Search This Blog

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Christmas in Space- by Jeremy Bullard

 Jim watched in silence as the blue orb rose in his view. The craft had already made a number of circuits around the moon, but each planetrise was a new experience. His home had never looked so insignificant, and yet from here, more than two hundred thousand miles away, the homeward pull had never been greater. He could well imagine what it was like for geese, migrating south for the winter. They had no gyroscopes to keep them in the air, no compasses to give them direction. They felt only the pull, as inexorable as a magnet to iron. They could not resist.

And yet, here he was. Resisting.

"She sure is somethin', isn't she?" Frank commented. "A few years ago, she was all we'd ever known, and now here we are -- pioneers on the frontier of history."

Jim nodded. "Nice suggestion on the transmission, there."

Frank shrugged. "Hey, with largest listening audience in human history, and the Brass not giving us any explicit instructions on what to say -- well, could you think of anything more appropriate than Genesis Chapter One?"

Jim thought about it for a moment, then smirked. "At Christmas time? Luke Chapter Two."

"Yeah, that'd go over like a lead balloon," Frank scoffed. "We'll be lucky if the hippies don't eat our lunch as it is."

"You worry too much, Borman," he said, half to himself, once more entranced by the Earth, so near, and yet, so far. "God has never been more sovereign than He is right now, with His creation reaching out to the stars. I mean, the Summer of Love is less than a footnote in the face of Eternity. As infinite as outer space is," he slowly swept his hand across the thick glass portal, before jabbing a thumb at the Earth and continuing, "do you really think the Almighty is to be
thwarted by a bunch of flower children?"

"I'm just sayin'," Frank said with a smile, throwing up his hands in mock surrender.

"Hey fellas," Bill interrupted, sighing. "I got good news and bad news. Good news is that we've got phaselock."

"Bad news is we got gremlins," Jim said.

"Yeah. No voice or telemetry."

"Figures."

And just like that, the joyous yuletide was invaded by work, where problems didn't just go away, the hapless victims of a Christmas miracle. Jim was blessed that this work wasn't drudgery, but it was work, nonetheless. "What time is it?"

"About 0620 Greenwhich," Bill replied.

"After one back home," Jim commented. He stared at the Earth from behind an upstretched thumb, wagging the digit right and left, covering and uncovering the blue sphere in his vision. "The kids are nestled, all tucked in their beds, sugar plums and all that. Mary's lying on the couch, half asleep, listening to the squawk box and waiting for us to reestablish contact. Santa Claus' skipping from rooftop to rooftop..."

"Hey, now there's an idea," Frank teased. "The crew of Apollo 8 finally confirms the existence of that jolly old elf."

"I'll do it," Jim said with mock seriousness. "Watch me."

"I dare ya."

Jim smiled once more, lowering his thumb and looking full at home. The brown and green of the landmasses stood out brilliantly against the blue, but the cloud cover made the specific continents unrecognizable, at least for now.

No matter. At that moment, at the dawning of Christmas Day, every square inch of that blue orb was home to Jim Lovell. He sighed longingly, whispering, "And to all, a good night."




Here's a Youtube Link to the Apollo 8 Christmas message, which served as inspiration for Jeremy's story.

Biography:
 
Jeremy Bullard is an author, an amateur singer/songwriter, a hobby knifemaker, a TV buff, and a recovering MMORPGamer. He has been involved in various creative pursuits for as far back as he can remember, counting his relationship with Jesus Christ and his devotion to his family as the greatest of these endeavors.

His creative nature and fascination with extreme possibility led him quite naturally to science fiction and fantasy fandom. This attraction has colored the full spectrum of his writing, spurring him to pieces ranging from Stephen King and Quantum Leap fan fiction to Twilight Zone-esque monologues to finally releasing a project based in a world completely of his own making.

Jeremy lives in Southeast Alabama (also known as "God's Country") with his beautiful wife, three incredible kids, and two smarter-than-the-average dogs -- one of which knows how to open a screen door from the outside. Still don't know how she figured that one out...


Wednesday, December 24, 2014

My Christmas Promotion by Kathryn J. Fogleman

   I quietly crept toward the garbage disposal, clutching a tiny bundle in my hand. I held it as closely and inconspicuously to my body as possible, and my fingers were wrapped around its throat in a death grip. My eyes shifted to the left, then to the right as I neared the disposal. 10 feet from the disposal… 5 feet… all my problems would soon be over… 3 feet…
“Oriole, what are you doing?” a voice prompted behind me.
I paused and held my breath, cringing just slightly.
“What do you have there?”
I turned around, quickly moving my hands behind my back, and smiled at my friend. “Hey, Sade! I was just about to dispose of something. I’m not late for our lunch date, am I?”
Sade narrowed her brown eyes at me and put her hands on her hips. “You’re a terrible schemer and a worse liar, girl. Now, answer the question: what are you doing?”
I backed up a step. I was so close to the disposal. I could not fail now. “I wasn’t lying, and I’m not scheming anything dreadful. I’m doing this space ship and her crew a favor,” I took another step backward “I am just disposing of some garbage.”
Sade raised her dark eyebrows, her eyes widening just before she lunged for me and grabbed my arms.
“Hey!” I yelled as she yanked the object free of my hands.
“Oriole,” she exclaimed as she held it up “This is Mervin’s Elf on the Shelf!”
I planted my face into my right hand. “Yes. Sade. I know.”
“You can’t throw this away!”
I looked up at the taller girl and narrowed my eyes, setting my teeth firmly. “Sade, you know how I have always feared that I might wake up to find one of these creepy things in my room?”
Sade raised an eyebrow.
“Well, IT HAPPENED!” I shook my fists and stomped my feet, making my short brown hair bounce in all directions “My alarm went off, the sound of sweet singing birds filled my room, I heard the computer croon “It is now 6:00 AM earth time” and when I opened my eyes, BAM! There it was! It was staring into my soul, smiling with evil intent, hanging right above my head on a string!”
The expression on Sade’s ebony face was the perfect definition of “unimpressed”. She looked at the doll, then back at me. “Girl, you have issues. It’s just a doll. It don’t got no evil intentions.”
I twisted my face into the look of crazed horror. “You’ve never had one staring at you in your sleep!”
She rolled her eyes and turned around, walking away. “Mervin’s Elf was passed down from his great grandma. It’s an antique, an old family heirloom. You ain’t throwing this doll away.”
I jumped up and down like an irritated little kid, then I followed after her. “Sade, I can’t live on this ship knowing there is an Elf on the Shelf that could come sneaking into my room at any time! It’s an heirloom that needs to DIE.”
Sade shook her thick, dark, curly hair. “Oriole, what are the horrors you have faced during your time in Starfleet? A little doll ain’t nothing compared to Ferengi interrogation or Romulan death threats.”
Desperate for an excuse, I quickly interrupted her. “That’s it! That’s why I can’t stand it! It looks like an evil little Ferengi! The horrors! The memories!”
“Psh! Don’t give me that malarkey. I know you better than that,” she said, waggling a finger at me “Besides, this is Christmas Eve. Tomorrow, the evil little doll will be put away and that will be the end of it.”
“Are you kidding me!? I have next year to look forward to.” I squeaked in agony.
“Then, next year you might be able to get away with trashing it, because I won’t be here to catch you.”
I quickly stepped in front of her, stopping her, my mood instantly changing to a much more somber one. “Whoa… so, it’s official? You’re being transferred?”
She looked down and nodded, her lips turning up in a forced smile. “Yeah. And I’m being promoted.”
I blinked in shock. “Promoted? Really?”
Her smile grew slightly. “Second class Petty Officer!”
I blinked again, trying to force myself to be happy. I should be happy. I was happy for her. But my joy in her promotion was overshadowed by the fact that she was leaving. We were practically sisters. We had grown up together, gone to school together, roomed together at the academy, and blasted into space together. But we weren’t being transferred or promoted together. It was hard to take. Finally, I forced a smile to my face and wrapped my arms around her, grabbing her in a big hug. “I’m so excited for you!” I managed to say in a sincere voice “Moving on to new horizons! Making your mark on the world- er, universe!”
She pulled her arms out from under mine and wrapped them around me, giving me a gentle squeeze. “Yeah, I know. Quit pretending, dum, dum. The pretender’s face looks awful on you.”
I pulled back and brushed my short hair behind my ears. “Well, I am happy for you. I just… I’d hoped…”
She shrugged. “I know, but we can’t win them all,” she laughed lightly “Hey, it gives us a great excuse to party like crazy, wild Sehlats this Christmas.”
I pulled my shoulders up in a mopey shrug. “I guess so.”
She spiked an eyebrow. “You guess so? Girl, there ain’t no guessing in this game. It is gonna be a fact!” she snapped her fingers.
I grinned, deciding to go along with her. “We will rock this ship with our party style.”
She nodded and winked. “That’s the spirit.” she walked past me, but as she did, I snatched the Elf from her.
“We shall start the partying by sending this evil creature into the underworld.” I made a mad dash for the garbage disposal as I spoke.
“No murdering of heirlooms, especially before Christmas!” she whirled around, her long legs quickly catching up with me before I had made it even half way to the disposal.

Several hours later, the ship was abuzz with every crew member preparing for the ship to dock at space station Triumph. This space station was where we would spend Christmas.
“Hey girl,”
I looked up from my tablet and turned around to see Sade hurrying towards me, flashing her pearly white smile at me. “Talk and walk, girlfriend. I’m on my way down to engineering.” I said as I turned back around and continued walking, averting my eyes back down to my tablet. I suddenly staggered to the side, nearly crumpling to my knees when something was smashed onto my head, ruffling my hair.
Sade laughed. “You make a cute little elf!”
My mouth dropped open and I yanked a hat off my head. “You stinker. I’m not wearing this!” I declared as I looked at the elf hat, complete with elf ears, sparkles, and all.
“Yes you are. You lost the bet. You promised.” Sade insisted.
I shook my head in confusion. “Whoa. I lost a bet? When?”
Her brown eyes sparkled. “Thomas Axton’s wedding party.”
I planted my face into the palm of my hand as I remembered. “Oh. That. Great.”
She laughed again. “Don’t worry, you look adorable.”
I cleared my throat and slapped the hat back on my head, straightening it as I started walking again. I was acutely aware of the sniggers and grins from the other people passing us by, but I was determined to fall for Sade’s lie and believe that I was cute.
“And look, I’m a reindeer!” she said as she slipped a pair of antlers on and giggled.
I shook my head. “Where you come up with this antiquated garbage for us to wear is certainly beyond my understanding.” I said.
“Oh, don’t be so grumpy,” she poked me in the elbow “It’s fun!”
I narrowed my eyes and looked up at her. “You realize that one of our superiors will probably make us take these off, right?”
She shrugged dismissively. “You, they might. You’re an officer. But I doubt anyone will care. It’s Christmas, and we’re all about to get shore leave.”
I shrugged in turn. She did have a point. However, I seriously wondered if I wanted to step off this ship with this ridicules hat on my head. Pushing the thought aside, I looked back down at my tablet and frowned. “Have you noticed that it seems like a lot of personnel are being transferred?”
“Uh, no. I don’t keep up with that. Not my problem.” Sade replied.
“Well, I thought I would look, because you failed to mention where you were being transferred to. It looks like over half the crew is being reassigned or transferred.” I passed her the tablet to look at.
Her dark eyes scanned it for a moment, her ebony face growing more somber. “You ain’t pulling my leg, girl. That is most of the crew,” she flipped through the list a moment longer then passed it back to me “And most of them have been reassigned just within the last several hours. What’s up with that?”
I sighed and looked around. “I don’t know. I would ask, but everyone is kind of busy right now.”
Sade tilted her head. “Well, if it’s important, the Captain will certainly let us know.”
I looked back at my tablet and prepared to exit the listing of personnel, when a new name suddenly popped up. My name. I stumbled into a passer-by, apologized to them, and then grabbed my friend’s arm. “What… Sade, look!” I showed her the tablet and poked my name. My picture and information came up, along with a new title under my name.
Sade’s eyes grew wide. “Promotion to lieutenant!” she declared in surprised, yanking the tablet away from me “Wait a moment! Some monkey has gotten to the computer and is punching buttons! This can’t be right.”
I grabbed the tablet back from her and looked at it to make sure there was no mistake.
“I mean, don’t take me wrong, you totally deserve it, girl. You’ve worked hard! But that just don’t happen to first-year-of-active-duty kids. And definitely not ordinary kids, like us.”
I looked up and squinted at her, shifting my eyes between her face and the stupid antlers on her head. “Ordinary?”
She rolled her eyes and flicked her hair over her shoulder. “You know what I mean.”
 A whistle blew and the shipwide intercom clicked on. “Attention crew, this is the Captain speaking,” the Captain’s voice echoed through the hall “I would like to commend each of you for your fine service aboard this vessel over the past year. You have been a wonderful crew, one of the best that a Captain could ask for. Unfortunately, all good things do come to an end.” he sighed “The USS Auriga is being decommissioned. I and a small complement of crew are to return the ship to Earth the day after Christmas, which means we will have to travel through Christmas day. I’m sorry. The rest of you will be staying at the Space Station Triumph where you will be reassigned to new ships and stations.” again, he sighed “This is as sudden and unexpected for me as it is for you. I’m sorry that this could not have happened at a better time, but then, when is a good time to break a family apart? My only expectation of you now is to keep your heads high and to complete your service aboard this ship with excellence, honor, and dignity, and then carry that same level of excellence with you to your next assignments,” there was a slight pause “Once we have docked at Triumph, you will have 6 hours to pack and say your goodbyes. Captain  out.
Sade and I exchanged stunned looks before I looked down at my tablet. “I’m one of the personnel stationed to stay aboard and return to Earth,” I mumbled “No wonder I was promoted. Only 20 crew members will be returning with the Auriga.”
There was silence between us for a moment, then Sade silently slipped the reindeer antlers from her head, losing her festive spirit. “Well… don’t that beat all. I didn’t think a ship could run on so little.”
I looked up and blinked, trying to wrap my head around the shocking news. “I- I have duties to attend to, and I imagine that I need to report to the Captain for my new station.”
Sade nodded sadly.
I took a deep breath and straightened the dumb hat on my head. “Hey, Rudolf. I’ll see you as soon as we dock. I’ll help you pack, then we will have a few hours of party time to kill,” I slapped her on the arm “Forget rocking this ship with our party style. We are going to rock the entire space station with it!”
She looked at me and forced a small smile to her face.
“No one can take us down, at least, not without a big, big bang,” I put on as big a smile as I could muster, before taking the antlers from her and slipping them back onto her head “And if I am going to wear this crazy hat, then you have to wear these ridicules antlers.”

Seven hours later, Sade and I stood together at the airlock that would soon separate us.
“Well, we always knew it would come down to this at some point.” she said with a heavy sigh as the two of us stared at the line that separated the Auriga from Triumph.
I took a deep breath. “Yep,” was all I could find to reply with.
The two of us simply stared at the door until a feminine voice echoed in the hall. “USS Auriga preparing for departure. Separation in t-minus 30 minutes.
I sighed and turned to Sade. “Well, kid, here is where the road separates.”
Sade sniffled and I frowned. “Oh, shut up. You promised you wouldn’t do that.” I snapped.
“I can’t help it. I thought I had cried it all out in my quarters when no one was around. I cried enough to draw a bath with!” she sobbed.
“Lieutenant Zayne?” a voice drew my attention to a tall Vulcan man walking up to the two of us. His uniform indicated that he was a Commander, which instantly made me stiffen my posture out of respect for his rank.
“Yes sir, I’m Lt. Zayne.” I replied.
He regarded Sade, who was loudly sobbing without shame, then he looked at me, his dark eyes showing careful calculation as he considered the situation I was in. “I wished to congratulate you on your promotion and to say that you and I will be at the helm for this ship’s final journey. I look forward to observing your skills as a navigator.”
“Thank you, Commander Davak. I’m honored.” I said haltingly, glad that I was able to recall his name.
With that, he walked past us and down the hall into the Auriga.
Sade sniffed and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. “That was his nice Vulcan way of telling you to hurry up and get your booty on that blasted ship.”
I rolled my eyes and grabbed her in a hug. “Are you going to be all right?”
“Yes. I’ll be fine. But I already miss you.” she said, grabbing me tight.
“I know. I do too.”
“If you get a chance to go on world, tell the folks “Hi” for me, won’t you?”
I hugged her tightly. “You know I will.”
The sound of boots coming down the hall made the two of us break apart and watch as a young man approached us. “What? The two of you are still here?” he asked with a smirk.
“It’s about time you showed up, Mervin.” I said, nodding toward Sade “Take care of her.”
He threw his arms open. “Hey, what is a boyfriend for?” he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and thrust a hand out to me “Just take good care of yourself, huh?”
I shook his hand and winked. “I’ll do my best.”
Sade sniffled again. “Wave to me, before you go into warp.”
I widened my eyes and looked at her in disbelief. “Are you serious?”
She nodded, her lip quivering. “Yes, I’m serious.”
“But, Commander Davak said he’s going to be “observing” me. Remember?”
Mervin coughed, choking his own laughter, but Sade narrowed her eyes at me. “Just do it, please? And I’ll wave at you.”
“We won’t see each other waving, silly.” I put my hands on my hips. She gave me “the look” and I sighed, dropping my hands to my sides. “Fine. I’ll wave.”
She grabbed me into a hug once more, and only let me go when Mervin separated us. “Come on, you two. It’s not the end of the universe, and she needs to get to her station.”
I took a deep breath and turned, quickly stepping across onto the Auriga. I turned back around and smiled at her “Merry Christmas,” I said fondly with a wave.
She smiled and returned the wave “Merry Christmas,” she replied. With that, the airlock door closed and locked, blocking us from each other’s view.
“Lt. Zayne?” I turned to find Commander Davak staring at me at the end of the hall, which did very little to settle my nerves. He dipped his chin, inviting me to join him. I quickly accepted his invitation, and we walked down the quiet hall together. “We have some preparations to make, if you are going to keep your promise to your friend.” he said.
“Promise, sir?” I asked, wondering how much of our conversation he had overheard.
“Yes. To wave goodbye. Vulcans, and some humans, believe promises are meant to be kept.”
I nodded. “Thank you, sir. I believe they are meant to be as well.”
We stepped onto the turbolift together and he ordered it to the bridge. “What does Christmas symbolize in your culture?” he asked.
His question took me by surprise, so I hesitated until I could find the right answer. “For most people, Christmas is a time of giving and receiving. In my family, and Sade’s as well, we believe the Christian God sent His son to us as a free gift to be accepted, or not, according to one’s preferences.”
He nodded lightly. “And, according to the Bible, God’s Son came to earth specifically to die for the sins of man, thereby giving man the gift of eternal life, correct?” he looked at me.
I briefly wondered where he was going with this conversation before I replied. “Yes. That is correct.”
“For something good to come of his birth, he had to die in order to bring about something new.” he noted. The turbolift door slid open to the bridge, but neither of us moved to leave it. “Therefore, by his example, one can learn that change, even hard change, often leads to good.”
I blinked, finally figuring out what he was doing. I smiled sheepishly and looked down at my feet. “Yeah. I get it,” I looked back up at him and smiled “Good analogy.”
He spiked an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side just slightly. “I’ve learned that humans often need a “pep talk” when they have experiences such as this.”
My smile grew. “Well, thanks. You’re pretty good at it – the pep talk, that is. You shifted my mind to thinking about what really matters.”
He dipped his chin and stepped out of the lift. I followed him and we both took our stations. “Do not forget your promise.” he reminded softly as we both began to input the proper calculations for separation from the space station and a jump into warp.
I nodded with a smile. “Yes sir. How could I? It is my gift to her, after all.”



Biography:

 Kathryn Fogleman is a self published Amazon author of clean, family friendly Fantasy and good humor. She also happens to be a Science Fiction nerd with a dash of crazy fangirl. She focuses her writing around the one thing in her life that is a constant: the Creator of the Universe.
Kathryn's website: http://www.kathrynjfogleman.com/
Kathryn on Amazon: amazon.com/author/kathrynfogleman
Her Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/kathrynjfogleman


Sunday, December 21, 2014

The Red Ship by Gabriel Perez


“Nicholas, are you seriously not going to shave?  Your face is beginning to look scruffy!”
            “Yes dear,” Nicholas replied while rubbing absently at his hairy chin.
            “You’re impossible,” his wife said, and then she promptly turned away from her husband and quickly grabbed her holo-tablet.  “I’m calling my mother!”
            “Yes dear,” Nicholas repeated, and then he reached down to dip his paint brush into a can of fire engine red paint.  When he was satisfied that the bristles were completely soaked he continued painting.
            “Hi Mom,” he heard his wife say.  He continued listening to her as he worked.
            “Hi Lisa, how are you?”
            “Mom, my husband still continues to act crazy.”
            “I guess he still hasn’t given up has he?”  Lisa’s mom asked.
            “No, ever since the beginning of this year he’s been acting more and more bizarre, and now, to top it off, he’s growing a beard!”
            “Oh, well, he probably looks handsome,” Lisa’s mom said.
            “No, no he doesn’t, and please don’t encourage him.  It’s bad enough that he’s a Junk Trader for the entire Fleet but now he’s starting to look the part also!”
            “Now honey, you knew he was a Junk Man from the start so I don’t want to hear that.”
            “I know Mom.”
            “You’ve been married ten years so his behavior should be no surprise.”
            “I know, I know,” Lisa said exasperated.
            “Well, has he told you how he plans to carry out his plan?”
            “You mean his plan to attach an enormous junk barge, which he bought at the beginning of this year, to our only family Space Wagon, and then proceed to attempt to deliver gifts to all the children of the entire Fleet?”
            “Yes,” Lisa’s mom said, smiling slightly, “that plan.”
            “No, he hasn’t told me that, but I will tell you that he’s painting our Space Wagon red even as we speak.”
            “Red?  Why Red?”
            “I guess it’s the same reason why he is growing a beard and has gained about twenty-five pounds in the last few months!”
            “Oh dear.”
            “Yes, I think ‘crazy’ is actually too soft of a word for what is going on here.”
            While the women spoke Nicholas just chuckled softly to himself.  He finished painting the last coat on the Space Wagon and stood back to look at his handiwork.
            It was perfect.
            Everything that his wife and mother-in-law were talking about was true.  He had made plans to deliver gifts to all the children of the fleet.  He had also announced these plans to everyone he encountered and news traveled fast.
            What was also true was that he had spent the better part of the year fashioning together the gifts from the junk he bought from the space traders.  The gifts for the children were all the same; they were just metal boxes with four wheels attached like a toy car.  It was blue cars for the boys and pink cars for the girls.  Nothing special.  No, the special part was the other gift he had in mind.
            In the beginning of the year a space trader by the name of Mel had flown into the trading port.  He had a garbage barge full of junk that no one wanted.  When Nicholas first saw it he rejected it, but it turned out that Mel was a pretty good salesman.
            Needless to say, Nicholas ended up with the garbage.
            After a few days of rummaging though the rubbish he came across something in the pile that was of such value that he couldn’t believe it.  It was that treasure that he was going to share with the Fleet.  It was also that treasure that he hadn’t told anyone about.  
            “Okay Mom,” Lisa said, bringing Nicholas out of his reverie.  “I guess I’ll have more news after he leaves tomorrow.”
            “He’s doing all of this tomorrow?”
            “Yeah, can you believe that?  When everyone gets a holiday break my husband decides to take off.”
            Lisa’s mom shook her head, then, after a while, they completed saying their goodbyes.
***
            Just after midnight a distress beacon sounded waking up Private First Class Timothy Reynolds.  He checked the cause of the beacon and sent word to Fleet Command.  The Fleet Command Sergeant studied the situation and then sent word to the General.
            The General of Fleet Command was a stern man, but he had a tendency to be somewhat soft in the middle.  This was known to only a few however.
            “What’s the status?” he asked.
            “We have a distress signal coming from Section 12 Quadrant 25.”
            “Did you say 12 and 25?”
            “Yes sir.”
            For some reason the numbers sounded familiar.
            “What’s the situation?”
            “A little red ship carrying an enormous garbage barge is stalled there.  What should the protocol be?”
            “Destroy it,” the General said.
            “Sir?”
            “Wait…did you say a red ship?”
            “Yes sir.”
            “We have no red ships in the fleet.  Is it ours?”
            “Yes sir.  It belongs to a Junk Trader by the name of Nicholas.  His distress message says that he has gifts for all the children of the Fleet and his message also says ‘Merry Christmas.’”
            “Merry What-mas?”
            “Christmas sir.  What is the protocol?”
            “Destroy it.”
            “Sir?”
            “Just kidding.  I think I heard about this Junk Trader.  Send a fifty ship squadron to assist.”
            “Yes sir.”
***
            About twenty minutes later Nicholas was busy checking his ship’s scopes when he saw a large squadron of fighter ships suddenly arrive.
            “Goodbye world,” Nicholas said.
            As he said this his radio beeped.
            “Junk Trader Nicholas, please prepare for boarding.  We are here by command of the General to assist in delivering the packages to all the children of the fleet.”
            Nicholas wiped his brow and smiled.
***
            At about five in the morning the General’s assistant approached the stern General with a package.
            “What’s this?” the General asked.
            “It’s a gift from the Junk Trader Nicholas.”
            The General took the package and opened it.  When he saw what it was, that soft part of him that only a few people knew about grew even larger, and he smiled.
            It was a blue toy car and…a bible.  The bible was in pristine condition.
            “Merry Christmas,” he said to his assistant and he smiled again.
            His assistant looked at him perplexed and said, “Merry What-mas?”
            “Christmas my friend,” the General said.  “Merry Christmas!”


The End

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Staying Productive During Difficult Times

Today was a challenging day for me to stay productive.  I woke up in the middle of the night feeling horribly sick, then I had to drag myself out of bed this morning feeling like I'd just played a game of professional football- and you guessed it, I was the football.  Lying around all day and watching movies would have felt really nice.

In addition to being sick, my wife had to take the cat to the vet to be spayed, and I needed to direct five of our six kids through their daily chores and activities.  We have two biological kids and four foster kids, all of whom are home schooled.

I know you must be feeling vastly sorry for me by now.  Would I like some cheese to go with my wine?  Actually, I'm not whining, just pointing out that life isn't always easy.  Sometimes we have to deal with the distractions we expect, and sometimes the ones we don't.

I always try to push through life's distractions and redirect my efforts, no matter how numerous those distractions might be, and come back to the things that need to get done, tackling them one at a time until as many items as possible are checked off my to-do list.

Some days are more difficult than others when it comes to being personally productive, but if you think about it, every day is sink or swim time when it comes to succeeding in the things we want most.

Keeping our priorities straight is essential, but we mustn't use the most important things in life, such as our relationships, as excuses for being non-productive.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Don't Follow Your Passions, Take Them With You


Mike Rowe- Take Your Passions With You

I recently watched this Mike Rowe video on Facebook, and it really got me thinking. If you haven't seen it yet, click on Mike's picture to open the link.

This video got comments from people agreeing and disagreeing, but I think those who disagree fail to get Rowe's point.

You don't always want to follow your dreams/passions, what you want to do is take them with you.  See the difference?  It's an important one!

Financial Guru Dave Ramsey often says things like "If you're not careful, your dreams can turn into nightmares."  For example, if you've always wanted to own a bakery, then you might want to learn how to bake.  Get a job in a bakery.  Save money, learn the business, develop a business plan- do it the right way!

Even with our best efforts, we simply might not be blessed with the things we need to fulfill our dreams the way we originally thought we should.  Mike Rowe's example of American Idol Contestants is a perfect example of this.

However, we might not all be able to become rock stars, but anyone can become a better singer.  Keep in mind though, even if you've become a much, much better singer than you were, due to lessons, practice, etc., you still might be terrible.

Does that mean you have to give up on your passions?  No, but you might have to modify them, or make them your hobbies.  Doing so might make you enjoy them even more.

A few years back, I read an article by a friend who was finally able to fulfill his dream of opening up a martial arts school.  He loved the martial arts, and opening his own school was his ultimate dream.  It only took a few years to discover that he absolutely loathed owning his own school.  The business aspects that he had to deal with robbed him of every ounce of joy he'd once had for doing something he loved.

Whatever you do in life, learn to find some sort of joy in doing it, and if you can't then move on, but do so wisely and in the proper time.  Don't turn your passions into burdens, or your dreams into nightmares.

Good advice!  Thanks Mike Rowe.

What do you think about Mike's advice?  Comment below and let me know.

Friday, October 10, 2014

The Minstrel's Tale

Book Description
Fourteenth Century, France
Amos Questerly, a wandering minstrel takes on a
mysterious young apprentice. But his new protégé,
Richard, carries a deadly secret. A secret someone
is willing to kill for.
To reach safety they must earn their way to England
by telling exciting stories of magical swords, princesses,
and dragons, while danger follows on their heels.
By the time Amos learns Richard’s secret, it’s clear even
England may not be safe. The two, trapped in an adventure
as thrilling as any of the minstrel’s tales, must follow a
perilous path that leads straight to the royal palace.
My Review of the book
My wife and I like to read books as a family, and The Minstrels Tale is a great example of a book that the whole family will enjoy. Though written for young people, adults will enjoy this tale just as much. Submerging myself into this story was like stepping into the past, and I felt like I was right there alongside Amos and his young companion. I can't wait to find out what happens in books 2 and 3, and will definitely check out anything else this author writes. Great read, highly recommended!
 The Author
Anna Questerly lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with her husband and their two Border Collies, Bridget and Bandit. When she's not writing, you can often find her at her favorite bookstore, Dog-Eared Pages.

Anna considers herself a minstrel. Although she cannot sing, dance, or play an instrument, she does enjoy writing stories. Anna has wanted to be a writer since the sixth grade, when she first read J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. Visit Anna at www.AnnaQuesterly.com

Monday, July 28, 2014

Anna Questerly Tagged Me For a Blog Tour!

If you haven't yet been introduced to Anna, here's her bio.


Anna QuesterlyAnna Questerly is a children's author. Her fiction novels are not only historical fiction, they are also packed with fairy tale stories for younger children--like dragon sagas, princess tales, even zombie fables. One of Anna's regrets is that it took her so long to fulfill her dream of becoming a writer. She encourages young writers to keep writing through her blog, school visits, and her young writer's workshop at Dog-Eared Pages bookstore in Phoenix, AZ.



 Anna was tagged and forced to answer four questions, lest she be locked in a tower without any dinner for the next 1000 years.  You can visit her blog here.




Now it's MY turn to answer these questions, lest my liver be gnawed on by 1000 angry pygmy marmosets.  So here goes.

What am I working on now?
I'm currently working on Bleeding Star Chronicles 10. When that's done, I'll be finishing up with Michael Belmont and the Curse of the Thunderbird, which is the 3rd book in that series. After that, I'll be returning to the Blowing Off Steam series. I have a number of other book ideas I'm eager to get started on, but I've found that three ongoing series is more than enough, so I'll be finishing up all of these first.


How does my work differ from others in its genre? 
I write across genres quite a bit, so my young adult fantasy is infused with age appropriate horror, and my Sci-Fi has some elements of fantasy. I write what I want to write and don't worry about the constraints of genre. This doesn't mean I'm not mindful of tone; I am. I work within the confines of the worlds I create, as all authors do, but I don't let those rules be defined by others.

When I write work intended for young adults and children, I try not to write "down" to them. I believe children are a lot smarter than people give them credit for.


Why do I write what I do? 
I write about the things I'm interested in, not only in regards to genre, but also with consideration of life themes or human emotions and struggles. I strongly believe that my work should touch people in some way or make them think about the important things in life. God, religion, human relationships, friendship, loss, etc; these are the mysteries and struggles of life that we're all on a journey to answer. These are the things that connect us all and make us relate to one another as people.

My favorite genres are obviously Sci-Fi and fantasy, though I currently have a great idea for a horror(ish) book that I can't wait to write, as well as a murder mystery dark comedy novel.


How does my writing process work?
I generally try to write 1000 words a day, depending on what's currently going on in my life. Sometimes things get crazy and knock me off schedule, but I get back on track as soon as possible. I usually focus on one book or novella at a time, but might work on something else that day if my heart isn't in what I'm writing. I've found that it's important to write even when I don't feel like it, just like all the books on writing will tell you.


And now it's my turn to tag two more authors whose work I enjoy, so here they are. Look for their blog posts next week!

 
 

She's an established author with her debut novel for mature young adults Pulse of Heroes, winning "2010 Best Independent Paranormal Novel" by Paranormal Reads.
While the entire series: The Pulse Myths won "2012 Best Independent Paranormal Series" by Paranormal Book Club-with addition of her main immortal character Elliot De Costa being voted as "2012 Best Fictional boyfriend." Now PULSE GENESIS, the 3rd novel of the series is getting praised as a masterpiece!

She has NOW released a brand new novel! 86 Special in a separate genre of "New Adult" which follows the story of twenty-three-year old Clay Wilder, who falls in love with a mature woman who used to be his childhood babysitter, all the while continuing his sports aspirations to become a professional soccer player, and raising his young sister.
 
In the paranormal genre, A. Jacob Sweeny is noted for creating an imaginative world beyond the stereotypical paranormal "creatures" (vampires, angels, etc.), and actually spearheading a shift in the entire paranormal genre. Her unique characters are beautiful and fierce, otherworldly and yet absolutely realistic. She uses her background of ancient history, archaeology and mythology as part of her on going research.
-Holds a BA in History with special emphasis on ancient Near East & Religious studies.
-Participation in three late bronze age/early Iron age archaeological digs.
Tel Meggido, Tel Quaifeh,  & Tel Dor
-continuing education at UC Berkeley in Ancient myths & Near East archaeology.






Jeffrey Allen Davis writes Action/Adventure fiction with a Christian twist. A child of the 80s, he was initially inspired by the martial arts movies that were so prevalent during that decade. As early as his preteen years, he would hand draw comics about a group of martial artist heroes. His friends and cousins would read them and pay him polite, insincere compliments.

When he was a Junior in high school, he took a study hall that was before any of the classes that actually gave him homework. So, finally realizing that he couldn’t draw a stick figure properly, he wrote—by hand—three stories about his martial arts team. The compliments were more sincere this time, as the readers didn’t have to sit through his awful artwork.

His Senior year of high school, he finally took a typing class with the Sophomores. During this time, he was a library assistant and, to help him with his typing, the librarian gave him a blank 3.5” floppy disk so that he would write on the library computer (after his work was done, of course) and be able to save it. He took the first handwritten story from the prior year and expanded it, finishing a prologue and two chapters by the end of the school year.

The summer after high school, he received his first computer as a graduation present. It was state of the art, with four Megs of RAM and a 256 Meg hard drive. He finished that first story, printed it off on his awesome dot-matrix printer, and put it in a three-ring binder. Then he got bored and stopped writing.

Two years later, some of his friends were visiting him and one of them, a sweet girl named Anna, saw that manuscript and asked to borrow it. He let her and was shocked when she’d finished half of it by the time he saw her at their church’s youth meeting the next day. Inspired, he wrote two more manuscripts before he left home to go for his Junior year at SMSU in Springfield, MO.

In 2000, he had just moved with his wife into their first apartment when he found the three manuscripts and the corresponding computer disks. The first one was corrupted, so he completely rewrote it (again). It was published through a “traditional” publisher in 2003 and the sequel was published through the same publisher in 2005. Irritated by the way that they treated their authors, he resolved to not publish anything else through them until his contract was up.

In 2010, he founded a new press, GCD Publishing. After publishing a novella about pornography, he re-published his first book, completely rewritten (AGAIN), in 2013. He is continuing that series, while planning at least a trilogy of novels (and short stories) about Seigi, the reformed assassin. Visit him online at http://jeffreyallendavis.wordpress.com.