I Wonder

Over thirty years helping to keep the free world free.  In uniform and out of it, doing my part in protecting democracy and discouraging dictatorship.

All those years.  All that effort.

Was it worth it?  Was there a point?

I wonder.

In the Service Trilogy (Free Ebooks)

The fantasy trilogy is complete, and available for your reading, downloading, or sharing.  (But not AI training or pirating.)

In the Service of the Queen was already available.  It's now joined by:

In the Service of the Prince

In the Service of the Heir

Worlds of Wonder (Free ebook)

A new, free (as always) ebook of what would have been blog entries here (and in some cases were posted here, previously), if this blog hadn't turned out to be ephemeral.  Available here on Gutenberg, though you'll need an account there to view or download the book.

As always, it's free to view, download or share, but not to train AI on or, of course, pirate.

Table of Contents

Worlds of Wonder

Essays on Writing

Entertaining and Memorable
Acceleration in Narrative
Story Depth
World Depth
Roads Between Worlds: Writing Multiple Worlds
Roads Between Worlds: Traveling Between Parallel Worlds
Roads Between Worlds: Languages
Roads Between Worlds: "Psychic"
Roads Between Worlds: Sense of Wonder
Roads Between Worlds: "Psychic" and Words
Roads Between Worlds: The First Review
In Which I Concede I Must Be a High-Quality Novelist
Department G, Genders, and LGBTQ
Writing Rivers Between Worlds
Hunter-Gatherers
Off-Base
Poetry Is Good for Prose
Tired Tropes I: The Undiscovered Hero
Tired Tropes II: The Surprising Super Power
(Un)predictable
Manic?  Pixie?  Dream?  Girl?
My Approach to Plotting
Critiquing: Goals
Critiquing: Constructive
Critiquing: Objective
Critiquing: Content-Focused
Critiquing: Balance
Where I Get My Ideas
Ambition vs. Accessibility
Writing a Series: Nostalgia
Dreams of Flight
Worlds Apart

Reflections on Life

"…Are Created Equal…"
Letters to an "Adopted Daughter"
- Compatibility
- Friendship
- Love and Loyalty
- Lying
- Open Communication
- Boundaries, and Egos
- Fidelity
- A Pillar of Strength
Hug a Cat
Relationship Power Ratios
Transactional Relationships
Lasting Love
Immortality: Analog or Digital?
Could That Be You?
That Agonized Age
Hungry Like the Wolf
Mind.  Blown.
"Technophobe Boomer"
The Streaming Miscalculation?
Polyamory
Serfing USA
You've Got Another Think Coming
Priorities
Strength
Dexterity
Constitution
Intelligence
Wisdom
Charisma
Donate Money to an Unworthy Cause!
Ten Things Home Improvement Shows Don't Tell You
A View to the North
Settling
$mall $avings
Tiny Luxuries
Twenty-Five Years Counting Carbs
"Deserve" and "Ought to"
Greatest of What Time?
A Bad Day at Work
"Life Isn't Fair"
"Purity" and Middle-Earth
Starship Troopers in Context
Seven Things about Guns
Communism's Fatal Flaw
Give It to Gummint?
Buster Keaton: Freedom from the Tyranny of Sound
Circle of Life
Living with Sadness
A Fighting Withdrawal
Run!
Rescue
Smile
In the Time of the Night
Storm Rider
Self-Image and Supervision
Closure
Happy Doesn't Last
Train Your AI on This

Short Story

The Old Man

About the Author