Available Now--"Light's Last Stand"!

Today marks a very special day for me as it sees the release of the third and final book in the Old Greenesboro Trilogy--Light's Last Stand! 

The origins for the Old Greenesboro Trilogy date back to 2004 or 2005. I had just finished writing The Coming Evil Trilogy (though that wouldn't be published until 2011-2013), and still felt there was so much more to explore about the world of Greensboro. I immediately set out to think up a sequel to The Coming Evil, initially. I intended to write a single volume, but split into four sections. The third section was going to hit pause on the sequel narrative to go back in time to explore the events in Old Greenesboro that set the stage for The Coming Evil Trilogy. It was only envisioned to be a parenthesis to a larger story, at first, but the more I kept thinking about Old Greenesboro, the more the ideas started to flow. And the more I realized that it needed to be its own story. So I removed that section from the sequel, planted it, and allowed it to grow into its own thing. 

It was exciting at first...until I realized that I knew scarcely little at the time about Westerns, haha. I felt largely out of my depth, and I struggled for many years writing this saga. Not just because of its Old West sensibilities, but also because the characters were so new to me. I had been writing about Dras, Rosalyn, Jeff, and Isabella (the cast of The Coming Evil) for so long that it felt wholly unfamiliar (and maybe a little adulterous?) to write for a brand-new cast of characters set within The Coming Evil world. They were strangers and it took me many years to get to know them. More than once--more than a dozen times, actually--I nearly threw up my hands and scrapped the project altogether. I worried that I would never find their voices, never get to properly know them.

But I'm so glad I kept at it. Because now, after nearly 20 years, I've come to love Everett Greene and Virginia, Jesse, and Dead Eye Reggie. They've become just as much a part of me as Dras and company. I'm thrilled to see Everett's adventures reach their emotional and harrowing climax, and I am so very grateful to God to get these books out at long last! 

Now maybe I'll finally return to that Coming Evil sequel I began to develop so long ago!!

But, for now, please enjoy this concluding chapter in the prequel trilogy. For those familiar with The Coming Evil, I'm very excited for you to discover the startling revelations contained within--and the tantalizes connections it makes to my other works, namely my HITMEN saga. And for those who have yet to read The Coming Evil Trilogy, the Old Greenesboro books are the perfect place to start!

Rush out and buy your copy of Light's Last Stand today! Available in print and Kindle.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Old Greenesboro has fallen.

In the aftermath of Greenesboro’s fiery demise, Everett Greene and the survivors of the Dark Hour have ventured into the North Woods to rebuild their lives, all the while harboring a terrible secret. The Strange Man, that demonic figure who led Greenesboro to ruin, is chained deep within Greene’s camp, awaiting heaven’s final judgment. When heaven tarries in coming to claim the prisoner, the Strange Man begins his end game, seeking to breed mistrust and fear among his captors.

As Everett struggles to keep his fragmented community united, salvation seems to arrive in the form of his former companions, the Halloween Society, a clandestine cabal of gunslingers dedicated to battling devils. They seek to commandeer the Strange Man for their own mysterious purposes, and the remaining citizens of Greenesboro are all too eager to turn over their unwanted guest. Still, Everett hesitates, suspicious regarding the Society’s true intent.
Facing pressures from within his own camp as well as the Strange Man’s insidious mind games, Everett finds himself in a confrontation that will determine the fate of generations to come.

Light’s Last Stand is the final act in an epic new tale that sets the stage for the events depicted in The Coming Evil Trilogy.

Interview with "Call Me Fuchsia" author--Jo Mitchell

 While work continues on the upcoming winter release of the third and final installment in my Old Greenesboro Trilogy, we're going to turn the spotlight on a different author today--my oldest daughter, Jo Mitchell. It may come as no surprise to you, but Jo has been writing for nearly her entire life, and I'm proud to announce her debut science fiction novel Call Me Fuchsia, out now in both print and Kindle editions. But enough of me yapping. I'll turn it over to Jo.

GM: Hey, Jo. Well, I certainly know who you are, but tell us about yourself. 

JM: Hey! I’m Jo Mitchell. I’m a science fiction author and college student from Northeast Arkansas.

GM: Tell us about the book!

JM: My new book is Call Me Fuchsia. It’s the first of a trilogy. This book is about a woman named Tanzee Clyborne and her feelings towards her best friend, Pepe Bijiola. When Pepe is given a job opportunity in a world of mechanical and corrupt politics, Tanzee becomes suspicious (and jealous), and chooses to investigate.

GM: What initially inspired you to write Call Me Fuchsia?

JM: There’s a lot of different places I took inspiration from, really. During my freshman year of high school, I was in a Civics course that watched the 2020 election. About the same time, I heard a sermon over the letter to the church of Thyatira discussed in Revelation. I took the two and melded them into a world of politics, devotion, and lies that I penned about twenty songs over before sitting down to character plan. Ultimately, the world started to get too big for music, and I realized I wanted to dedicate time to the stories I was trying to tell.

GM: Though this is your first published novel, you’ve written several stories before. What made you decide to pursue this one to publication?

JM: Honestly, a lot of it was timing. I scrapped the project twice, picked it up again, rewrote the trilogy, and prayed so many times over it. Despite hesitating dozens of times, I think the sheer amount of time I spent over it pushed me to completion. So much of my high school years were spent writing or planning the trilogy, and even though I’ll never be completely satisfied with my product, the opportunity to write it has been an honor and a privilege. As tacky as it sounds, a lot of different versions of myself worked on Call Me Fuchsia, and I think those versions deserved to see it come to fruition.

GM: What do you hope the reader gains by reading the book?

JM: We live in a world of constant digital and mechanical struggle, where so much of our time is spent debating whether or not our own advances and creations are good for us. In Call Me Fuchsia, I wanted a technology that could speak for itself without the chatter of human dictation. I wanted a robot whose rapid advancement paralleled that of our hand-held electronics. I hope, somewhere in the overwhelming and neon-lit world of my novel, readers see characters that make poor decisions that still feel guided. I won’t act as though my first novel is the perfect book or a radical, cyberpunk dialogue. It’s also just a story I wanted to tell with characters that I wanted to build. Still, as the story progresses, there is a story of constructed truth, false hope, and the sting of humanity.

GM: What’s next for you?

JM: Book two and three of the trilogy are my current priorities. Call Me Fuchsia itself is over sixty percent aligned with its first draft, which I wrote at 15. The next two books, though, are more recent and tell a story that feels truer to my abilities now. After that, I can’t promise one specific title. I’m certain it will be science fiction; the genre is easily my favorite type of writing. Whatever it is, I want it to be very different from this trilogy while still sounding like I wrote it. A lot of Call Me Fuchsia was my attempt at modernized, grandiose science fiction, and I’m sure my next project will lean more towards the media that I’m digesting now. All art is a nod to previous art.

Thanks to Jo for stopping by, and be sure to go check out Call Me Fuchsia today!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Tanzee Clyborne and Pepe Bijiola exist as two of millions in the gloomy capital of New Thyatira. The poor quality of life in the city, known for its class divisions surrounding the color purple, leads the pair to find refuge in both art and rather intimate interactions with each other. Too often, Tanzee wonders if their connection is more than physical. 

However, a unique career opportunity suddenly has Pepe whisked away to the rich neighborhoods of the East District with a woman who claims to be the next ruler in a once monarchial state. Tanzee, rightly skeptical at first, becomes obsessed with learning all she can about Pepe's new employer. With the help of her friend Atlas--a repairman in large, black sunglasses--Tanzee must decide if she is more concerned with Pepe's wellbeing or what will become of her life without him.

From breakout novelist Jo Mitchell comes "Call Me Fuchsia": a tale of love, lust, and the abyss that is the in-between.

Now Available - "Hell's Dark Riders"!

Out today is the brand-new "The Coming Evil" tale Hell's Dark Riders--the very first installment of the Old Greenesboro Trilogy! Journey back to the 1800s to witness the formation of the town of Greensboro as seen in The Coming Evil Trilogy and learn of its original confrontation with the demonic Strange Man. Throughout the original Coming Evil Trilogy, the events of this era were only briefly glimpsed, but now all will be revealed. There will be more than a few surprises along the way, and your journey starts now.

Available in print and Kindle. Order your copy today!

ABOUT THE BOOK

The year is 1879. It is a time of darkness.

Four mysterious figures on horseback ride across the Ozark Mountains, leaving death and misery in their wake. Led by the false god Chemosh, these demonic Dark Riders seek to overthrow the world of Man and re-establish their wicked reign upon the Earth.

Everett Greene once fought such creatures, but has since retired, leaving that war behind. When Virginia Hallerin, a young mother who has suffered unspeakably at the hands of the Riders, beseeches Everett to intervene, the haunted hero is compelled to leave his life of peaceful isolation and anonymity behind to re-enter the fight. Aided by his mentor Jesse Crocker, an old, grizzled bounty hunter down on his luck, Everett determines to follow the trail of the murderous Riders.

Along the way, Everett and his companions will encounter hellish beasts as they fight their way into the very heart of evil. Yet, the Riders have an ace up their sleeve. Once Everett discovers that the villains have enlisted a certain “Strange Man” with an agenda of his own to join in their scheme, he realizes that this battle will be unlike any he has ever fought before.

Hell’s Dark Riders is the opening act in an epic new tale that sets the stage for the events depicted in The Coming Evil Trilogy.

A New Trilogy Begins

Welcome back. Three items of business to discuss this morning that I think fans of The Coming Evil Trilogy will be excited to hear, so let's get right to it.

Item 1: There is a brand new trilogy of The Coming Evil books headed your way! Back in 2011-2013, I published The Coming Evil Trilogy, a series of books that tells the story of the small town of Greensboro and its harrowing battle against the invading demon known only as "The Strange Man". The books were always my ode to the wild monster movies of the 1980s, and very much served as my own "coming of age", both as a writer and as an adult. It wrestles with questions of faith, friendship, bravery, and discovering what matters most when up against the darkest hours of our lives. As readers of the original trilogy know, over a hundred years before The Coming Evil begins, the town of Old Greenesboro first ran afoul of the Strange Man--events that have only been hinted at...until now!

Now, journey to the past to discover the origins of Old Greenesboro and how its feud with the Strange Man began! I am pleased to announce Book One in the Old Greenesboro Trilogy: Hell's Dark Riders.

The thing that excited me the most about this new trilogy--and was the most challenging--was how to present this story in a way that was fresh and surprising while also following the course that was clearly laid out within the pages of The Coming Evil. Readers of that first trilogy will already know the fate of Old Greenesboro and its citizens' first encounter with the Strange Man, so I knew this telling needed to expand on those things you know--and reveal truths that you could never have guessed. What's more, the events in this new series will provide new insight and a deeper context to the Coming Evil books already in circulation.

What's more, readers of my other works will see many familiar locations, characters, and mythology within the new trilogy. I have often said that Infernal City, my Rift Jump duology, and the HITMEN series were all cousins of The Coming Evil. If that's the case, the Old Greenesboro Trilogy is their common ancestor. Seriously, folks, it all begins right here, and I can't wait to share it with you at long last. Which leads me to:

Item 2: Each installment of The Coming Evil Trilogy was released in February, and things timed out in such a way with this new book that I felt no reason to break the streak. So, Hell's Dark Riders is scheduled to drop on February 4, 2025, in both print and Kindle editions! But wait, there's more.

Item 3: All three installments of the Old Greenesboro Trilogy will be released THIS YEAR. Looking through my writing journals recently, I was shocked to discover that I have been jotting down notes for this new trilogy since 2004! Indeed, I have made rare mentions of it over the years on this very blog, but I have resisted saying too much, as I wanted to complete the entire trilogy before announcing Book One. So, it is with much relief that I can safely announce that all three books in this new trilogy are finished and edited. I could stretch out the releases over the next three years, but I have been not-so-secretly writing these novels for the last fifteen years, and it's time to finally release them into the world. No hard dates are down as of yet, but I suspect Book Two will be released sometime this summer, and then Book Three will hit around November/December. So let's keep the party going throughout 2025 and make this the year of Old Greenesboro. 

I so greatly appreciate all of you who have read and enjoyed The Coming Evil throughout the years, and it is my hope to reward you with a wild ride through some very unexpected territory. As for Hell's Dark Riders, here's your first glimpse into this exciting new story:

ABOUT THE BOOK

The year is 1879. It is a time of darkness.

Four mysterious figures on horseback ride across the Ozark Mountains, leaving death and misery in their wake. Led by the false god Chemosh, these demonic Dark Riders seek to overthrow the world of Man and re-establish their wicked reign upon the Earth.

Everett Greene once fought such creatures, but has since retired, leaving that war behind. When Virginia Hallerin, a young mother who has suffered unspeakably at the hands of the Riders, beseeches Everett to intervene, the haunted hero is compelled to leave his life of peaceful isolation and anonymity behind to re-enter the fight. Aided by his mentor Jesse Crocker, an old, grizzled bounty hunter down on his luck, Everett determines to follow the trail of the murderous Riders.

Along the way, Everett and his companions will encounter hellish beasts as they fight their way into the very heart of evil. Yet, the Riders have an ace up their sleeve. Once Everett discovers that the villains have enlisted a certain “Strange Man” with an agenda of his own to join in their scheme, he realizes that this battle will be unlike any he has ever fought before.

Hell’s Dark Riders is the opening act in an epic new tale that sets the stage for the events depicted in The Coming Evil Trilogy.

Now Available--NIGHT WORLD, Hitmen Vol. 2!

 I told you the book release was just around the corner. ;)

Today, Genre Experience proudly presents my latest novel NIGHT WORLD, Volume 2 of my HITMEN saga. The book is available for purchase on Amazon in print and digital. As with the previous volume, this book is a "braided novel"--four novellas that interconnect (in this case, VERY heavily) to create a larger story. NIGHT WORLD is a celebration of monsters, fantasy, childhood, spooks, thrills, and all things Halloween. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Every Halloween, the shadow of another world falls over the town of Willowbrook, and the monsters come out to roam. The blue-skulled giant who slew Boss Adrian Marcon’s criminal empire was not the first such creature to walk the quiet streets of this burg, nor the last. As more threats emerge from a mysterious realm, new heroes must stand against a rising cosmic evil that endangers the very fabric of existence.

In four tales of thrilling encounters with otherworldly invaders, Zoe, a teenage mother, must grapple with the shocking truth about her infant son; Jason and Jack Mills, twins raised to hunt the creatures of the night, search for balance between their tumultuous upbringing and passing their legacy on to a new generation; and Rosetta, a mystical exile in Willowbrook, finds herself faced with a decision that will forever alter not only her life, but the lives of everyone, in every world. A war of worlds has begun between the dominion of Man and the armies of the Night World.

Writing this book came as a surprise to me. If you need a refresher course, the original HITMEN novel began as a series of a no budget "home movies" that me and my childhood friends put together. They were only ever done for fun--just an excuse to chase each other with guns and dress up like monsters and tell stories that entertained us. But, man, was it a blast (read more about it here, if you're so interested). At any rate, around 2014, I had completed my epic The Coming Evil Trilogy, and I was looking for more stories to tell. I remembered those old home movies and decided--also for fun--to novelize them, greatly expanding them (think of it like a Director's Cut), to unleash on an unsuspecting public. Writing that book was a great excuse to look back on those years and was my way of saying good-bye to making home movies.

Only...I wasn't done, apparently. Or maybe those home movies weren't done with me.

After my girls were born, I dusted off the old camcorder and started making NEW home movies, letting them in on the fun. Together, as a family, we crafted stories of fairies and imaginary kingdoms and a world where monsters roam freely. As my "professional" writing took a backseat, we started making more and more home movies. Sometimes two or three a year. Elaborate productions that increased in cast, scope--but not necessarily budget, haha. They are still every bit "movies for fun", though, and will never be seen by a public audience, ha. However, as the home movies--and the mythology we were creating within them--grew and grew in my mind, concepts from these movies began to bleed over into my novels. So much so that I have novels-in-progress right now (including my next sequence of Coming Evil stories) that are almost wholly dependent upon some of the elements that we've introduced in these home movies. These are stories we've been telling each other for ten years or so, and I thought it was finally time to give them the novelization treatment. I am immensely proud of those stories, as they represent all those Saturdays that we went out, as a family, playing make believe and "fighting monsters" together. I hope that you will check it out and join in the Mitchell family tradition! 

As I write this, I'm finishing up post-production on ANOTHER home movie (I think we're approaching thirty installments now?), so there is still plenty of road left to travel if I choose to continue these novelizations. I think I will, as it is just so much fun giving a "big budget" update to our amateur films. Beyond that, though, this book marks another important occasion in my larger mythology. While the first story in NIGHT WORLD is, in fact, a prequel to HITMEN: Four Tales of Magick, Monsters, and Murder (starring Vinnie Caponi: Urban Mythologist), the follow-up sections take place later on the timeline, giving Readers their first peek of the world post-The Coming Evil! Aside from that, there are also tons of tie-ins to my loosely connected "In-Between Trilogy" of the Rift Jump dulogy, Infernal City, and of course the original HITMEN. The world that started in The Coming Evil continues to grow and grow, and NIGHT WORLD is certainly a quantum leap forward, laying the groundwork for all my upcoming novels for the foreseeable future.

Get your copy today!

Check out this incredible artwork done for the book by Bob Freeman!

New Book Announcement & Cover Reveal!

In keeping with my (apparent) one post a year theme, here's yours for 2021! Haha, seriously, I don't get around these parts much anymore, but for those one or two of you who are still following--I've got a new book coming out!

As related in a previous post, my "writing career" has taken a serious backseat to "fun writing". I burnt off my entire twenties and most of my thirties "chasing the dream", as it were, of becoming a "professional writer". And, while I DID achieve that dream, it never satisfied. I chased after that for so long, I really forgot to live my life, and, as my oldest daughter is now a full-fledged teenager, I see that time with them is short. So, on the professional side of things, my writing has slowed down.

But that doesn't mean that it's stopped.

Since the 2017 (!) release of my last novel Infernal City, I have turned my attention to writing machinima based on the old video game Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic AND I've taken a turn at doing some no budget Star Trek fan films. I co-wrote and released Halloween House with my friend and often-collaborator Bob Freeman, but mostly I've been churning out a bevy of "home movies" that I make with my kids and my friends. These are not meant to be show to a public audience (as they are VERY amateur and not kind to copyright laws, haha) but they are stories I am proud of nonetheless. If you're a frequent reader of my work, then you know that I adapted four of these movies--the original main canon installments--and released them as my novel HITMEN: Four Tales of Magick, Monsters, and Murder. 

Well, I've done it again. Allow me to introduce to you my NEXT novel, a new adaptation of four more of the home movies we've created: NIGHT WORLD!

With fantastic art, once again, by Bob Freeman, this book is a love letter to the stories/movies I've been crafting with my daughters for, quite literally, their entire lives. I'll go into it more upon the book's release, which should be in a week or so, but in the meantime, please enjoy the cover! Keep your eyes peeled and your ears to the ground for the release--this is one wild ride!

Is This Thing On?

tap tap Testing, One, Two, Three

Wow, it's been nearly a year since I've been on this blog. I'm fairly positive no one reads it anymore (not that many did when I originally began it), but I thought I'd drop by for a little update.

First off, I'm still here. Still writing, still creating. I have finished a working draft of the first TWO prequel novels for my The Coming Evil series. I've started work on Book Three and whenever that's finished, I plan to start releasing them in quick succession. I'm also working with Bob Freeman on another novella that I think will be a lot of fun. A follow-up to our Halloween House (that is still available and you should still read). So there are things in the pipeline to be released one day. I've also found myself falling down the rabbit hole, helping Vance Major make a series of Star Trek fan films. That's a very long story of how I got involved in that, haha, but maybe better saved for a later date. Those movies will hit YouTube in December, so maybe we'll reconvene then and do a little write up on it.

But more than that, I'm creating a lot of things that you won't see. If you've read my HITMEN novel (and, if not, why haven't you?) you know that, in my "free time", I make elaborate amateur movies. In fact, the home movies have turned into this intricate mythology where I actually work through a lot of the ideas that I eventually publish. They're sort of a test bed for concepts and dreams, where I can fully play with a story without the fear of "What will the public think?" It's just freeing and often experimental. Some of those concepts and characters make it into the books--and vice versa. It's an elaborate mythology that I enjoy creating. For myself.

Which brings me to the reason for my absence. Time for some real talk: I burnt up a lot of my youth on getting my name out there. On building a platform, a fanbase, and all the fancy "writer stuff" that you're told you HAVE to do if you want to succeed. And maybe you do, if you want to "succeed", but what's "success"? Again, I pushed aside friendships to pursue my dream. I put my life on hold, focused only on this goal of being "somebody". Somewhere along the way, however, I discovered that I was making my actual life miserable by chasing what I thought would make me happy. After MUCH soul searching, I came upon a conclusion:

Write less. Live more.

So that's what I've been trying to do over the last four years. With my kids now older and able to make more of their own choices (and mistakes), parenting is harder than ever. They need my attention, more than the cast of The Coming Evil. My wife and I are fighting to be purposeful in our parenting, but also to learn how to maintain our own identities apart from our kids who are going to be leaving the nest sooner than I really understood. Life is changing. Fast, and all the time. I've made new friends and I'm pouring myself into being a good friend--a better friend than I used to be. I seek to be used by the Lord in whatever situation I find myself in, and that requires effort. It requires diligence. Besides all of that, creatively speaking, I missed just writing and creating for myself. I didn't end up becoming the "big name" I had dreamed of when I was fresh out of high school. I am thankful to the people who have read my work and enjoyed it. That's incredibly cool to me. But the disappointment has been there, as well. I didn't get as far as I had hoped I would. Yet, then again, when I think of the novels I've seen published, when I think of the Syfy movies that I helped craft, that have been seen by audiences all over the world--maybe I got farther than I really thought I would.

All that is to say that I'm happy with where I'm at. I'm happy living my life and creating on my own time. I'm happy now that I don't find my worth in "units sold per quarter". It really IS just about the writing for me. I do so enjoy this mad mythology I've created and it's a welcome retreat from the rigors of reality sometimes. I'm happy that some of you got to explore my world--as much as I've shared with you--and I look forward to giving you more opportunities to visit in the future.

Worlds Collide!

First, allow me the annual dusting-off of cobwebs on this here blog...

Now with the housework out of the way--Welcome! The leaves are changing, the wind is turning crisper, and my favorite season is upon us. Halloween is here, and I have returned to the interwebs with a treat to offer you.

Over the course of the last year and a half--among the other projects I've been tinkering on--my friend and fellow author Bob Freeman and I have been putting together our first storytelling collaboration. As you may or may not recall, Bob has already lent his incredible artistic talents to my HITMEN novel, providing the cover. But, this time, we agreed to tackle a novella together, trading off writing chores on rotating chapters, and making it a point to surprise the other. It was a lot of fun and, today, we present to you the fruits of our labors...Hallowe'en House!

This tale was especially thrilling for me as it involves the character Bob named after me, and it also marks the first time I've ever written in Bob's sprawling occult detective mythology. I've been a huge fan of his mega-myth for a number of years now, but actually contributing to it filled me with equal parts eagerness and caution. I think we've crafted a wile ride through the darkest corners of the cosmos and we hope you agree.

Also of note, readers of my own mythology (particularly my Rift Jump duology) might find some interesting connections inside the Hallowe'en House...

The book is available now in print and Kindle. Get your copy today--just in time for Halloween! A perfect little story to read by the soft flicker of Jack O'Lantern light.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Demonologist Greg Mitchell has discovered a secret from his father's past, a secret that not only sheds light on their strained relationship but on the path he has found himself upon, caught between Heaven, Hell, and all points between.

Turning to his former mentor, Dr. Landon Connors, Mitchell and the infamous occult detective seek out Hallowe'en House, a legendary transdimensional nexus that bristles with unfathomable eldritch energies.

But they're not the only ones who have come seeking out Hallowe'en House.

Everything You Need to Know About The "In-Between Trilogy"

During the years of 2011-2013, I released what would become the foundation of my magnum opus, The Coming Evil Trilogy.

The series that started it all...

Set in the small town of Greensboro, the Trilogy deals with an already beleaguered community that comes under siege by a demonic presence known only as "The Strange Man". To combat him, a group of heroes from various walks of life have to overcome their own personal demons to discover a faith strong enough to push back the Strange Man and his legion of devils. The Coming Evil was conceived back in 1999, and it was my way of combining 1980s Saturday matinee creature features with a story about faith, doubt, and ultimately, redemption.

But there is a heated speech that the Strange Man utters in Chapter 9 of Dark Hour, the third and final installment of that trilogy:

"Oh, you never mean to. You just pose your questions and make your debates and you think you have such a grasp of the world around you, but you have no idea. You can’t even begin to understand the places in between, the unknowable depths of eternity, the mind-shattering realizations that wait just beyond your rather limited peripheral understanding of space and time. What are you, huh? You people! You’re just dust! Dirt thrown together and given breath and yet you think you are owed explanations? You think you deserve to be in charge?" 

Since the final book in  The Coming Evil Trilogy was published in 2013, I have been writing the story of that space "in between" the worlds, and with the recent release of my new supernatural thriller Infernal City, a new thematic trilogy is finished.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

The unofficially labeled "In-Between Trilogy" derives its name from the fact that all books involved deal with that dark space "in between" the worlds of the multiverse, as first mentioned in Dark Hour. It is also labeled thus as it fits nicely "in between" The Coming Evil...and my NEXT Trilogy, which I am currently writing.

The installments of this thematic trilogy--that is, Rift Jump (Volumes 1 & 2), Infernal City, and HITMEN: Four Tales of Magick, Monsters, and Murder--represent my creative journey to writing The Coming Evil. Rift Jump (or a version thereof) was begun when I was in high school and was the first story that I claimed. Later, in 1996-1998, when I realized I wanted to be a horror screenwriter, Infernal City (or "Soul Decision", as it was known before some boy band came out and stole my blasted title--I mean, seriously, what were the odds of that?) was the first script I wrote--with hopes of producing it myself at the age of 19 or 20 (I was pretty naive). I hung my hat on that script for a long time before I realized I did not have the proper connections, the money, or the equipment to produce a professional film on my own. So I found another outlet for moviemaking--home movies. As has been stated elsewhere, I set out to create a no-budget horror epic, just for me and my friends. From that simple mission statement, HITMEN was born. The novel bearing the same name is, really, just an elaborated adaptation of those original home movies.

These were three important phases of my creative development, all leading me to 1999/2000, when I began writing the first draft of The Coming Evil. I am not a guy to let things go, so I knew that, once The Coming Evil was finished, I would return to those old ideas that I cut my teeth on, dust them off, give them a polish, and release them--but now as part of the mythology begun in The Coming Evil.

This "In-Between Trilogy" interconnects, asking questions in one episode, answering them in another. They intersect at multiple points, weaving an intricate story web, though they are standalone stories with their own unique casts of characters, as well as plots and resolutions. This trilogy-of-sorts can be read in any order--all leading to that strange storm that kicks off The Coming Evil. Having said that, here's my personally preferred order of reading, the one that I think offers the most bang for your buck in picking up the various threads, themes, characters, and locations. There are far too many Easter Eggs and connections for me to list here (and part of the fun is discovering it for yourself), but here's a handy guide to get you started.

ROMANCE AT THE EDGE OF FOREVER

Greensboro and its battle against the Strange Man is only a small conflict in a much larger war. In the Rift Jump duology (Volumes 1 & 2, respectively), we pull way back to reveal just how big a war that truly is. These stories take you to the very edge of the cosmos, where we learn that Greensboro belongs to a reality that is only one of many in an infinite multiverse of parallel realities. We are introduced to star-crossed lovers Michael and Sara, two teenage runaways who travel the multiverse together, trying to stay two steps ahead of some unfathomable evil that lurks in the dark spaces in between the worlds. This Evil is looking for something--namely the means of his escape, as the multiverse is his prison--and believes that Michael and Sara are the key.

Teen love and angst in the multiverse!

On the surface, this sci-fi series seems a far cry from the "small town horror" of The Coming Evil. Readers will be whisked away to many bizarre and alternate worlds in a constant barrage of adventure, meeting costumed superheroes, robots, aliens, and demons. I've often compared it to a dark Doctor Who meets Lovecraft kind of tale, with enough cosmic horrors to keep the reader's head spinning. While "weird", the themes and struggles of its love-drunk protagonists as they make war against an outside Evil--and the darkness in their own hearts--will be instantly recognizable to fans of The Coming Evil.

Over the course of these two volumes, we learn that one world, in particular, holds great meaning for this Cosmic Evil. A very familiar world to us, where there is a City where it never stops raining, and lost souls can see their dreams come true...for a terrible price.

FOOL FOR THE CITY

This narrative thread leads us to my brand new novel, Infernal City. The massive scope of Rift Jump comes into sharper focus here. Now, knowing what we do about that Thing in between the worlds, we find our way back to the Earth of The Coming Evil Trilogy. Lurking beneath the City is a sleeping beast that hungers for souls. We are introduced to Quinn Holbrook, a down-on-his-luck ex-boxer who is employed by the City's representative--known simply as "Mac"--to retrieve those who would sell their souls to the City for wealth and pleasure, and then try to run out once the bill comes due. When Quinn is tasked with hunting one of these "Runners" who's hiding in the idyllic community of Watcher's Grove (a close neighbor to Greensboro), he begins to learn the truth of that Thing Beneath the City.

The new release!

In Infernal City, we, too, begin to get a clearer picture of the greater threat that is posed to our heroes back in The Coming Evil. Aesthetically, Infernal City is the closest of my novels to The Coming Evil. We're in familiar territory, in a small town plagued by a demonic force--with quite a few twists and turns along the way. This is a noir detective story, a thriller, and a romance told in Quinn's own words. And as Quinn starts to question his place in the shadowy underbelly of our story world, we are going to plunge headlong into that darkness for the third and final installment of our thematic trilogy.

SHADES OF GREY

Moral ambiguity abounds as a complicated tale of forgiveness is told in HITMEN: Four Tales of Magick. Monsters, and Murder. This book, itself, is a collection of four novellas that build upon one another, telling the bloody saga of Eli Ross, a hitman who has a crisis of faith that is precipitated by the appearance of a mysterious, hulking figure that has begun a campaign of slaughter against the criminal underworld's biggest players. Along the way, we meet world-weary Vinnie Caponi: Urban Mythologist, his young idealistic apprentice, Flynn, and the untamed criminal heiress Marcie, who has her fair share of secrets--as well as a tight hold on Eli's heart. These four unlikely heroes find themselves in the malevolent path of the Blue Skull--a supernatural killing machine--and must uncover the shocking truth behind his rampage and put an end to his reign of terror before they fall victim to his brutality. Adding to their problems is a villain who escaped the final chapters of Infernal City to come make trouble for our heroes...

A world of shadows...

HITMEN could be considered "darker" than what most people are accustomed to reading from me. Heroes are sometimes harder to discern, and the lines between good and evil blur. It explores the occult connections of my mythology, and the violence is cranked up a few notches. It's an unabashedly gory novel, and to some of my faithful readers' chagrin, it also contains a rarity in my fiction: coarse language and sex. Even at that, the language and sensuality used is safely within a PG-13 rating, but I realize that for some, that's too much. Nevertheless, this is a story of killers and thieves in conflict with their baser natures. HITMEN is about breaking through the darkness of the world you know, escaping the traps of your past to find a new fate. The road to redemption is never easy, and rarely pretty. These are damaged people in dark places, and the language and subject matter of the book reflects that, but is meant to ultimately serve a redemptive purpose.

HITMEN leads us the nearest to The Coming Evil, taking place just a couple months before the start of that original trilogy, and sections of the action even take place in Greensboro, itself. Readers will recognize some familiar places and faces, setting the stage for The Coming Evil.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Ultimately, the "In-Between Trilogy" reveals a larger world and conflict than seen in the original trilogy, and points to the cosmic importance of the events of Greensboro. It also raises many questions--questions that I am in the process of addressing in my next sequence of novels. There are many exciting mysteries left to reveal in Greensboro's distant past and even, in my mind, a future, final climatic battle to bring this mythology to a close. But while we wait, this new thematic trilogy offers many new adventures, heroes to cheer, monsters to fear, and an enticing look at the larger mythology of The Coming Evil Trilogy.

All books are available in print and on Kindle.

A Look Ahead

Happy (belated) New Year!

It's been forever since I've posted on here, mostly because I've been hard at work on a number of upcoming projects. Not only that, but I've been, frankly, trying to live my life a little. It's possible to have too much going on, and I was knee deep in that territory for the latter half of last year. So this year, I'm taking a bit of break. Still working, but these days I'm working more on my personal projects rather than "for hire" work--though there's some of that thrown in there, too.

So what's coming up?

First off, I'm pleased to announce that I have finished the manuscript to my seventh novel. Still have edits to do and then there's the question of what to do with it after. I've published my last three books on my own, without much success, to be honest. But I love the creative control and the freedom. Plus, with publishers becoming even more exclusive because of the increasing financial risk of publishing anyone who is not Stephen King or George RR Martin, I'm not sure where to turn. But that's all upsetting business stuff to worry about later. Right now, I'm focusing on just the simple joy of telling (and completing) a story. I don't want to say too much about it just yet, but what can I tell you about the next book? No title yet, as it keeps changing, but this is a story that I've been trying to tell--in one form or another--since 1998. In many ways, it's a return to my Coming Evil roots--simple people fighting off incomprehensible evil. It involves a City that devours souls, and centers on Quinn, a thuggish "Retriever" who makes sure that, well, let's just say he makes sure that the dinner doesn't scramble off the plate. It's a noir-type story, rife with monsters and a very faith-driven fight of good versus evil. Also, it fits squarely into my larger mythology. In fact, this book is the concluding chapter of my current "concept trilogy" that consists of HITMEN: Four Tales of Magick, Monsters, and Murder, and the Rift Jump duology. Together, they pull back the veil on the world introduced in The Coming Evil Trilogy, showing that the threat presented by the Strange Man has its roots in something much more cosmic. And that tasty morsel leads into my next announcement...

I've officially broken ground on the next Coming Evil novel. Still waaaay too early to say anything about that yet, but I've had this story in mind for many, many years. There are seeds of it sprinkled throughout The Coming Evil, and even more of its foundation is laid in the aforementioned "concept trilogy". I'm super excited about it, but nervous, as well. The Coming Evil has always been very special to me and I want to be extra careful to handle its continuation properly.

In other news, I've also had the opportunity to help develop another Syfy Channel Original. I'm buried way back behind the scenes on this one, but it's always fun to be involved in these creature features. Definitely can't talk about that one yet, but I'll be sure to keep you posted as the premier draws nigh.

Finally, my fellow Star Wars contributor Edward M. Erdelac and I have co-written an essay on that beloved saga to be included in Sequart's upcoming book A Galaxy Far, Far Away: Exploring Star Wars Comics. Very thankful to be included in this alongside other reputable Star Wars fans and authors. I think it's going to be pretty neat. Look for that later this year.

That's what I've been up to. I know I started this blog with saying that I wanted to be less busy, but, believe me--this is less busy for me :)

And, no, this won't be the last you hear from me for another six months. Coming up in the days ahead, I've got an interview with my buddy, paranormal investigator and author Bob Freeman. He's got a new book out!

Welcome to the Future

It has been a long time since I've been on this blog. In honor of Back to the Future Day, I wanted to take a minute and express my thoughts on this day, my own life, and--of course--the future.

I remember when I first saw Back to the Future II on home video and first witnessed Marty McFly heading to the far-off mystical date of October 21, 2015. I was just a little kid then, and never thought much about 2015, or where I would be in my own life by that point. In fact, as I grew up a diehard BTTF fan and watched the Trilogy on repeat for hours and hours--even as I spent nearly three years of my life writing a comprehensive guide to the chronology of the series (it's now on sale, go buy it)--I STILL gave very little thought about my own future, particularly what my life would look like on that date.

So, here we are: It's October 21, 2015. It is The Future.

This isn't where I thought I would be on this date, but I don't mean that in a negative light. For the most part, I have a great life. A steady day job, a happy marriage, great kids. Things are pretty great on that front.

But on this date, I'm also dealing with a lot of grief. Not even three months ago I unexpectedly lost one of my dearest friends, Zachary Malcolm to complications following a stroke. We talked a lot about this day, about the famed future as foretold by Back to the Future. We planned to be there together. And he's not here. I'm struggling with that a lot. Especially with this being Halloweentime, which was our time. Our time to revel in gothic Hammer Horror movies and talk about costumes and decorations and that most wonderful night when the monsters come out to play. He's not here, but I still feel him in the October Wind.

This has also been a time of great searching for me, in terms of my writing. Trying to figure out who I am as a writer. Who do I want to be, moving forward?

As I said, I always expected October 21, 2015 to just be a regular old Wednesday, but as it's turned out, this has been a very big day. Doors have been closed in my writing life--at least for the moment--while others are now widening with new possibility. No, I don't have any projects lined up--but that's the beauty of it. For the first time in YEARS, I have a clean slate. I have no stress, no deadlines, no commitments. I've been given an opportunity to enjoy my great life a little bit. To write for me. For fun, for awhile. Some things I hope to publish, others are just for me and my family to enjoy. But I've got that freedom now. I've been doing a lot of soul searching for the last few months--ever since Zach died. I've been lost, guys. And I've prayed that God would show me some direction. Throw me some clue as to what path I'm supposed to be on.

Today, He has. It's all come to a head on this day, of all days, October 21, 2015. For the first time, my future feels unwritten and I'm not scared about that. I'm hopeful, and I'm excited, and I know that God is not through me and that, together, we are not through with this writer's journey. I don't know where it's going to lead next, but that's okay. Where we're going, we don't need roads.

So I'm embracing my future, ready to push through and see what's beyond that time barrier. In the immortal words of Doctor Emmett Lathrop Brown, "Your future is whatever you make of it. So make it a good one."

I intend to.

--Greg Mitchell
October 21, 2015: The Future

Blog Tour--Tag, I'm It!

So there's a blog tour going 'round these days, whereby authors answer four questions about their unique take on the craft. Last week, my buddy T.W. Johnson wrapped up his leg of the tour, as part of his promotion for his superhero/monster short story in the upcoming Metahumans vs Robots anthology by Lion's Share Press (I, too, might have news to report about that soon... :p).

As is the way with this particular blog tour, the responsibility fell on T.W. to pass the torch and keep this thing going, and he's tagged me! So here's my take on the four questions we've been posed. And away we go!

Q: What am I working on now?

This has been a busy year for me so far. Over the summer, I saw the release of my fifth novel HITMEN: Four Tales of Magick, Monsters, and Murder as well as the television debut of my first ever creature feature for the Syfy Channel--Snakehead Swamp. While I would love to spend the rest of the year kicked back, sipping sweet tea, and watching COPS all day, the allure of writing calls to me once again.

Right now I'm smack in the middle of work on my sequel to my 2012 multiverse sci-fi adventure novel Rift Jump. Currently sub-titled "Sara's Song", this book will (hopefully) answer all the pertinent questions from the previous book, take us to some wild and terrifying new places, and bid a fond farewell to this particular cast of characters. I've had Michael and Sara in my head since I was writing their first adventures on my Brother word processor in high school back in the mid-90s, so to finally tell their story in full and send them off into the sunset is something I look forward to, but also something I want to make sure I get just right. Even after all these years, these characters still surprise me with their choices as I learn more about them and more about myself in the process. It's an intense gig, and a crazy ride.

Q: How does my work differ from others in its genre?

That's one of those marketing questions that publishers always ask you. That's like asking for "selling points" or my "brand" or why you should buy my work instead of "the competition", but I've never been big on those kinds of questions. Perhaps I'd sell more books if I were. Really, the thing that distinguishes my work from the rest in the genre (in my case, it's horror) is that I didn't write all those other books. It's as simple--and complicated--as that. We all see the world slightly differently. Rather than comparing myself to other writers, I just want to grow from novel to novel, discovering more about myself and my own voice and saying the things that I want to say. I'll leave it up to others to judge and compare styles. I just write what I feel.

You should never write to compete with someone else. You should only ever be in competition with yourself. Look at your last work, own up to your mistakes, and do better the next time. In my life, nothing kills creativity quite like looking at my neighbor's work to see what they're up to and comparing it to my own.

Q: Why do I write what I do?

The short answer is that I write about monsters in order to stay sane.

The longer answer is that, with the advent of social media, I am constantly bombarded by the staggering amount of Evil in the world. You wake up in the morning and make a quick scroll through your newsfeed and--apart from the endless pictures of cutesy animals or people's bizarre obsession with taking snapshots of their feet (which is an evil of another kind)--you are overwhelmed by atrocities, violence, and hate from every side. And these stories are always followed by a charge--"Be outraged!"--but no one has a solution. Instead of finding a solution, we fight, curse, and kill about whose solution is the best, all while safely hiding in the anonymity that the web provides. I'm sure every generation says this, but--especially in this Internet Age--we've been exposed: we are the monsters.

So I write about monsters. That's all I know to do. Writing is the only way I know how to deal with this all-encompassing Ugliness that exists in the world and the hopelessness and helplessness that it creates in me. I am fully convinced that, apart from Christ, there's not hope for a single one of us. So, in my stories, I do my best to wrangle this massive Evil and bind It to a narrative and I fight It. I question It and my own complicity in Its existence. I struggle against It, I laugh in spite of It, and I dare to hope that we can overcome It if we stick together. This Evil takes many different forms in my writing--sometimes a demon, an alien, a vampire, or a giant man-eating fish :p--but it's always the same force. Other authors might write to explore or fantasize, but I write to fight.

Q: How does my writing process work?

I'm a very emotional and instinctive kind of guy. If I'm not "feeling" it, I don't write it. Writers better than me swear by the code that you should write x amount of words every day, but I just don't. Writing can't be mechanical like that. Editing can, but writing has got to be fluid. When I write, I've got to be able to cross over into my story and not "write" it, but just describe what I'm seeing and feeling. I've got to be living it. Many times it's music that gets me there. I almost always write to music. Sometimes when I've got a scene in my head but can't quite get there, I'll spend hours listening to music until a song clicks. Then I'll race to the computer, put that song on repeat (sometimes all day) and just write from pure emotion and discovery. I think, as a writer, I'm probably more like an actor getting into a role. I've also adopted a healthy balance of guiding a story and also letting the story go where it wants. Sometimes I feel a character pulling away from me. I might fight at first, but eventually I'll just let him/her go and follow close behind. I find that always leads somewhere fascinating and exciting that I would have never thought to go on my own. Trust your instincts--or, perhaps, your characters' instincts.

Well, that wasn't so hard, now was it :) Next Monday, follow along as graphic designer and author of the mind-bending supernatural suspense YA novel Uncanny Day (and a really cool dude) Cory Clubb takes the reigns of the tour over at his blog. Thanks for tuning in!

A Journey of Rediscovery

Sure has been pretty quiet around here. So, what's the deal?

Well, I'll tell ya. After the release of Dark Hour back in February, The Coming Evil Trilogy is at a close. It might seem strange to many, but I began this whole "writer thing" with one and only goal: See The Coming Evil Trilogy completed. And now it is.

Now I find myself with a bit of Empty Nest syndrome. I finished my baby (and a few other REALLY exciting projects that I can't discuss just yet) and now I'm left with a lot more free time on my hands. I'm still writing, of course. In fact, I'm working on three novels at the moment--one of them being my sequel to last year's Rift Jump. But I'm working at a much slower pace these days. I'm finding that I'm on nobody's timetable anymore, but able to create more freely; whenever I'm able to--as I always think of it--"catch a wave". In fact, I'm finding, these days, more of a return to my roots. I'm putting less words down on paper and, instead, I'm focusing on just imagining. I'm working on three books, but they're all in their infancy. They could go in any number of ways. I've known how The Coming Evil was going to end for over a decade, but I'm at a fresh beginning, now, and I'm not sure how some of these stories are going to end. The possibilities are limitless, and that's exciting and a bit daunting all at the same time. But it's affording me the joy of discovery again, as I meet new characters and learn all about them.

Also, I'm enjoying the rest. I love writing, but I'm not a fan of publishing. All the business and the hand-shaking and the marketing and social media--all of that. That's never been me and, while I think I'm able to turn it on and "perform" when need be, I can't be one of these career bloggers that's so focused on building my social media empire of celebrity that I lose all sight of doing what I love: telling stories.

So things are going to be a lot quieter around here for a time. There will be posts, sure. I've already got an interview lined up in the coming weeks with a returning favorite. But, if it's all the same to you, I'm going to enjoy my quiet time. I've spent a lot more time with my kids, spent a lot more time just enjoying life again. I've got some stories left in me that I'm dying to share with you all and we'll get there in due time. And, while The Coming Evil Trilogy is finished...I'm already planning my return trip to Greensboro. That's, perhaps, got me most excited of all these days. I've not written word one on that particular story, but--like Stephen King once put it, in regards to his magnum opus The Dark Tower--I'm finding the doors to that world again, in some unique and exciting places. I couldn't even begin to speculate when that story will be done, except to know that it'll be finished much like its big brother The Coming Evil was; all in God's timing. But I'm not thinking of publishing right now. Much like I was in the beginning of my writing journey, I'm just enjoying the writing process again.

For now, that's enough for me.

"Rift Jump" Commentary (Part Three)

Read Part One
Read Part Two

Welcome to the third installment of my commentary for Rift Jump. Yada yada, beware of spoilers, yada yada.

PART THREE: TIES THAT BIND

This section of the book is really where the new material starts to drastically diverge from the original material I wrote in high school. Originally, this episode took place in a near-identical world to Michael's own, leading him to think that he's actually home. His brothers are the same. All the locations are the same. Even the circumstances surrounding his own "death" are the same. The only difference is that--duh, duh, duuuuhh!!!--this NOT his world and the Michael of this world is bad.  

I changed it for two reasons. One reason is that, for a book that deals with "a multiverse of infinite possibility", all the worlds in the original stories looked pretty much identical to our own except they'd have a super hero in them or an alien in them or whatever. It was like the last few seasons of Sliders (great show in the first season--terrible show from there on out), where every world they went to was just the same street (soundstage) with the same hotel, same bar, even some of the same people--just their alternate selves. I needed to shake it up. I'd been dabbling in the idea of doing more Weird Western stuff like my buddy Ed Erdelac (who is AMAZING and you should check out his Merkabah Rider series), so I decided to relocate this story to a Civil War-type world, with a sci-fi twist. But then that also changes things. Michael can no longer think that these are his brothers. I liked that, however, because it puts him in a position where he's lying to them, pretending to be their dead brother, in order so that HE can feel some semblance of family. It's sad, and totally the right character move for Michael.

A special note: To all the steampunk fans who were really hoping I'd go all geek on the hows and whys of these Civil War spacecraft, I'm sorry. It would have been fun--and were this episode an entire novel length, I would have--but, like I said in the last commentary installment, my focus is always on Michael and Sara's emotional journey.

Sara begins to take a bit of a turn in this story. Again, when I originally wrote these stories in high school, I had a very skewed idea of what a woman "should" be. I sort of knew (or thought) that they wanted to be "wooed" and "won"...but I didn't have a whole lot of idea of what to do with them AFTER I "won" them. Movies and books focus so much on getting a woman, and they don't do a lot of showing how to keep a woman. As I grew up, I realized that--shock, gasp--women are a lot like men. They want to feel needed. Special. Important. They want to be a part of the journey of life. They're not trophies to be gained and sat on a shelf in your den. I mean, there are some girls, yeah, who just want to be mooned over and pursued and treated like sacred cows all the time, but that's unhealthy. Treasure your women, menfolk, but include them in your struggles. Bring them into your heart. Trust them with your lives. They're fighters, too.

So that's what Michael is seeing in this section. Sara loved being pursued by him, but she doesn't want to be stuck in the tower for the rest of her life. She wants to feel needed.

With that out of the way, I direct your attention to a pretty controversial move for me:

I have swearing in my book. Gasp!

I know that 99% of the world's population won't even bat an eye at that, but for some of my readers it's going to be a major stumbling block. I want to be accountable for what I write, so I'm gonna take a second to explain my position on this. You may not agree, and that's okay, but I want to be honest and real with you so at least can understand my thinking.

Cursing is one of the last great taboos of the Christian Fiction market. It always amazes me that, no matter how much violence and evisceration I get away with, I throw one "damn" in there and I've suddenly committed an atrocity on the page. This is a pretty complicated topic and many better-articulated writers (such as Mike Duran) have gone on and on about this. People have endlessly debated it and everyone's pretty firm on their stance. I know that some of Rift Jump's readers will--hopefully--be picking this up because they enjoyed my Coming Evil series. The Strange Man and Enemies of the Cross were both published within the CBA (Christian Booksellers Association) that has REALLY strict rules on what you can and cannot put in their books. For instance, I had to cut one instance of the word "criminy" in The Strange Man because it was a 16th century curse word! 16th Century, folks!! Some CBA publishers won't even let you say "darn" or "shoot" or "frickin'". "Crap" is considered a bad word with some people, as is "butt".

The short answer is this: Rift Jump is not intended to be a "Christian" work--meaning I didn't write it with the Christian Fiction audience in mind. It obviously reflects my own Christian beliefs, but I didn't set out to make this a "Christian" book. What's more, my publisher Splashdown--while a publisher of Christian authors--is NOT in the CBA. The restrictions are much looser because we're not selling to the same types of people who are looking for books at Lifeway. Many people go to buy a CBA book because they know there WON'T be cursing or overt sex or graphic violence. They want their fiction of a cleaner sort, and I have absolutely nothing against that. When it came to taking my 6-year-old daughter to see Brave, you better believe I was scouring the internet, wanting to know what kind of objectionable material she may or may not be exposed to. We need to show discernment. We need to guard ourselves against things that cause us to stumble. I don't believe all fiction needs to have cursing. I don't even believe that all good or "real" or "gritty" fiction needs it. Plenty of wonderful stories don't use it at all. On the other hand, I believe there are plenty of wonderful stories that do use it.

Rift Jump marks my first novel where I've had some cursing. Now, for those of you who haven't read it yet, it's not a whole lot. Certainly not enough to warrant this long explanation. There are no "s" words or "f" words. There were PG rated kids movies in the '80s that had rougher language than this. Nevertheless, I didn't make the decision to have a dash of swear words lightly. Ask Grace, my publisher. I agonized over this, as I knew that it would offend some people or give others the wrong impression about me. I don't condone cursing in real life. Especially, as Christians, I think we ought to be very careful about the words that come out of our mouth, as we're representing Christ. And the Bible says we are called into account for every careless word we say. That's terrifying to me.

But my characters are not representing Christ. The characters in Rift Jump don't start out as Christians. In fact, if we're getting right down to it, they're not even real. They're imaginary figures. But, for the sake of argument, even if they were real, they are lost sinners who have grown up on the streets, or in abusive relationships, or are just plain ignorant of manners. A key moment in "Second Chances" has Michael at the end of his rope. In a moment of complete frustration he complains that he's been "busting his ass" while he doesn't see God doing anything. He's complaining to God. He is completely fed up. Now, I could just have easily have had him say "busting his butt"--though some would think even that was too far. I could have had him say he was "busting his rear" or "hind end". But that shows a level of restraint, doesn't it? This is a teenage boy who has been a child soldier since he was 12. He's coming to God, in all truth, and getting his angry feelings off his chest. For Michael to censor himself would show a deference to God--which is antithesis of this scene. He demands to know why God hasn't answered his prayers. Why God hasn't shown up to make this journey easier. He's not interested in being humble or respectful. He's coming from a place of total anger and selfishness and immaturity. Therefore "ass".

I liken it to cooking. You might have a really bitter spice that is sometimes needed, but too much and it ruins the whole meal. Swearing, I think, CAN be appropriate. Sometimes I think it might even be necessary, to add that little punch of spice. With Rift Jump, I have been very careful to gauge every instance of a swear word I've used. I didn't want to be exploitative about it or flippant about it. It was never my intention to shock you or to "prove myself to the world" that I was a "real" author who liked to cuss. This isn't a declaration that, from now on, you can expect everyone to have a potty mouth in my fiction. You can't (though you can still expect tons of monster mayhem :p). I just felt that, in this particular book, a couple curse words was necessary for the story.


So, for those Readers who might be offended, I'm asking you to show a little grace to my characters. They're a rough group but they are growing. They are maturing. Give them a little patience. They might surprise you in the end. :)

Behind-the-scenes nuggets:

1--There's a typo in this section. It mentions that Civil War Edward and Seth haven't seen their brother for five years in one instance--but it's really only been a year since their Michael left them. Grrr, I hate typos. Five people read these things in the editing process and no one catches it. My wife glances at it after it's published and points it out. Grrr.

2--I believe this might be the book's first mention of Sara's love for Alan Worth: Space Explorer. To read up on the fascinating true story behind Alan Worth, check out my post here.

Click here to the next installment of our commentary for Rift Jump where we talk about superheroes. Buy the book already, will ya?

Release Day!

It's February 1st--The Strange Man is now in stores!



Run, don't walk, to your nearest bookstore and purchase your copy today. And, if they don't have it, demand to know why. Cause a scene. Incite a riot in the streets!

If you prefer to do your shopping online, click over to Amazon--it's waiting there for you!

Finally, if you're on the fence about whether or not this book is for you, howabout a great review from TitleTrakk.com to lure you in?

Well, folks, what can I say about this day that I haven't already said a billion times before? I'm very grateful to God to have reached this point and realize I have many miles to go in my journey, but I think sometimes you gotta take a moment and savor the smaller victories along the way.

Thanks to all who have taken the journey with me thus far. I hope you'll stick around for the long haul and we'll gather more to our ranks. To victory!

I've Been Interviewed

If you head on over to the Lost Genre Guild Blog, you can read today's Member Spotlight--Me! Thanks to Grace Bridges and the Lost Genre Guild for their support and giving me a chance to get the word out :)