Welcome to my site

What can I say? I'm so pleased that you've come here. I've spent 5 years blogging, more than that building websites and have been writing "professionally" since 2003. I'm here to help writers with their writing, encourage people through this life, and point them to Jesus. That's the most important thing. So stay tuned. Check this site regularly as "some of the features" may change. I'll need help from time to time, because I'm not perfect. If you're perfect, please go to another site. I'm pretty sure you won't fit in here.

Unbalanced Scales

I'm sure everyone in the U.S. already knows that we are in danger. The problem is that so much of the rhetoric and the old rules are just antagonizing things.

For instance, only weeks ago all the media could do was talk about going over a fiscal cliff. Now, however, that cliff seems to have disappeared and they are talking about spending ceilings. I don't know about you, but this tells me that the people in Washington (D.C) don't know what they're talking about.

Then comes the IRS looming on the horizon. It's hard enough to get around with their hands in our pockets year round, but they expect an extra-special bonus via our Income Tax. We've been gritting our teeth and baring this for years, but now it's becoming harder and harder to find the forms to fill out, even if you can understand them, so you can send them in and pay that tax. I'm of the inclination that if they want my money they should come and fill out all the forms and make it easy. I'm not one of these people who expect freebies. It's just that the founding fathers didn't get paid, and if they did it was by their district, and probably in feed or livestock. I say we go back to that. You want to get out of our $15 trillion debt, then stop paying the people who aren't listening to us when we say, "No taxes."

I know, that's idealistic, but this country was built on ideals, and hard work made it work. That is until the government decided to pay for those who didn't want to work. Take a good idea and present it to Congress or the Senate and the first thing they do is appoint a special task force to investigate the problem. Oh, and all those tax problems we face, they do not face. How'd that happen. Whatever happened to "We the People..?"

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Legendary Space Pilgrims, by Grace Bridges


I had hoped to have an interview here with Grace, but it seems time worked against me. In any event I would like to close out the tour with this post on Legendary Space Pilgrims, by Grace Bridges.

I am basically a mystery/suspense writer, although I find myself getting carried away by some of the great authors we tour at the Christian Fiction Review Blog. Grace Bridges is one of those exceptional writers. I do like the sci-fi genre, although my own work in that area began a long time ago, consisted of 3 stories, and had to be re-typed several times, just to save the rough draft due to computer crashes. As a result what I have is a work in great need of editorial work just to make in consistent throughout, not to mention all the problems I'd have to work on through the needed re-writes. So it sits, stored on a disk, untouched for over a year now, only getting through half of it with any kind of editing. I haven't really given up, but I haven't seriously considered going back to it either.

Unlike my work, Grace Bridges pressed on, edited, polished and did a great job. Not only did she persevere, but she came out with a work that is, in my opinion, one of the best I've read. Also unlike my work, she doesn't stick to a single planet, but travels through the solar system, giving the readers a view of the vastly different planets our pilgrims come upon. The 2 that receive the most intricate attention are the planets Monday and Viva. We know there is a 7th planet, Sancta, but we know little about it as of yet. I suppose we will find out much about this planet in her sequel. The reason that the planets between Monday and Viva do not receive as much attention is not that she doesn't describe them but because they are mostly devoid of people, and people are what makes our surroundings something to connect with. On Monday we have everyone being pushed into a single mold, while on Viva there are many different types of peoples, and it is Viva where the book really begins to rachet up the pace. Do yourself a favor, buy this wonderful book and after reading it share with others or better yet, donate to your local library so others can read it.


Grace is the owner and editor of Splashdown Books. She's a Kiwi of Irish descent living in beautiful New Zealand, and a chocaholic cat-lovin' Trekkie, Jesus freak, web designer, and all-round DIY gal who also takes care of the Lost Genre Guild Blog. Visit Grace's Blog for links to all her interests.

Purchase Legendary Space Pilgrims from
Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Splashdown Books.

Check out these other member blogs this week for more info.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Legendary Space Pilgrims, by Grace Bridges


Fasten your seatbelts for an interplanetary pilgrimage with Mario and Caitlyn as they escape Planet Monday. No, really. That's the name of the planet, or at least the name the Baxters, those who colonized the planet, gave it. The vivid imagery, the plot and numerous and complex subplots, this was one beautiful story. In fact, the only negative thing I could find was that Grace Bridges ended it in the middle of the story (I certainly hope a sequel is on the horizon).

So, what's it about? Picture yourself living in a world of grays, everyone doing the same thing day in and day out. And if emotions increase too much there is always the Mindwipe, a facility used to erase a person's memory. She handles all of this and so much more with the reality that set her apart in Faith Awakened. When I read Legendary Space Pilgrims I was amazed at how she seemed to have a intuition when it comes to having just the right amount of technical information to make the story work without coming off like an instruction manual or something geekish. Instead everything comes off sounding, as I've said, realistic, even though we fly about on a space pod, visit some of the oddest planets, and find out that we are somehow involved in some ancient prophecy.

I can go on and on, but I don't want to give too much away. You will find that this is one of those fantastic works that sets a person apart. It will take you places you'd never dreamed of going, and all along you'll find suspense, humor, confusion, and a budding relationship, just among a few things you'll enjoy along the way. So grab your copy and jump into the story of your life.


Grace is the owner and editor of Splashdown Books. She's a Kiwi of Irish descent living in beautiful New Zealand, and a chocaholic cat-lovin' Trekkie, Jesus freak, web designer, and all-round DIY gal who also takes care of the Lost Genre Guild Blog. Visit Grace's Blog for links to all her interests.

Purchase Legendary Space Pilgrims from
Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Splashdown Books.

Check out these other member blogs this week for more info.