First Word

Q: How did you come up with the idea for the book? A: I play a lot of Scrabble and Bananagrams, and I used to read science fiction when I was a kid.   I remember having a vivid imagination, and I did a lot of daydreaming. I really enjoyed old movies too (in those days they weren’t really all that “old” – now they’re “classic”). As an adult I began to read more books about science, particularly quantum physics, and books or articles about consciousness. So I decided I wanted to put all of those experiences into a novel. Q: Why did you write it in a short-story style? A: I’ve been reading short stories most of my life; short stories were my first introduction to reading – O. Henry for example. I progressed to reading novels, and it did seem like those were two very different formats.   But I also read serialized works like Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes , Edgar Rice Burroughs Pellucidar   and the John Carter of Mars series, which...

An epic struggle erupts! The time for revenge draws near. Who will survive as the very fate of humanity is at stake? Children of the Guardians is an incredible, intergalactic tale about the classic struggle of good vs. evil. Nearly 150 years have passed since Arturo mysteriously murdered two Guardians and stole their Crystal Skulls. The year is now 2027, and the G`Alad has strategically positioned themselves politically and physically to take control of the Earth, but they must first find and destroy the last Pyraportal that protects the peaceful Balsarius. Meanwhile, Guardian Ana must prepare to fight back against her estranged grandson, Arturo. Ana has fled to keep her new charges from falling to the temptations of the evil-tainted weapons that now control the G`Alad and Arturo. Will Ana have enough time to train this new generation of Guardians, or will Ares and Arturo destroy them before they begin? Can Ana and her charges fight this alone – or will she need hel...

Rating: ***1/2 I always love an intricate story (since I'm a storyteller) and admire the writer's ability to keep it all straight. The Edge of Tomorrow , the new Tom Cruise movie and co-starring Emily Blunt, was one of those movies with extreme thoughtfulness to details to make it work. The movie begins right as the world is about to be conquered by aliens called Mimics. Tom Cruise's character begins as a cowardly spokesperson who gets suddenly thrust in the invasion on the beach of France (think D Day in World War II). With absolutely no combat experience, Cruise is thrust right into the "shit" and within moments is not only being dropped from an airplane with no experience, but also lands on the ground to face the enemy. He is (naturally) instantly killed, but before his demise he lays eyes on Emily Blunt's character and a look passes between them, and then she dies and Cruise dies ... or so we think. All of a sudden, he wakes up with a jolt back to th...