Tumbling Goblins

There's also the, "I never liked their books/movies/etc. anyway" response, which I find obnoxious and petty. Good people can create bad art. Bad people can create good art. Disliking someone's art says nothing about that person's worth as a human being.

Taking Chuck Norris as an example, some will point to good things he did, movies they loved, and say it's a time to grieve a loss.

To me, Norris is a man who *actively* and *unrepentingly* worked to deny rights and equality to my friends and family. That's real and personal harm.

I've seen a few people posting "Back the Blue" memes, and I find myself wondering what that phrase actually means.

Does it mean speaking up in support of the officers who were assaulted on Jan. 6 while defending the U.S. Capitol? Or speaking out against the broad, sweeping presidential pardon of the ones who committed those assaults?

Does it mean condemning those who tarnish that uniform by abusing their power, escalating confrontations and responding with disproportionate violence, violating both the law and their own procedures and rules of engagement?

Does it mean holding them to standards of honor and discipline and training?

Does it mean protesting when politicians use them not for law enforcement, but for their own personal vendettas?

Does it mean respecting the laws these people are supposed to be upholding? Laws like freedom of speech, freedom to observe and record, freedom from harassment based on the color of one's skin, and so on?

Or does it simply mean blind faux-patriotism, victim-blaming, and justifying ever-escalating acts of violence, terror, and homicide.

Does it mean cheering and making excuses for poorly-trained masked thugs terrorizing *those* people in *those* cities.

Does it mean trading in your morality, your sense of right, the core principles of your religion, and any sense of shame for unquestioning, unthinking obedience and loyalty?

Does it mean backing the enraged man who says "Fucking bitch" after shooting a woman three times over the calm, frightened woman whose last words were, "I'm not mad at you"?

I'd expect anyone who truly "Backed the Blue" to be the first and the loudest to speak out against armed, uniformed bullies and thugs whose actions dishonor and destroy the reputation of law enforcement.

I would just like to say that the german audiobook of your novel “The Legend of Jig Dragonslayer” has accompanied me well through my early childhood (probably earlier than age appropriate lol), since my mom was obsessed with it and we listened to the CDs while going to bed. They were a gift from my father and even after they split, they brought a sense of comfort for me.

Your characters are especially engaging and I find the humor with which you write wholly earnest and witty. I don’t think anyone else could’ve convinced me to pray to Shadowstar as an eleven year old, trying to rope in all my friends on the fantasy goof.

You’re a huge part of my interest in fantastical stories, in writing, in storytelling and character work.

I hope you have an awesome day / night and that you know that your art has truly left an impact.

Oh, this is an ask right :00

Do you have a Slash fun fact?

Well Wishes!

J

Oh, wow. Thank you so much, J! This made my whole month. I'm so glad those books have been such a positive thing in your life.

The new year means it's time for me to do another of my writing income posts. I've been doing these since 2007, because I think it's important to have the conversation. I think of it partly as mythbusting--that's right, not all authors spend their time being chauffeured about in limousines while sipping the finest vintage of Coke Zero from frosted mugs. And I know it was tremendously helpful to me as an author to have some clue about realistic vs. unrealistic expectations.

The big caveat, of course, is that this is all just one data point. Overall, I feel like I've been pretty fortunate. Just keep in mind that everyone's career is different, and what's unrealistic to me might be just another Saturday for someone like Rick Riordan. But one data point is better than none, right?

It's Publication Day for SLAYERS OF OLD!!!

From the publisher's official description:

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Golden Girls in this humorous contemporary standalone fantasy about a group of former Chosen Ones coming out of retirement to save the world one last time."

This one has gotten a good amount of early buzz. People seem especially fond of Squidward, the cat on the cover :-)

The audio book will be available in mid-December.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this book happen, including my agent Joshua, editor Navah, and my wife Jen, who came up with the title.

Thanks also to everyone who said nice things, like author Julie Czerneda, who called it, "An instant classic and most highly recommended!"

HARDCOVER: Amazon | B&N | BAM | Bookshop

EBOOK: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Bookshop

Thank you! I'm so glad you liked them :-)

With Smudge, honestly, I'd never been fond of spiders. But I knew Jig needed some sort of companion. So I figured I'd set myself a challenge to make as lovable a spider as I could write.

He was loosely based on googling images of different kinds of tarantulas. (Which was a little disturbing.) But he wasn't inspired by any particular real-life spider.