No problems had been unearthed with his work until this point. The police investigation focused intensely on Baptiste. Police went by the Baptiste residence, finding only his wife home. The police also found boxes upon of clothing, all of which belonged to the dead. Henry Heath, one of the police officers, was horrified since he had buried his own daughter not too long before. Heath feared that his daughter’s clothing was “among the motley, sickening heap of flesh-soiled linen… found in the grave-digger's hut."

When police confronted Baptiste, he confessed to the despicable crime of robbing the dead. Some have accused him of robbing the dead of more than just clothing and jewelry, adding further gravity to Baptiste’s crimes. When the news spread around the city, keeping Baptiste safe and in one piece became a hat trick for authorities. The stolen pieces of clothing were displayed for the public to claim, drawing large crowds of horrified grievers.

Unable to convict Baptiste of anything more than a felony, the judge in Baptiste’s trial could not impose the punishment of death so many pressed for. Instead Baptiste was to be banished from the community. He reportedly was branded with the words “branded for robbing the dead” and then left on Fremont Island. The only thing found on the desolate island located in the Great Salt Lake was a shack and some cattle. Officers went to the island several months later, only to find the roof and walls of the shack missing and a cow slaughtered.

Speculation about what happened to Baptiste circulated in the community. Some thought he was successful in making a watercraft and had made it to Montana. Others said he probably drowned in the salty waters, receiving finally his death sentence the law was unable to impose.

Thirty years later, a group of duck hunters found a human skull in the Great Salt Lake near where the Jordan River empties into the lake. Three years later a hunter in the same area came across a headless skeleton, complete with a ball and chain around one ankle. Controversy about whether the remains were from Baptiste or not popped up in the newspapers.

Regardless of the controversy, both Utah residents and tourists have been witness to strange occurrences at the shores and on the islands of the Great Salt Lake. Witnesses have described seeing a man walking along, wailing in pain and agony. The man has been described clutching a wet and rotting bundle of clothing. The south end of the lake, where the unidentified remains had been found, as well as Fremont Island itself have been the sites with the most occurrences reported.

Despite the reported activity, investigations performed by paranormal researchers has generated little to no evidence of paranormal activity. Before anyone decides to conduct their own research on Fremont Island, it is private property. Permission must be obtained from the property owners before venturing onto the island.

Read the Salt Lake Tribune's article on John Baptiste by clicking here

Read a Deseret News article on Fremont Island by clicking here

Why I Hate Twilight

2011-07-30T08:35:00.000-06:00

Maybe I will lose some followers here, but I have learned it is best to say what you really think and be who you are. I am going to officially declare that I hate the Twilight Series. I can't say I hate Stephenie Meyer since I have never met her before, but I really, really don't care for her vampire novel series. Okay, really, really don't care doesn't cover it. I hate it.

I really hate when people find out I am a Mormon and I write paranormal stuff, and then they start trying to compare me to Stephenie Meyer. Seriously, the ONLY thing we have in common is that we both graduated from BYU's English department.

You won't find any paranormal romance stories among my writings. Sorry, but no vampire, mummy and human love triangles going on here. I also don't write about obsessive relationships that resemble 14 year-old infatuation instead of real love that endures the ages. I actually feel sorry for people who think the infatuation type of love lasts long-term.

What exactly is it about Twilight I hate? I don't think the books send good messages to not only young girls, but also to grown women. Edward is not a gentleman, but rather he is controlling and abusive. Oh, I know I just made some women see red, but the whole obsession with Edward is unhealthy. Why do some women gravitate to abusive men so much, stopping at nothing to defend the man's supposed "honor"? I'm calling it like I see it, and if my daughter got involved with a guy like Edward, let's just say the guy would regret it.

I also hate what the whole Twilight thing has done to publishers and some bookstores. Everyone has a vampire novel about humans and vampires hooking up, going to prep school together in NYC or some ridiculous thing like that. With news of Stephenie Meyer's ridiculous up-front from her publisher, so many people are writing manuscripts with dollar signs in their eyes. We don't need more of the garbage, but unfortunately there are a lot of people who write thinking it will make it so they never have to work again.

News flash: writing is work. Trust me, I do it every day.

Back to the topic of Twilight, I have to say that the obsessive nature of Twilight fans is the most annoying part about the whole series. Say anything bad about Twilight and you might as well have called the Bible a pile of rubbish.

I know you want to comment on this post. Please do; I want to know what you are thinking. But please, use your brain and avoid any undying love songs to Edward on my blog.

Old Mill: The Most Haunted Place in Utah?

2011-07-27T09:54:00.001-06:00

Tucked between the 215 beltway and the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon is a structure is hidden from casual view. The aging stone and adobe mill sits near the intersection of Wasatch and Fort Union Boulevards. The Old Mill has an interesting past which makes it – some argue – the most haunted site in all of Utah.
Old Mill was first built in 1883 by the Deseret News. Paper was in short supply in the valley so the mill was established to make paper out of logs from the nearby canyon, old paper, and even rags that were collected from residents. The completion of the transcontinental railroad made paper cheap as it increased the paper supply in Utah. No longer needing the mill, Deseret News sold it to Granite Paper Mills Company in 1892. One year later, on April 1, a fire broke out. The employees thought the alarms were part of a bad April Fool’s joke, allowing the fire to spread quickly. The structure was badly burned, especially in the southeast end where only the lower level stone walls were left.

The mill was renovated and used as a dance hall in 1927. The club was popular until the 1940’s, when it failed for a number of reasons. Since it has been used for various purposes, most notably as a haunted house. Tales have circulated about former caretakers of the mill who have died violently, piquing peoples’ interest in the site.

Many who have visited Old Mill have reported strange events. Cold spots, growling, and a general creepy feeling are commonly reported. One woman, Kelly*, had some strange experiences while working for a film crew that was shooting at the location over the period of several days. Kelly and others in the crew thought the building seemed “heavy” and “filled us with dread.” Equipment failures, which happened from time to time, occurred “much more than on any other shoot I had ever been on, before or since,” said Kelly. One night, after the whole crew had exited the building and all the equipment had been packed up, lights came on inside the mill. Baffled, the crew made extra sure upon returning to the warehouse that all the lighting equipment was accounted for. More baffling was the fact the building had no lights nor electricity running to it for lights to turn on. Kelly said everyone seemed glad once they finished filming at the location.

Old Mill was condemned by the City of Cottonwood Heights in 2005. The current owners have stated they have no plans to renovate the building. Old Mill is private property and there is no trespassing allowed.
Have you had any experiences with Old Mill or know anyone who has? Post your comments below.

* name changed to protect identity.

Movie Review: Insidious

2011-07-25T08:17:00.001-06:00

It's been a while since I have seen a paranormal movie that really took me by surprise. Normally when I see one, I set my expectations low--especially after the huge disappointment of Paranormal Activity. It was with these low expectations that I viewed Insidious recently. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised with how good that movie was.

Insidious tells the story of a family that has recently moved into an old house (sound familiar?) where strange things start to happen. The mother hears strange voices on the baby monitor, the baby won't sleep, things go missing, etc. Even more disturbing, though, is that the oldest of the two sons falls into a coma the doctors cannot explain. One day while changing her comatose son's sheets, the mother finds a red hand print on the sheets, complete with claws.

Things start to go crazy from there as the paranormal activity in the house skyrockets. The family makes the difficult decision to leave the house in hopes of starting afresh. At first the new house seems fine, but then the strange activity picks up again, leading the family to reach out for help. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but the family learns that their old house was not haunted, but rather that their son is the one who is haunted. Even worse is that the son's spirit has wandered far from his body to a place called the Further, and he can't get back to his body. The body-less spirits are circling the abandoned body like sharks, eager to enter and taste life again.

What makes Insidious such a great movie? The acting is wonderful, for starters. The movie does not try to go from 0 to 60 in no time flat, like so many horror movies, choosing instead to build the tension slowly while filling you with a sense of dread about what ultimately will happen. The plot does not follow the standard Hollywood formulas, choosing instead to strike out on its own and blaze a new trail. Being original carries a certain amount of risk, but Insidious wears this uncertainty quite well. I hate watching a movie, knowing exactly what will happen next. This happens to me a lot, but Insidious went in a direction I did not see.

I will say that Insidious is not a movie for those who are easily frightened. I do not get scared easily, and Insidious did not frighten me, but the movie did have its parts I would classify as "creepy" that would have had others diving behind the couch.

Buy or rent Insidious from Amazon by clicking here.

Hauntings at This is the Place Park

2011-07-23T09:00:00.000-06:00

From its position at the mouth of Emigration Canyon sits a piece of Utah history. This is the Place Heritage Park marks the spot where Brigham Young and company first entered the Salt Lake Valley. At first a wooden marker was erected in 1917, but was later replaced with a stone monument. It was not until 1971 that a plan was put in place to create a living history museum at the site. In 1975 the first building was moved into the park – more on that later. The park now is a recreated pioneer village, complete with historic buildings, unpaved roads, and guides dressed in the garb of the pioneers.

Many have visited the park over the years. Some visitors may not be aware the living are not the only ones who walk the historic streets and buildings. The park is a hotbed for paranormal activity. Numerous employees and volunteers have experienced strange and unexplained phenomena while working in the park’s buildings.

What makes the park attractive to spirits of the dead? One possible explanation has to do with the pioneer graveyard. Llocated in a remote corner of the park, many visitors have mistakenly thought it was a reproduction of graveyards from times long since passed. Instead real pioneer remains are interred below the small collection of stone markers.

In 1986, during construction work in the area that was once known as Salt Lake City Block 49 (200 West to 300 West, 300 South to 400 South) workers stumbled across unmarked pioneer graves. Starting in 1847, the area had been used as a makeshift cemetery but these graves were long forgotten. The graves were uncovered most unceremoniously. Some of the remains were identified, but those that were not ended up in This is the Place Heritage Park. A very nice cemetery was constructed, including a fence, trees, and statues. Most of the unidentified bodies were children. The grave markers remain blank to this day, a reminder of the mystery surrounding who is buried below. The small markers are for the pioneer children, while the few larger markers are for the adults.

Some wonder if the relocation of these forgotten dead is not at least partly responsible for the activities in the park. Is the sound of children playing in some of the homes these unremembered children staying so near their new place of rest? Do these spirits wander the park, causing mischief and startling workers?

It seems fitting that the first building relocated to This is the Place Heritage Park was Brigham Young’s Forest Farm House. It is one of the most popular structures in the park, both with the living and the dead.
Paranormal activity was reported before the house was relocated in 1974. Park employee Brian Westover has taken an interest in the paranormal phenomena surrounding various buildings, putting together a log of different events. He reveals how previous owners of the home claimed Young and others visited the house, telling them even how to decorate it in 19th century décor.

Since the home was relocated to its quiet abode in the park, employees have reported numerous incidents while working inside. Numerous reports of doorknobs rattling on their own, footsteps sounding on the wood floors, and the noise of children playing upstairs have been recorded. Are these the sounds of Young’s children or the children in the nearby graveyard?

The paranormal events do not stop at sounds alone. Many have smelled foods of all types cooking in the kitchen. The kitchen along with the upstairs have been hotbeds of activity.

Most chilling is the experience of long-time park employee Stephen Shepherd. He claims he was a skeptic of the paranormal until his experience while working in the Farm House. In 1975, when the Farm House was new to the park, Shepherd was busy in the basement. He distinctly heard footsteps walking around the first floor of the house, even though supposedly he was the only one around. He checked the building to find no one around. Shepherd returned to his work, only to be disturbed once more by the footsteps. He went upstairs to find no signs of anyone, then checked outside. Fresh snow was falling, but Shepherd said no footprints could be seen anywhere outside the house. Shepherd locked the doors again and set the building’s alarm system, then returned to his work in the basement. The footsteps returned once more, yet the alarm system’s motion sensors detected nothing.

Does Brigham Young or his wife Ann Eliza keep watch over the home? Do their children still play in the second story? Many claim to have had experiences that lead them to believe they do.

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Psychic Remote Viewing

2011-07-21T10:00:00.000-06:00

Remote viewing is a controversial branch of parapsychology (the study of psychic phenomena). The psychic who performs remote viewing has the ability to experience a target location or object, giving feedback about various characteristics of the target. Some psychics reportedly can even can taste or smell during the remote view experience. Other psychics in the past have combined remote viewing with associative writing.

Experiments have gone as far as giving a psychic latitude and longitude coordinates and letting the psychic describe what is at the location. The target for a remote viewer may be an object contained in a box or envelope, or it could be a far-away location (including celestial bodies). Remote viewing has been criticized by some in the scientific community, but has been supported by others who have studied the phenomena (including former skeptics).

Many in the field of parapsychology believe there are individuals who can perform remote view who are not aware of their ability. Others in the field believe remote viewing can help a psychic view not only happenings and installations that are geographically distant, but also view events and places that are distant in time.

The government became involved in remote viewing during the Cold War. Concern about the possible ability of Soviet spies to observe secret US installations and practices fueled the CIA and other groups to research the possibility of such a threat. As in the scientific community there was a mixture of opinions on the validity of remote viewing. In 1995, under the Clinton Administration’s efforts at transparency in government, several documents from remote viewing experiments were declassified for public view.

Public speculation on the government’s involvement with parapsychology has been building since the 1960s. It is now known remote viewing has been employed in hostage situations, military operations, and intelligence gathering among other applications. With the declassification of government documents, the release of programs named Star Gate, Sun Streak, and Center Lane associated with remote viewing have helped sustain recent fascination with the subject. Several portrayals of remote viewing have appeared in popular culture, including the season seven opener of the TV show the X Files and Stephen King’s book Hearts in Atlantis.

For more info: see the International Remote Viewing Association's website - a non-profit remote viewing organization.

Click here for some interesting information on H.E. Puthoff's involvment with the government sponsored remote viewing experiments at Stanford Research Institute.

Borders Bookstores Going Out of Business

2011-07-19T08:41:00.003-06:00

In case you have not heard the biggest news in the book industry, Borders Group Inc. has announced that it plans to shutter up the rest of its stores and liquidate its entire stock. You read that right: Borders will soon be no more. Local bookstores, you may now officially click your heels. David is beating Goliath.

Instead of being a slow death for Borders Bookstores at this point, the company is saying it expects to close all retail outlets by September. What will happen with all the hulking shells scattered across the nation nobody knows. Borders' President Mike Edwards was quoted by the Wall Street Journal as blaming the "turbulent" economy along with electronic books and the "rapidly changing book industry" for the demise of his company. In other words, the world is becoming flatter as small, local bookstores and independent authors have found a chink in the giant's armor. I don't think anybody during Border's ruthless expansion in the 1990s, where so many local bookstores succumbed to the rapid population of huge bookstores, would have ever predicted that 2011 would see the end of Borders.

Where does this leave fellow giant book retailer Barnes and Noble? If you have been to a Barnes and Noble lately, they have been featuring their eBook reader, the Nook, prominently in stores. An army of salespeople have been engaging customers in a bid to win them to Barnes and Noble's reader, as the Kindle and iPad continue to dominate the electronic reader market.

So what exactly will the death of Borders do to the book industry? Will this lead to less people reading, as an analyst the Wall Street Journal interviewed claims? I doubt this means less people will be reading. The same analyst also claimed that with Borders gone, it will be more difficult for new authors to be discovered by readers. I disagree. The ability for new authors to promote their work online provides a much wider audience than the (obviously) dwindling crowd frequenting Borders stores.

The way I view things is that this will open up opportunities for those who see them in the chaos, instead of those who cry the sky is falling. The book industry is changing rapidly, and some of the old system and ideas are washing away as a more grass roots book movement is finally returning to the industry.

Tell me what you think about the death of Borders and the future of the book industry: I really want to hear what you have to say.

Do You Have a Poltergeist?

2011-07-16T09:07:00.000-06:00

Movies and other forms of popular culture have portrayed the event known as poltergeists. These portrayals are not always true to reality, as is often the case in the entertainment industry. It is important, then, to establish what a poltergeist is.

The word poltergeist comes from German, and loosely translated means “noisy ghost.” Classic activity attributed to poltergeists include inexplicable moving or falling objects, knocking on walls or doors, malfunctioning electronic devices, and objects being stacked by an unknown force. It is common for paranormal activity in a building to be attributed to ghost activity when a poltergeist is the cause. This calls up the question of whether paranormal phenomena taking place in someone’s home is caused by a haunting by a spirit or a poltergeist.

William G. Roll ( a prominent parapsychologist) provides a means for distinguishing the two. Roll claims that noises, knockings, and object movement all occur much less often in ghostly haunting than in poltergeist scenarios. Hauntings also occur over a longer period of time than poltergeist activities and do not center on a single person but rather an area. In poltergeist activities, the paranormal phenomena occur when a certain person is present. In other words, if this person were to say go on vacation for a week all paranormal activity in the residence would cease, but then start up once this person returned.

Some parapsychologists call the people at the center of poltergeist activity “agents.” This stems from the belief that poltergeist activities do not involve spirits of the dead, but rather psychokinetic energies put off by the agent. In other words the strange activity is being produced by the agent, often without their knowledge it is them causing the activity. Agents often are adolescents, but sometimes adults have been poltergeist agents. Many have theorized puberty or severe psychological distress can be triggers for poltergeist manifestations through an agent.

Many wonder if poltergeist activities can be similar to spirit activities, just how easily can they be differentiated. The truth is poltergeist phenomena sometimes can mirror ghostly activity so well even seasoned paranormal investigators may mistake one for the other. Sometimes poltergeist activity can go on for quite some time. It may involve aspects many attribute to demon activity such as physical violence towards the living (i.e. hitting or scratching). One historical case some have theorized may have been poltergeist activity is the Bell Witch. Others still feel the case was the product of black magic or demon activity.

On a side note, there are some who feel other triggers are responsible for poltergeist activities. One college professor in New York state feels geomagnetic increases are responsible for poltergeist activities. As with many paranormal phenomena there is a wide range of theories trying to explain what seems inexplicable.

If you suspect poltergeist activity is going on in your home, there are some steps to take for a resolution. The agent should receive counseling to help resolve the stresses in their life. Roll describes tests parapsychologists may use to determine who the agent is that needs to be treated. The best rule of thumb is to involve professionals if poltergeist activity is suspected, whether it is a therapist or a parapsychologist.

Why I Don't Write for Examiner.com Any Longer

2011-07-14T06:32:00.000-06:00

For those who have been my readers for a while, you may have noticed that I no longer am writing for Examiner.com. I have not written an article for them in a while, choosing to focus my time and energy on other writing endeavors. For those who have noticed this and have been wondering why, I am not ready to let it all out.

When I first started writing for Examiner it was a fun experience. I was able to cover paranormal events and places, as well as references in popular culture. I gained quite a bit of exposure off of writing for the website, but then web traffic to Examiner plummeted almost overnight. I still kept writing because I was having fun and enjoyed keeping up my paranormal column.

Things changed--or maybe my perception of things changed--and I started noticing more of what I will just call "whack-job paranormal junkies." We have all met these people, although you may know them by a different name. These are the people who sincerely believed some rednecks shot a Bigfoot and froze the corpse in their freezer. These are the people who swear the other night (when they were drunk) they were abducted by aliens along with Britney Spears. In short, these people will profess to believe any ridiculous paranormal "thing" put in front of them. Some may say they are crazy, and some is right.

Examiner and its whole paranormal coverage (along with some other sections) began to be taken over by these people. Case in point: recently the national "Unexplained Phenomena Examiner" Tracey Parece wrote about and posted a link to a video supposedly taken by a family of paranormal activity in their children's bedroom. Take a look for yourself:

I have seen better amateur special effects than this half-rate video, and yet Parece swallows it whole. The fact that this is the kind of "paranormal" coverage on Examiner.com was enough to take me to greener pastures. So, if any of you have been wondering what happened to the Salt Lake City Paranormal Examiner, here I am. I have been missing doing regular paranormal articles, so I will just be posting them here on the blog. You won't see me posting any wanna-be B horror movie directors' first attempts at creating a scary video and calling it anything other than ridiculous.

Skinwalkers and Spirit Walkers

2011-07-11T17:46:00.001-06:00

Lately I have been doing some interesting research on the paranormal group Skinwalkers,which have been documented to an extent mostly amongst Navajos. I've written before about how white people have mistakenly said Skinwalkers are just Navajo werewolves, since there are major differences between the two groups.

Even deeper study on the subject has now shed more light on the subject for me, clarifying what a Navajo I once met meant when he told me that "us Skinwalkers prefer the term 'spirit walker.'" At the time I thought he was just trying to be contrary and to show that I didn't know much as a white person. The more I have dug, the more I have seen why some Skinwalkers would want to be referred to as spirit walkers.

Some Skinwalkers will perform their work in spirit form, instead of just in a physical form more or less resembling the animal whose skin they wear. This spirit form will allow a walker to perform task he would normally not have the ability to perform, even wearing an animal skin. The walker will make spiritual objects mean to harm others, which vary in form and function.

A person may not detect the presence of a spiritual walker as easily, and will also need to deal with the walker on the spiritual plane. This means physical blocks such as locks, security systems and even weapons will be ineffective against a walker in spiritual form. The walker has left his body behind and so has gained capabilities he would not have in his body.

This viewpoint of the Skinwalker as a spirit walker will challenge some people's way of thinking since the concept is so much more abstract than a guy who dresses in a wolf skin and becomes a "werewolf." Stepping out of one's ethnocentric circle comes with vast rewards as you are able to see the world from a different viewpoint, and begin to develop the ability to see the same thing from various viewpoints. I would argue that for anyone who wants to study the paranormal on a serious level, such an ability is absolutely essential.

Making Time for Writing

2011-06-30T18:16:00.000-06:00

One of the biggest challenges new writers seem to face is how hard it seems to them to find time to write. We all lead busy lives (well, maybe some people don't, but I don't know any of those people) and we must prioritize our activities. There is so much to do in this modern world that you will never fit it all into your life, so you have to decide what is most important and fit those things in first. If you want to be a professional writer, part of what you must fit in is time to write (and I'm not talking about a paragraph in your journal each night).

The big question is not if you want to be a writer, but how badly do you want to be one? If writing is a high priority, you will find a way to clear your schedule enough to write. At first, sure, it can be a challenge. I do not watch TV as much as most people, mostly because I would rather be writing (or reading). This does not mean I don't watch TV at all, but just that I don't park myself in front of it each night like countless people do. Everyone has some wasted time in their day, and if you start to really notice what you do day-to-day you will find a half an hour or an hour of wasted time you could use to write. The more time you can reasonably dedicate the better, but don't lock yourself in a log cabin up in the mountains just so you can write all the time. Trust me, you will become weird and your writing will be more rantings than anything.

Seriously, though, you may decide to cut out your Angry Birds playtime or not do as many puzzles. The point is that you have the time to write if writing is a priority. Maybe you sleep an hour less each night. If you really desire to write, sometimes sleep becomes secondary (and I'm not joking about that).

Beta Readers

2011-06-24T11:55:00.000-06:00

Writers have at their disposal a wide array of tools to help them craft their work, honing it to a polished product. Rather than leaving some resources untapped, a writer who is striving for the best outcome will employ all of these tools simultaneously. Admittedly, this task of balancing the use of a wide array of tools at once sounds easier than it is in practice.

One essential tool for writers is that of the beta reader, as I call them. Beta readers are people you know and trust, who will read your work before you finally put it out in front of thousands or strangers to have it critiqued and dissected. In my experience with writing, finding good beta readers is not an entirely easy task. You may get lucky and find good ones the first time you try. Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight series, was burned by a beta reader of hers who published her manuscript online, prompting Meyer to halt the project indefinitely from what I understand. I have no idea who the beta reader of her's was, but that one person caused a lot of trouble.

A writer must consider many factors when choosing beta readers. First, and perhaps most importantly, the writer must choose beta readers who most closely fit the audience for the book. If you are writing a book for teenage boys, picking a bunch of beta readers who are empty nest women will not give you reliable feedback. This does not mean every last beta reader should fit the exact target audience, but at least the majority should. Other factors should guide a writer's decision about beta readers. Beta readers must be reliable and actually read the manuscript in a timely fashion. Writers work under deadlines, even if they are self-imposed, and so a beta reader who drags his or her feet can throw a monkey wrench in the writing process. Beta readers also must be honest with the writer. If a beta reader hands back a 360 page manuscript and says it was completely flawless and wonderful, the beta reader either did not read it or is afraid to give real criticism. You do not want beta readers who are extra nice for fear or offending you. On the other hand, you do not want beta readers who are just negative people and love to find fault in everything.

Sabotage is a very real concern when you use beta readers. Not only can they leak your story prematurely, but they can engage in other activities to trip up your writing process. Sometimes family and friends get jealous that you have had any measure of success in publishing and selling your writing, and so they give bad advice in an attempt to cause you to fail. If you get the slightest hint this is the case with a beta reader, beware any advice from this person.

You need to have at least a couple of beta readers who are grammar snobs. Even with a professional editor or two going over the manuscript, other people will help catch errors before your book is printed.

Remember that a beta reader may make suggestions, but ultimately you make the final decision about what changes in your book. Don't just roll over because someone else thinks you need to cut or add certain things to your book. J.K. Rowling had to fight to keep the scene where Hermione, Ron and Harry fight the troll in the first Harry Potter, since her publisher thought it did nothing for the story and should be cut out. Rowling stood her ground and insisted the scene showed the three kids working together for the first time, and she won. The scene worked well in the book; the publisher was wrong.

Reprioritizing

2011-06-15T17:47:00.001-06:00

Life has a funny way of rearranging things just when you think you have it all figured out. Writers experience this like everyone else. With the delay of The Devil's Nightmare, I have reassesed what I am working on. Ideas I had tabled are now a higher priority. I am still going to finish The Devil's Nightmare, just it will be out later than this October.

The good news is that the other projects I am pushing forward are different and will allow me to show more of my creative breadth. I have been working on some ideas for more Shades of Night stories, as well as at least a couple of what you could probably classify as young adult books, although they will be something an adult can read and appreciate. I am also continuing work on an epic fantasy book I actually started years ago, that continues to take shape until I know it is ready to be unveiled. This epic fantasy, of course, has a paranormal twist to it that I think will make it unique enough.

I wish I could give more details, but it is too soon to give anything away. To be quite honest, I am still figuring out exactly in what order I am going to be releasing the next several projects I am working on, so stay tuned to this blog for developing information, since there will be developments in the next few months.

Taking It Slow

2011-04-25T09:59:00.000-06:00

When I was younger and played sports such as basketball and soccer, I had several coaches who taught me the principle of knowing when to rush down the court or field and when to take my time. I learned that in some situations if you, for example, strip the ball from another player while playing basketball, you may make a fast break to the other end of the court only to find out you are facing three players from the other team alone. Slowing down allows you to not make stupid mistakes and have more assistance.

Why am I bringing this up? I am working on slowing things down a bit, including this blog and the other projects I have been working on. There are many reasons for the slow-down, mostly personal. I will still be around, but you may just not see as much from me on a regular basis. This does mean The Devil's Nightmare is postponed indefinitely, unfortunately. If you have any questions, leave a message below.

Writing is a Volume-Based Profession

2011-04-18T08:00:00.000-06:00

In order to make it anywhere in the writing business, you will need to produce a certain quantity of work. I know, everyone hears about the person who was offered eight million dollars and a luxury mansion on the coast for the first novel they ever wrote about a romantic sparkling zombie who seduced girls at a local community college. In reality, your chances of having something like that happen are probably less than being struck by lightning while walking down Rodeo Drive.

In reality land, writers must work hard. If a writer does not have to produce a lot of writing in order to make a living, that writer has probably done so in the past and is now reaping the benefits of his previous hard work. Many writers who have published several books, have publishing contracts and the like still write columns and do other types of writing to make ends meet.

Don't believe me? Well, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a high amount of competition for writing jobs. Many people think they want to be a writer, and so they take up some side work writing. I personally believe many want to be a writer because they believe the profession is a cake walk, but then they quickly realize what being a full-time writer is all about. Many days I go to bed with my fingers and wrists hurting and my brain swimming. I estimate that in a normal week I produce somewhere in the neighborhood of 80,000 words of writing. That's about the length of some shorter novels. That's a lot of writing. If you don't absolutely love to write, and to write about a lot of different things, then writing is probably not the profession for you.

To peel back some of the glamor, since I am young and still establishing myself I cannot write just novels or even about the paranormal. I spend the greater portion of my day writing about computers, automobiles, do-it-yourself home projects and even business topics. Having a university education as part of my training has really benefited me as I fall back on my general education courses for insight, as well as the business courses I took for my minor. I especially rely on the ability I learned in school to become an expert on pretty much any subject in a short period of time. The demand for certain subjects ebbs and flows, and I have to move with it.

I love what I do, but it is no cake walk. I deal with editors who scrutinize my work heavily (most of whom are actually really great and helpful) and readers who love to do the same.

Is Summer the Time for Paranormal Romance?

2011-04-15T13:35:00.000-06:00

I have a theory that the paranormal appeals to people at all times of the year, but as the weather and seasons change people want a different brand of paranormal fiction. I don't think it is coincidence that the ghost investigator shows, haunted stories shows and the like start new seasons in the fall or winter. When the nights are long and the weather is stormy, people want to hear about spooky paranormal events.

What happens when the weather warms up and the sun stays out extra late? Well, there are some people who are up for a spooky or scary paranormal story any time of the year, but summer is a time for movies with loads of special effects and books that are lighter (or at least this is my theory). I rarely see anyone by the edge of a pool reading something that looks heavy or dark. Usually the cover of the book features a couple dangerously close together and a smoking gun behind one person's back (or a dagger or something incredibly intriguing like that). Okay, so some summer books are more about self-discovery, like coming-of-age novels, or feel-good books.

So where does paranormal fiction fit into the summer reading group? Not that I am a fan, but I think that is when more people turn to paranormal fiction, that genre that has been proudly propped up by Stephenie Meyer, among others. Instead of monsters that will tear people apart, these books talk of monsters that want to seduce you. The books are lighter, more summery and certainly won't scare anyone.

Because of this trend, I am contemplating maybe never releasing a book of mine in the summer months. I don't know that my writing would fit in with the sparkling zombies who take girls to the prom. I guess I will save up what I write for the darker months of the fall and winter, when people have had their summer fling and are ready to get serious again.

Which Conspiracy Is It?

2011-04-13T13:03:00.000-06:00

I think everyone--unless they grew up in a cave with a wild pack of wolves that did not happen to have a radio or TV--has heard at least something about the controversial Roswell UFO crash landing after World War II. Some believe the government recovered not only an alien craft, but multiple extraterrestrials that were inside. Others claim that at least one of the alien beings survived the crash. Still others say the whole thing was a weather balloon, or an experimental air force craft the government was trying to conceal (although the exposure of the U-2 and the stealth planes seems to blow a wide hole in this theory).

And so we have the huge debate that has gone on for a long time, maybe since the ancient days of Mesopotamian culture, where one group argues we are utterly alone in this vacuous universe while others paint a picture of a universe swimming with life we have not yet discovered. Sounds like the standard Scully-vs-Mulder setup. Well, for those of you not aware, enter party number three into the controversy.

Party number three may not get as much time on the national stage, but the recent "discovery" of the FBI's infamous Hottel Memo has shed light on this third group. Party number three argues that the government has purposely leaked enough information to make its citizens believe that they did in fact recover an alien craft and its occupants in the New Mexican desert, that a large alien craft did travel slowly over Phoenix, Arizona in the 90s and numerous other supposedly extraterrestrial sightings did in fact take place. Of course, the immediate question posed to party number three is why would a government do such a thing? Well, the theories about why run the gamut, but all essentially have to do with what every conspiracy is designed for: to grab more power. Perhaps, some have suggested, if the public is convinced there is an extraterrestrial threat we would clamor for protection at any cost.

So which conspiracy theory is the right one? I suppose one day we will find out, but hopefully not in a jarring way...

The Devil's Nightmare Progress

2011-04-11T09:01:00.002-06:00

I am busy at work on my second book, called The Devil's Nightmare, which will be launching this October. It is true what I heard from others, that once you have written one book it is much easier to write others. I am pleasantly pleased by how satisfying it is, still, to see what started as a small idea in my head has grown to something so much bigger. I guess I could say that writing books is addictive.

I am especially excited for this next book because the story is so different. While I love Shadow House, and I have heard from many readers who feel the same way, I am also aware that there are a plethora of haunted house books. I feel that Shadow House takes the motif in a different direction, but The Devil's Nightmare strikes out more on its own. The plot does not necessarily follow a well-beaten pathway. It's about an abduction and a mother trying to get her son back, as well as government conspiracies and secretive experiments on human beings. The Devil's Nightmare, though, introduces a more tangible villain, the Purple Man, even though his identity is enshrouded in much mystery. I am also loving writing a more action-oriented book, one that if it were ever made into a movie would be full of special effects (including a few explosions, but not the 80s action hero explosions).

If you want more information, I will be revealing more about the book as the summer draws to an end and we approach October. Until then, I will be busy fine-tuning the book for its release.

Book Trailers

2011-04-06T23:06:00.001-06:00

One of the hot trends in book marketing is book trailers. For those of you who have not sen one, a book trailer is similar to a movie trailer. Often live actors portray characters and perhaps scenes from the upcoming book in an effort to generate interest. Some book trailers are teasers, lasting maybe a minute or two, while others stretch on well past the five minute mark.

I have seen book trailers that were--to be perfectly honest--cheesy. I have also seen trailers that are very well-done.

I recently thought of doing a trailer for my book, which comes out in about six months. Honestly, I don't think I have enough time to do one. I could be wrong, but I do not want to slap something together that does not do the book justice.

I would love to hear from any of you who have done book trailers, or any independent filmmakers for advice. Maybe I will do a trailer for the next book.

A Sucker Born Every Minute

2011-04-04T13:19:00.000-06:00

The great P.T. Barnum had a famous saying about suckers being born every minute, and unfortunately the public response to Barnum's claims of fantastical creatures on display constantly proved him right. You may think that our society now has advanced quite a bit in the last hundred years, but sadly there still is a sucker born every moment. Working with the paranormal on a daily basis is a constant reminder of how easily some people are taken by silly tricks and crummy videos.

One classic example of a "poltergeist" video is just below. I have seen countless videos that look almost like this, all of which use strings, cords, or other off-camera devices to move objects so it looks like poltergeist activities. These people should not quit their day jobs to pursue a career in Hollywood special effects.

Also, recently a video of a supposed Bigfoot has been making the rounds both online and on TV media. Where was this Bigfoot spotted? North Carolina, near Asheville, which is not a Bigfoot hotspot area. Watch the grainy video and you be the judge: is this a Bigfoot or a guy in an ape suit?

This poorly-done trick video is several steps below the frozen Bigfoot stunt pulled several years ago. Some people, I think, have such a deep need to believe in paranormal subjects that they will believe anything anyone writes, says or videotapes concerning a paranormal phenomena. I am still not sure why some people want to surrender their thought process to others, other than the fact thinking requires too much energy and may encroach on their Dancing With the Stars time.

Already Gearing Up for October

2011-04-01T15:45:00.001-06:00

Spring is upon us and thoughts of Easter are filling people's heads, and yet here I am planning ahead for a most eventful October. That's right, October is six months away and here I am already plotting away for the Halloween season. It's going to be a fun and busy October in 2011.

Last year I was going to do more activities involving readers, but I simply started planning too late. As the month started to roar past me I realized I would never be able to execute my plans (at least to a level I would be proud of) and that was that.

People are hungry for scary or spooky stories and activities during the Halloween season, and not everyone is looking for something that is dripping in blood. I saw sales of Shadow House spike last October and climb aggressively ever since.

This October I will be better prepared to offer people with paranormal stories as well as other activities to help them celebrate the holiday of ghouls and monsters. My next novel, The Devil's Nightmare, will debut in October of 2011 and I will be doing a fair amount of celebrating to welcome the book to the world. Not only that, but October will see the release of at least one more Shades of Night story, among other surprises.

I will be doing some contests for those who are keeping up with the blog here, including a chance for some people to receive free copies of The Devil's Nightmare before it releases. I am also working on some art projects that will integrate with the October festivities, so you will get to see more of that side of my creativity.

Sometime before October, perhaps as early as August, I will start to give out more details as well as a time line for the October festivities. For now you can only wait and wonder as I work on the celebrations six months in the future and hope you enjoy what I have planned.

Does the Paranormal and Journalism Mix?

2011-03-30T09:11:00.000-06:00

A while ago I ran across an interesting piece in the Kansas City Star, by Derek Donovan,about journalists covering the paranormal. More specifically, Donovan addresses readers' concern about the paper reporting on a medium offering help in solving an old murder case as well as a previous interview with a medium who used to work in law enforcement.

Some readers have suggested that when a journalist covers anything that is supposedly paranormal, the journalist's job is to debunk the paranormal event. I don't know that I am very comfortable with that idea, especially since I strongly doubt how qualified journalists are to debunk (or validate) many paranormal phenomena. Of course I could go on and on about the debate of who is qualified to examine such events--a controversial subject in-of-itself.

How should journalists cover paranormal topics? Should they even cover paranormal topics? According to Donovan's article, one reader expressed discomfort that the newspaper even has a horoscope. Whether you believe in them or not, want to think about them or not, paranormal events have and continue to strongly shape many people and societies. I have argued before that a belief in a miracle-performing Jesus classifies as paranormal, since such miracles defy conventional scientific reasoning.

Since paranormal events defy what we know about science (the real ones, not the phony hoaxes), how would a journalist who is even well-versed in scientific theory and methodology be able to use science to validate or properly debunk the event? How could anyone use science to measure many paranormal events? I sometimes wonder if our efforts to quantify and examine paranormal events using scientific means is like trying to measure the speed of a race car using a teaspoon.

Journalists have a responsibility to cover the news, including "fluff" stories some people may not be interested in. Rather than completely staying away from paranormal topics, journalists should report on the phenomena in the most well-rounded way possible, leaving the reader to draw his own conclusions. Personally, I always find such reporting to be the best, but that may be because I like to use my own ideas and not be told what to think.

You can read the article in the Kansas City Star by clicking here.

Why You Should Shop at a Local Independent Bookstore

2011-03-28T17:34:00.001-06:00

In an instant, the whole world can change. It wasn't that long ago that the big box bookstores Barnes & Noble and Borders were beating their chests as independent bookstores slunk away in horror. Many an independent shop closed as the two titans battled for market share across the country, offering customers not only a huge inventory of books, but also a well-stocked cafe.

Now, in 2011, Borders is hanging on by a thread as it closes many of its stores while Barnes & Noble is increasing the amount of toys and novelty items in its stores in a fight to not follow the pathway being blazed by Borders. Only time will tell if Borders and Barnes & Noble will be able to maintain their nationwide foothold, or if the two will disappear from a number of states.

Why has the decline of Borders and Barnes & Noble taken place? Opinions vary, but everyone agrees it has not been from a lack of interest in books. Book sales figures are at all-time highs. Some theorize that the two big bookstores did not get involved in digital books early and aggressively enough, a market that is growing wildly but is also dominated by Amazon.com and its Kindle reading device. Others have pointed to the lack of actual variety in the cavernous stores, or to the lack of personal attention offered to customers. Still others have declared the refusal of the booksellers to carry independent books as a bad move.

Whatever the reason, the irony now is many independent bookstores are doing rather well. People have begun to realize that going to their local-owned-and-operated store has its advantages. For those of you not convinced going to your local independent bookstore is a good idea, consider these points:

- Have you ever wanted to go where everyone knows your name? Sounds a little like the old sitcom Cheers (I'm dating myself a little, I know) but by going regularly to a small shop you could very well establish a relationship with the workers or even owner to the point you are on a first name basis.

- Need a good book recommendation? You can ask family and friends, but it is also nice to ask someone who works with books all day. The big box stores may have the "employees picks" section, but those are just some books displayed on an end-cap. By being able to really talk to your local independent bookseller, you can get truly personal recommendations based on the specific subject you are looking for or even your taste. It's all about better service.

- By shopping locally you keep your dollars more local, helping to pump up the local economy. Even if your local bookstore does not have a specific title in stock, they probably can order it. Instead of ordering that paperback from Amazon, try the bookstore first.

- Many independent bookstores will feature independent titles. Despite what big publishers and the two big bookstores will try to tell you, many quality books on the market are independent. Independent many times means the books will not be so formulaic, or will present viewpoints or opinions you won't be able to find in the books put out by big publishers. Also, many of the independent books are written by local authors, meaning you are keeping your dollars local.

- Most independent bookstores have a good idea what appeals to the specific culture of the area. They also hold community events including live concerts, book clubs, writing workshops and more. Instead of clicking with your mouse to order your books, you can go to an independent bookstore and be connected to the community.

Hopefully next time you are looking to buy a book, you will at least consider going to your local independent bookstore. You just may find out the experience is worth the extra time and will keep going back. If you try one out and don't find it is your thing, look for other stores in your area. Independent bookstores can be drastically different from one another, making shopping at them a unique experience.

Similarities Between Rowling's Harry Potter Series and Tolkien's Middle Earth: Part 5

2011-03-23T15:25:00.000-06:00

Perhaps one of the biggest pieces of Tolkien's influence seen in J.K. Rowling's work comes in the form of a piece of jewelry. Everyone who is even casually familiar with the Middle Earth series knows about The One Ring and its powers. The Ring gives the wearer unimaginable power because Sauron put a little of himself into The Ring when he made it. In order to defeat Sauron, The One Ring must be destroyed in a very specific way, weakening Sauron and sending his forces into a confused disarray.

Similarly, Harry Potter and his companions find a horcrux that is in the form of a locket. The locket must be destroyed in a specific way in order to weaken Voldemort so he can then be mortal once more. Professor Slughorn explains in The Half-Blood Prince that a horcrux is an object a wizard uses to conceal a part of his soul.

Both the locket and The One Ring weaken the one who bears it, even to the point of filling that person's heart with despair. Professor Dumbledore destroys a ring horcrux in The Half-Blood Prince and injures his hand in the process, meanwhile Frodo's hand is also injured in the process of destroying The One Ring.

Also in The Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter travels with Professor Dumbledore to a seaside cave in an attempt to obtain the locket horcrux. The two wizards travel across the water inside the cave using a boat. Harry Potter sees a dead man lying down in the water just inches below the surface, giving him a scare. Dumbledore points out more of the dead people in the water, who have been placed by Voldemort as guards. In The Two Towers Same sees dead men and elves as he travels with Frodo and Gollum across the Dead Marshes

A Second Edition of Shadow House

2011-03-20T13:53:00.001-06:00

Shadow House was the book that started my fiction writing career. Since the book debuted, it has exceeded many people's expectations as far as sales and positive reviews.

I have been asked by some people if--knowing what I do now--I would change anything about Shadow House. My response has always been that I absolutely would. Shadow House has taught me much, forever altering how I write and promote my work.

I will be making few changes to the text of Shadow House, mostly just correcting mistakes I and others have caught. I will be adding a forward as well as some other additional parts to the text. In addition, the cover will be completely redesigned. The Kindle edition will reflect the same changes.

When exactly the new edition will be available is still in the works. I am also working on a new distribution model for The Devil's Nightmare and future books, which will lower he cost of the print edition on the second edition of Shadow House significantly.

Similarities Between Rowling's Harry Potter Series and Tolkien's Middle Earth: Part 4

2011-03-18T08:25:00.001-06:00

The list of similarities between J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series and Tolkien's Middle Earth books stretches on. In Rowling's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, readers are introduced to the Whomping Willow on the school grounds, which attacks Harry and Ron. The Hobbits in The Lord of the Rings are assaulted by Old Man Willow, which they escape without harm.

Also introduced in The Prisoner of Azkaban are the dark-cloaked Dementors, which literally strike fear into the hearts of anyone they near. The Dementors search relentlessly for their prey, proving to be almost an impossible force to thwart. Tolkien's Ringwraiths also wear dark cloaks, strike fear in the heart of anyone they get near and are almost unstoppable in their pursuit of The One Ring.

Both Tolkien and Rowling have a character that is a large spider. Shelob inhabits Middle Earth and almost makes a meal out of Frodo, while Aragog is Rowling's large spider readers are introduced in The Chamber of Secrets. One critic pointed out that many older readers who were familiar with Tolkien's work saw Aragog as Shelob.

In the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter runs across the Mirror of Erised, which reflects a person's deepest desires. Tolkien also introduces a mirror in The Fellowship of the Ring, called the Mirror of Galadriel, although it is not in the same form as a traditional mirror. The Mirror of Galadriel is a silver basin, which Galadriel fills with water to create a reflective surface. Instead of showing a person's desires, the mirror shows past, present and future events at the command of Galadriel. Both Tolkien's and Rowling's mirrors are not traditional, but use magic to reflect more than a simple reflection.

Also similar to the Mirror of Galadriel is the pensieve Rowling introduces in The Order of the Phoenix. Rowling describes the pensieve as being a wide, shallow basin just as Tolkien describes the Mirror of Galadriel. The pensieve also is described as having runes written on the exterior, just as runes are featured on magical objects in Middle Earth,such as The One Ring.

Similarities Between Rowling's Harry Potter Series and Tolkien's Middle Earth: Part 3

2011-03-15T14:24:00.003-06:00

Some critics and readers just revel in the names of Rowling's characters in the Harry Potter series. Rowling has said in interviews that she started collecting names for characters when she was a child since interesting names are fascinating to her. Many of the names in the Harry Potter series not only sound interesting, but they also carry some meaning behind them. Several names have potential ties to Tolkien's work, however subtle the connection may be.

After the Hobbits leave the Shire, they head for an inn called The Prancing Pony, where they are supposed to meet up with Gandalf. Once they reach the inn, they are greeted by the jovial innkeeper named Barliman Butterbr. In the Harry Potter series, the characters regularly partake of a drink called butterbeer. Coincidence?

The Hobbits love to smoke a weed they call Longbottom Leaf. Mary and Pippin both partake of Longbottom Leaf with glee after sacking Saruman's stronghold and finding a stash of food stores.In the Harry Potter series there is a character named Neville Longbottom, who happens to have a talent for herbology or the study of magical plants.

Both the Harry Potter series and The Lord of the Rings feature a main villain who is an evil lord bent on ruling the world and wiping out anyone who stands in his way. In both stories many if not most characters avoid saying the actual name of the evil lord, using allusions to the dark lord instead. Aragorn explains in The Two Towers that Sauron has banned his followers from either speaking or even writing his name.

In The Two Towers, Tolkien introduces a spy known as Wormtongue, who keeps control of a kingdom in order to keep at bay the threat of human intervention in Sauron's plans. In The Prisoner of Azkaban Rowling introduces Wormtail, who is also a spy of Voldemort but has the ability to transform himself into a mouse. In both cases, the authors associate spies with worms. Both characters try to worm their way out of being caught and put in harm's way, so perhaps the association is appropriate.

Similarities Between Rowling's Harry Potter Series and Tolkien's Middle Earth: Part 2

2011-03-13T08:24:00.003-06:00

Frodo Baggins and Harry Potter share quite a few similarities, which may go unnoticed by some readers. Both Harry and Frodo are orphans who have been taken in by their uncle. Frodo gets a doting and childless uncle who is considered strange by others in the community, while Harry gets an uncle who already has a child and who wants desperately to appear normal and acceptable to the community.

Both protagonists have the ability to turn themselves invisible, helping them to avoid detection and capture. Frodo has The One Ring, which when he puts it on shrouds him from the view of others (with the exception of the Ring Wraiths). Harry has his father's invisibility cloak, allowing him to roam the castle halls unnoticed late at night.

Frodo and Harry both bear a mark or scar from a previous brush with death by the hands of a powerful enemy. Harry Potter, of course, has his lightning bolt scar from Lord Voldemort's attack on both him and his mother. Harry wears his scar rather prominently on his forehead, while Frodo's scar is in a less-obvious place. The Witch-king gave Frodo his scar on his shoulder during the confrontation on Weathertop. Despite the medicine of the elves, Frodo was left with a lasting scar but his life was spared.

Harry and Frodo also consistently are underestimated by their rivals as well as others. These two characters both surprise other characters with their bravery and resourcefulness, allowing them to beat the odds and reach their goals by the story's end. In other words, but Frodo and Harry are underdogs who do not give up, but keep fighting until they receive victory.

More similarities between Tolkien's and Rowling's work to come soon.

Similarities Between Rowling's Harry Potter Series and Tolkien's Middle Earth: Part 1

2011-03-11T09:09:00.007-07:00

Some critics have accused J.K. Rowling of plagiarizing J.R.R. Tolkien's work. Ironically, Tolkien was accused by some critics of his time of plagiarizing Lewis Carroll's work. While there are numerous similarities between the Harry Potter books and The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings series, I don't consider them plagiarism but rather a homage to the greatness of Tolkien's creative genius. Caroline Monroe once wrote that all writers borrow from previous writers, putting a unique spin or angle on the same ideas. In other words, each writer stands on the shoulders or those who have gone before, but writers incorporate original creative energies to make old concepts new. Monroe goes on to explain that no modern writer of epic fantasy can nor will escape “the mark of Tolkien” no matter how original their works may be.

What are the similarities? Well, there are quite a few--so many that I am going to have to break up the details among several posts on here. For this first part I will be focusing on one similarity between The Sorcerer's Stone and The Lord of the Rings trilogy: the adult wizards in both works.

The heroes of both series are little people (Hobbits or children) who are guided by an adult wizard (Gandalf or Dumbledore) who are old yet very spry. The adult wizards seem to come and go, often not being present or accessible for the little people when they perhaps need the guidance or powers of the adult wizard the most. The adult wizards also keep the little people in the dark much of the time, telling them only a little of the big picture of things.

Both works also feature an evil adult wizard or sorcerer (Sauron or Voldemort). This evil wizard was once incredibly powerful, ruling the world in cruelty. The evil wizard was toppled from power and left barely clinging to life, but he becomes more of a threat as he gathers his strength again as well as his former followers. The little people in both stories must thwart the efforts of the evil wizard to obtain a magical object that will aid the evil wizard in restoring his powers (The One Ring or The Sorcerer's Stone).

And so you see that Rowling is not immune to the "mark of Tolkien in her work. Next time, more similarities between the two.

Things About Utah I Will Miss

2011-03-09T09:16:00.001-07:00

Please excuse me as I indulge in a little nostalgia as I am saying some of my last goodbyes to the people and places here in Utah. I have spent almost the last eleven years of my life in this state, and so inevitably there are things about Utah that I will miss. Without getting too horribly personal, here is my list of things I will miss about the Beehive State (some of which I would consider hidden gems):

- Crown Burgers: The featured burger at Crown Burgers has a patty topped with a generous serving of pastrami and some special dressing. The burger is moist, the pastrami is moist and the result is incredibly good and filling. Owned by a local Greek family, Crown Burgers also serves the best gyros in Utah as well as other traditional Greek dishes. The restaurant even picked up accolades from the Food Network's Man vs. Food. Check out Crown Burgers' website here.

- Mountains: One of the biggest features here is the mountains. The mountains are forever looming to the east and west and provide endless entertainment with skiing, hiking and great getaways from valley inversions both in the winter and summer. I grew up with mountains in Albuquerque, so this will be the first time in my life I will not be near any. I should put in that many of the canyons are amazing, such as Hobble Creek, Millcreek and several canyons north of Ogden, to name a few.

- Scentsations: Scentsations is a unique local store that puts Bath and Body Works to shame. You can buy lotions, body wash, perfumes, etc with any one of a huge variety of scents. The store also sells bamboo pajamas and any number of other relaxation-oriented products. I can never leave that store not feeling refreshed and relaxed. Check out Scentsations' online store here.

- The Pie Pizzeria: Voted the best pizza in Utah, The Pie also offers a different atmosphere. The original location is a half a block from the University of Utah's campus, in a basement space. The pizza is amazing, as are the wings and sub sandwiches. Rock icons and artwork adorn the walls along with people's signatures on the brick. Rock music, many of it from the 70s, plays constantly. The Pie's website can be viewed here.

- This is the Place Park: Want to know more about how life in Utah was like for early pioneers?This is the Place Park, located across the street from the zoo, is about as close as you can get. Many of the buildings in the park are original and have been transported there, including one of Brigham Young's homes. The buildings are full of artifacts as well as actors in period dress. If you don't go when it is busy (summer, Halloween and Christmas time) the park is serenely quiet and you will truly feel transported back in time. As if that were not enough, many buildings in the park are actively haunted. For more information, look at the park's website here.

- The Training Table: Yet another local restaurant, The Training Table offers great burgers and sandwiches, as well as cheese fries that are addictive enough to blow anyone's diet. You order your meal from a phone sitting at each table, adding to the unique factor of the restaurant. I highly recommend the blue bacon burger, which comes with crumbled blue cheese dressing, as well as the hickory burger, featuring Training Table's own hickory sauce. Here is The Training Table's website.

- Tutoring Toy: If you have kids and live in Utah, then you have to check out Tutoring Toy. Located in the Foothill shopping center in Salt Lake City, the store offers a lot of toys not found elsewhere. Many of the toys have a nostalgic feel from yesteryear and actually hold my kids' attention quite well. One of the best parts is that the owner will order specific items for you if they do not have them or even normally carry them. He also gives great recommendations. See more about the store here.

- Cowboy Grub: A place that is practically hidden, Cowboy Grub has a strong local following. I've seen a variety of local celebrities there, including former governor John Huntsman Jr. The decor and food are, of course, cowboy inspired. Since the cowboys first learned their trade from Mexican vaqueros, there are several Mexican dishes (without the spiciness, though). One of the unique dishes is a sandwich called the Big Monty, featuring french toast bread, melted mozzarella on ham and turkey, as well as sliced tomatoes. Kids (mine included) love the play room there, which has mechanical horses for the kids to ride on. See the website here.

- Temple Square: It's one of the most-visited areas in the state, and for good reason. Temple Square offers a park-like atmosphere in the middle of downtown Salt Lake City. The temple itself is a wonder, crafted out of granite and featuring architecture not normally seen in cities in the Western United States. Temple Square is a great place to take pictures, get away and relax or learn more about the culture of the area.

- Park City/Heber Valley: Park City, of course, has reached fame for the 2002 Winter Olympics as well as the Sundance Festival held there every year. The city offers a unique look, where all the buildings (including Burger King and the gas stations) look like buildings out of a small mountain mining town. Park City offers several great ski resorts, as well as a unique main street with interesting shops and great dining, making it a great place for even locals to get away. The Heber Valley, located south of Park City, is not quite as flashy, although it does offer some amazing resorts and golf courses, many of which are nestled in hidden valleys. Heber still has a quaint main street that you find in a shrinking number of areas, including the restaurant Dairy Keen.

- McCune Mansion: I call it the Biltmore of Utah. McCune Mansion is easily the most ornate house in the state, making it something you have to see in person to truly appreciate. Not only is the mansion beautiful, but it is also haunted. You can read more about the paranormal happenings of McCune Mansion in an article I wrote here.

- Ogden Area: Many people who simply pass by Ogden, Utah from I-15 see the industrial face of the city, which is admittedly not very attractive. These people are missing out on the east side of the city, particularly the benches, where the university and major hospital are situated. The views from the benches are breathtaking and the mountains look particularly wild and beautiful. Take a walk around the university's campus and you will find it may be the prettiest -- if not close to it -- campus in the whole state of Utah.

Another Bigfoot Physical Evidence Claim

2011-03-04T13:15:00.001-07:00

Bigfoot apparently has a liking toward peacocks, according to the account of a Northern California man. Kirk Stewart from Gasquet, California, claims that three years ago Bigfoot came onto his property and bird-napped his peacocks from a pen.

What made the man think the assault was performed by Bigfoot and not a known wild animal? Supposedly he found peacock feathers in tree branches seven feet off the ground, as well as some hair left behind. The man, for whatever reason, though the hair looked odd and so sent it off for analysis by a Bigfoot research society, who has been studying the hair for three years. According to the article on Paranormal Utopia, the researchers believe the hair samples to be primate in origin, although they are not entirely sure what kind of primate they belong to.

Stewart has experienced other events on his land since finding the hair, including finding large muddy footprints (which you can see pictures of in the article on Paranormal Utopia) as well as having his melon patch raided.

In all honesty, these types of evidence -- particularly the footprints -- are common and unfortunately debunked quite easily by objective researchers. The fact Mr. Stewart turned all evidence over to a Bigfoot research group does not inject much confidence in the fact that the truth of the origins will be uncovered in an objective fashion. Before you jump to conclusions, I am not a Bigfoot skeptic, but I have learned to be skeptical of many of these groups and evidence.

Some Writers Are Whiners

2011-03-03T08:25:00.001-07:00

Writing, like any profession, can be a tough way to make a living. After interacting with a wide variety of writers of many sorts, I have come to the conclusion that some writers -- and people in general -- are just plain whiners. Apparently these writers think that they should get an easy or free ride, that editors should never ask them to rewrite a single piece and that everyone will love what they write. Yes, these writers are egomaniacs who need a serious dose of reality.

I have read the complaints of some writers that they must work the equivalent of forty to fifty hours a week (the horror) in order to make enough money. I wonder if these writers have ever worked an office job, or if they only did a stint at their local Baskin Robbins during high school, went to college and did not work and then started writing once they finished school.

I have said before writing is not for the weak-of-heart and is not as simple as so many think, but don't let writers give you a sob story about how horrible the profession is. I have seen in numerous job satisfaction surveys for various professionals that writers score in the top five for job satisfaction, while lawyers and accountants consistently score in the bottom.

Still Around

2011-03-01T07:46:00.000-07:00

It's been a few days since I have posted here, so I wanted to let everyone know I am still alive. For the past few days I have been where my internet connection has been less-than-stellar. I have been traveling around, seeing new places and receiving more inspiration for my writing. For now I'm going to be brief since I have so much to catch up on (and I'm tired from being behind the wheel so much).

Moving On...

2011-02-24T09:12:00.002-07:00

It is time I officially announce here that I am moving on in life and leaving Utah, which I have called home for almost eleven years. Soon my new home will be Kansas City, located smack dab in the middle of the United States.

Before you jump to conclusions, let me clarify that I will still be talking a lot about the paranormal,including in the Kansas City area as well as Utah. I also have plans to cover more paranormal topics from my home state of New Mexico.

For those who don't know, Kansas City has a lot of history and paranormal hot spots. I would venture to say there are many, many more haunted spots in the area than in all of Utah. Stay tuned for more information as I explore these areas, including pictures of the different spots.

Smaug and Fafnir

2011-02-22T15:10:00.002-07:00

Like any great author, Tolkien drew on those who had gone before. Despite the fact that some critics of his time thought The Hobbit was unoriginal, Tolkien was able to take the work others had done and morph it into something different, something that was his and bore his distinctive mark.

Smaug is a central character in the book, the old dragon that guards the treasure that Bilbo and his companion dwarfs desire to obtain. Smaug is the last of his kind, the giant worms that once plagued Middle Earth and spread so much destruction across its face. Despite the fact Smaug is such a vile creature, Tolkien chose to portray him as an intelligent creature, one that speaks articulately and is cunning.

I could go on for a long time about what this decision does to the storyline of The Hobbit. What I really want to point out, though, is that a human-like dragon was not Tolkien's original idea. The Saga of the Volsungs features a dragon named Fafnir, who was human but was turned into a dragon. Fafnir talks, is conniving and has an exchange with the hero that in many ways is similar to the one Bilbo has with Smaug. Both dragons use riddles to try to extract the identity of the hero so that they may exact revenge for his trespass on the dragon's lair. I could go on with the similarities, but I will keep it brief in the spirit of this blog.

The point is that we all stand on the shoulders of those who go before us. Any author who claims that they have not relied on authors and their works from before is not being completely honest with themselves or other people.

More Utah UFO Drama

2011-02-21T08:15:00.001-07:00

I posted on the blog before about UFO sightings in the northern part of Utah County, around Lehi and American Fork. One news station in Utah theorized that Chinese lanterns were the cause of the sightings, which have been blamed for some UFO sightings in the United Kingdom.

Now another Utah news station claims to have interviewed a local artist named Andrew Smith who claims to have fabricated the UFOs himself. Smith would not divulge how he made his creations, other than to say he uses helium and flares.

Smith went on to tell a reporter he wants to keep some mystery about how he creates the objects. Is Smith telling the truth? The fact he is being so coy causes one to wonder and be at least a little suspicious. As is the case with other paranormal cases, I am not about to open up and swallow Smith's story without question, especially since he seems slightly eager for fame and recognition for his supposed work.

Evidence of a Lake Cryptid in England?

2011-02-20T19:34:00.001-07:00

Cryptozoology can be a fascinating subject to explore, but inevitably the field has its share of hoaxes, or even people who panic and mistake a bear for Bigfoot. Because of the fantastical claims made by some who supposedly have witnessed a cryptid, I have learned to be cautious and to remain critical.

The news world is alive with the recent photo taken by a couple of kayakers in England, who snapped a photo of a famous lake monster. No, the monster is not the Loch Ness Monster, although the photo taken looks ever-so-much like some photos of Nessie. You can see the photo and some of the news story surrounding the supposed encounter by clicking here.

As the article points out, there is reason for suspicion in this case. It does not take a genius to realize that going kayaking in February, especially in England, is not a very bright idea. In fact, the whole story and photograph are called into question by this strange activity. Add to that the fact that the photo taken by the witnesses is extremely blurry and shows little to nothing, and I personally feel this is a grab for fame and attention, similar to the frozen Bigfoot corpse incident.

February's Shades of Night

2011-02-18T09:38:00.002-07:00

It's a new month and I had the intention of having a new Shades of Night available on Amazon for everyone to read and enjoy. Yes, I say "had" because there is no way the story will be posted this month. I am a little bummed because it is such a great story, but at the same time I need to do it the justice it deserves.

This month and next will be a little crazy for me since I will be relocating (along with my family, of course) to a different part of the country (more on that later). Needless to say, some things will have to be pushed back. I am more willing to push back some of the Shades of Night stories than delay the launch of my next book, The Devil's Nightmare.

Sorry to delay things, but once I am settled in my new office you can expect more Shades of Night stories. For now, I will let you know that the next story is about a clown, but that is all I am willing to say. This next one will be great, I promise, and I will let you all know when it will be posted once I know.

Critics Know Best?

2011-02-17T10:30:00.000-07:00

Critics and critical reviews can play a key role in making or breaking the exposure for creative endeavors, such as books, albums or movies. Like everyone else, though, these critics are not all equal, nor are they always right. With the explosion of the internet, it seems everyone literally has become a critic. We write reviews on products and services, voicing our opinions and experiences to a worldwide audience. We -- like professional critics -- are not always right in our assertions.

Melville's Moby Dick is one classic example of a book critics panned, but it later was "rediscovered" and is now hailed as one of the great classic works of American literature. Before you think that critics kind of did not like Moby Dick, let me clarify that some critics practically set out on a personal agenda to smear Melville, who later wrote a short story that strongly hinted at his feelings after having his writing career severely damaged by the critical reviews of Moby Dick.

Everybody loves Shakespeare, right? While the Bard has collected his fair share of critical acclaim, critics have not and still do not love all that he wrote. One play that has been torpedoed by critics for centuries is Love's Labors Lost. Critics have asserted that the play is just plain horrible for a number of reasons, including that it is not truly a comedy but is rather an anti-comedy (an opinion I personally agree with, but think that it actually makes the play more intriguing). Kenneth Branagh, who has adapted a number of Shakespeare's plays into movie form, nearly broke his career with his adaptation of Love's Labors Lost, causing a whole new crop of critics to again declare it as Shakespeare's worst play. I personally find the play quite enjoyable, but realized this only after going through it more than once since it is less accessible than most of Shakespeare's other works. I know others who find the play to be quite enjoyable, but I have yet to find a critic who thinks the same.

I could rattle off a list of other books (including Tolkien's The Hobbit), movies and other creative works that have been huge hits and left an everlasting mark on the landscape that were also hated by the critics of the time. I always find it interesting that some authors will live or die according to what critics say, and that some readers will make their reading choices solely based on critical reviews.

Bernard Pivot Blogfest

2011-02-16T10:01:00.002-07:00

I am officially participating in an event with other writers, answering a few questions so you and they can get to know me better. You can see how this all started by clicking here. Without any more fanfare, I will just launch into the Q & A:

What is your favorite word? That’s a hard one. I would probably something that is French in origin, just because those words make you sound smart.
What is your least favorite word? Awesome. It is way overused by people today, especially since they are not genuine in their usage.
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Nature, reading, good movies, music, artwork and meditation.
What turns you off? Negativity, fear.
What is your favorite curse word? Hell – hey it’s a place.
What sound or noise do you love? Crickets at night.
What sound or noise do you hate? The sound of a pig slaughter. I will never forget the first time I heard one – it was horrifying.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Jewelry creation. I have read up on it, but have not tried out anything yet. Something about it fascinates me, though.
What profession would you not like to do? Prison guard. Interestingly I started to look into that once, but the pay is not wonderful and the risks are huge.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? “Good job” or something to that effect. I think that’s what most people would want to hear.

UFOs Over Utah

2011-02-14T16:32:00.000-07:00

UFO sightings over the greater Salt Lake City area have been in the news lately,especially several reported sightings over northern Utah County. One news station claims to have a plausible explanation for the sightings that does not involve involve swamp gasses, at least, but does point to Chinese lanterns as the source (which have been blamed for UFO sightings in England for some time now). Read the story about Utah by clicking here.

I am always fascinated by people's reactions to UFO reports. Some feel an undying need to explain away the phenomena using simple natural events -- some of which are ridiculous. Others immediately jump to the conclusion it is proof of extraterrestrials who are visiting Earth and that the government will stop at nothing to cover up the truth.

Why can we not suspend judgment until we can find out more? Something in human nature compels us to categorize, classify or otherwise process uncertainty. We simply cannot deal with a moving object in the sky staying unidentified, swinging to one side of the spectrum or another as a result.

In Case You Missed It...

2011-02-10T10:08:00.001-07:00

In case you missed it, the infamous phenomena known as crop circles have popped up in the news in the past few weeks. In late January a farmer in Indonesia reported a pattern that supposedly appeared in some remote fields. Some witnesses claimed they saw a small tornado touch down in the area, while others fully embrace that an alien ship touched down in the field and created the crop circles.

News of crop circles have essentially disappeared from news outlets after some highly publicized hoaxes. Some people, though, are still convinced at least some crop circles are formed by extraterrestrials. What do you think of crop circles?

Read Fox News' report on the Indonesian crop circles by clicking here.

A Monster a Day Keeps the Boredom Away?

2011-02-09T23:01:00.000-07:00

For those of you who like monsters, I recently became aware of a group on Facebook called Monster-a-Day. An artist named David Irvine, who is from the Toronto, Ontario area, decided to start creating a different monster each day. He has placed some ground rules for himself, like the monsters must be created in fifteen minutes or less meaning the creations are oftentimes primal. If you look at Irvine's over 270 monsters and counting with these rules in mind, I think you can appreciate the efforts this artist has put into this rather ambitious project.

Check out the group on Facebook by clicking here.