Vindicate me, O God,
Be not deaf to my plea!
My enemy has triumphed over me,
His heart swells with pride at my defeat.
His tongue is forked like a serpent’s,
His words the venom of snakes.
He spits them in my face,
Burning my eyes nearly to blindness.
My dearest friends drink his venom
and are poisoned against me.
Cut out his tongue with Your Sword of Truth,
O LORD God Almighty,
So that he may be silenced.
Be my Shield against his venomous darts
that my integrity will shine.
And be the Serum of Truth
that purges his lies from my friends’ hearts.
My LORD and King,
You are the God of Justice
Before Whom all unrighteousness perishes.
Look upon me and bring me justice
while I am yet in the land of the living.
Then I will proclaim your praises to the peoples,
Your great deeds to the ends of the Earth,
That all may know the glory of my God. Selah
Long have you searched the world
Seeking her—the rarest treasure.
She is worth far more than rubies,
But who can find her?
She is a precious stone, a pearl of great price,
Often thrown before swine
And trampled in mud,
But never losing her luster.
Find her while she may be found.
But if you do, you must sacrifice.
Sell all you have, lay your pride aside.
Only then, by suffering, can you pay her great price.
But it will seem like a pittance,
For her beauty is matchless,
And like a snowflake, there is none like her,
And never will be again.
Will you fight to earn her?
Will you prize her, cherish her?
Will you polish her so she may shine?
Do so, and she will be your crown forevermore.
I have great news. As of last night, I completed the second draft of my fantasy/comedy novel, Ninjas and Talking Trees, and submitted it to Hades Publications, who published my first novel, Pandora’s Box, under their Absolute XPress imprint in 2010. Now I must wait and see if they are interested in publishing it.
This book tells the tale of a young accountant who is transported to an eccentric fantasy world ruled by an equally eccentric tyrant. In order to get home, he must learn “the Ways of Hero-dom” and overthrow the villain. While it isn’t a parody, per se, it does poke fun at some fantasy story stereotypes (and a few from anime/manga), and it uses many of the genre’s archetypes for comedic effect.
You can read more about the humorous history of the story here. I also have a short story entitled “Bow to Your Sensei” that I wrote as a warm-up to the book several years ago for a blog contest. It’s posted here.
My brother Jarod has contributed yet another piece of excellent artwork for one of my short stories. This time it was for “The Hammer,” a science fiction story you can read here. The artwork portrays the hero, Matthias Maccabeus, punching out a disguised robot assassin. Check it out:
So, if you haven’t read the story yet, I hope you will now. Why would you pass up on excitement like this?
Hello, readers! I wanted to remind you to come out to the North Webster Community Public Library this Saturday from 10AM-noon because I;ll be having a book signing! The signing is advertised as being for Destroyer, but I will also be signing and selling copies of The Day Afterand a few leftover copies of Pandora’s Box (since my story in The Day After is a companion piece to my novel, it is only fitting).
This past Saturday, I and my co-authors Timothy Deal and Nick and Natasha Hayden returned to the former campus of our alma mater, Taylor University Fort Wayne. We sold and signed copies of our books in the marketplace during the Fort Wayne Celebrates event, which serves as a replacement for the school’s homecoming.
I arrived at 11:30 AM or so, thinking it started at noon. I quickly learned it didn’t start until 1:00 PM. Timothy arrived around noon, and the Haydens arrived with their toddler son, Fyodor, at 12:30, so all of us were gathered and ready in time. Within minutes, dozens of alumni swarmed the marketplace area and perused our books, which included Pandora’s Box, Destroyer, and The Day After.
The Haydens sold copies of Destroyer and The Day After like hotcakes, probably because we offered to sell them together for $12 when they sell for $7 each. I, on the other hand, practiced well the art of hawking and sold all but two of the seven or eight copies of Pandora’s Box I brought. My favorite customer was Parker, a 14-year-old boy whose mother from the class of 1989 bought him a copy of the novel. He read it intently for the rest of the night, as you see here:
So, overall, it was one of the most fun signings I’ve had so far. I’ll try to post a full gallery of pictures later. (I know, I know. I’m way behind on my photo galleries here).
Next up: The North Webster Community Public Library, October 15.
If you came to the book signing my partners in crime Tim and Nick and Natasha and I held at Summer’s Stories this past Saturday, thank you for making it a rousing success. If you didn’t come…why?
While the signing was originally just for Destroyer, we received copies of The Day Afterright before it, so it was included. I sold nearly twice as many books there as I did the first time I had a signing at the store (of course, it helped that I was selling two titles).
Don’t forget that this Saturday I will be at Fort Wayne Celebrates on the former Taylor University Fort Wayne campus in Fort Wayne, Indiana, from 12pm-5pm!
I wrote about some of my experiences on September 11, 2001, and the lessons it taught us as a nation in the latest blog on Breakthrough Writing Services‘ blog. You can read it here.
After you read it, please be sure to check out what services Breakthrough has to offer. “Don’t worry, we’ve got the words you’re looking for.”
I just updated my “Appearances” page with two new book signings.
On Saturday, September 24, 2011, I will return to the former campus of my alma mater, Taylor University Fort Wayne, for the Fort Wayne Celebrates event. This (hopefully) annual event is the replacement for my campus’ homecoming. My friends/fellow authors Nick Hayden, Natasha Hayden, Timothy Deal, and perhaps a few more will be present, signing and selling books at a booth in the event’s marketplace from 12PM-5PM. We’ll be there off and on while enjoying the many events going on that day, but please come see us. I will be selling and signing copies of Pandora’s Box, Destroyer, and the forthcoming The Day After.
Then Saturday, October 15, 2011, I will be signing copies of Destroyer at the North Webster Community Public Library from 10AM-12PM. I may also bring a few copies of the other aforementioned books.
My friends Nick Hayden and Timothy Deal featured me on their amazing podcast, “Derailed Trains of Thought,” again. Last November they interviewed me when Pandora’s Boxwas published. In their latest episode, I read chapter six of Destroyerin a segment called “A Bit of Story.” If you want to get a taste of the story before purchasing it on www.Lulu.com or www.Smashwords.com, check this out. You can also download the podcast from iTunes onto your iPod, iPhone, or iPad.
While you’re there, please listen to previous episodes of the podcast. It’s quite good. Both Tim (one of the novella’s co-authors) and Nick have great insights into storytelling, and, I might add, awesome senses of humor. If you’re a creative person looking for a place to discuss ideas about the art and craft storytelling, go no further.
And when you comment, tell ’em Nate sent you.
A Man from Another Time Exploring Another Universe