I promised it eventually, so here we are. I’ve been an avid reader since I learned to read, around age 4 or so, and well… I’m pushing 41 now. Many of my favorite books are ones I chose a long time ago, but that doesn’t mean I have stopped adding to the list. So, this is going to be a somewhat eclectic mix, but I’ll try to cover a variety and give some insight into why I love them. Don't be surprised if there are additional posts like this one in the future, detailing other books I love for various reasons. These are just some of the ones that have either spent a long time in my favor or exploded onto the scene so strongly I can't not love them.

Phantom (Susan Kay) - I found this book when I was in high school and fell in love. It’s a retelling of Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera and goes into much more detail of the characters and creation of the Phantom himself. Those of you who know me know I love prequels and how-does-this-come-to-be stories, and this is very much one. The book is broken into sections from different points of view: the phantom’s mother, the phantom as a young boy, a companion, Christine, and others. I’ll admit that it’s a format I adopted myself for Starsigns, telling the story from different POVs.

Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card) - Yeah, I know this one is problematic. Not the book itself, but the author. As much as it sucks, I fell in love with Card’s writing over 25 years ago, well before the world was alerted to his horrible opinions on humanity outside his narrow view. I am proud to say he hasn’t gotten any money from me since I found out. The books are good, just buy them used so he’s not getting money for them.

Anyway, there is still a lot of this story (and the extended Enderverse) that gripped a young me. First of all, it’s centered around games, but it’s also got a varied cast (heavily male, but that’s explained in the book). The few female characters are very memorable and strong. 

But it’s largely the psychology of the whole book that’s its strongest draw. Through conversations, you get a lot more information on what’s going on in the greater world and insight into the minds of many of the younger characters. There’s also a big shock reveal towards the end that in retrospect, couldn’t have happened any other way. I know it’s sort of silly to attempt not to spoil a 40-year-old book that’s already been adapted to film, but I’d simply prefer not to risk it.

The Eyes of the Dragon (Stephen King) - I’m probably more attached to this book for nostalgia reasons than anything else. I’ve read a double handful of King’s books and generally, his stories are great, but I’m not overall a big fan of his writing style, and personally, I have yet to be truly satisfied with the ending of any of his books I’ve read. I love the premises he comes up with.
The Eyes of the Dragon is a fantasy novel he wrote for his daughter when she was young-ish. In many ways, it’s told as if it were a story being passed orally to the next generation, which I love. It reads like a bedtime story in a lot of ways. 

I think, at least as far as writing is concerned, I keep this book close because it’s a good reminder of the idea of small details meaning big things. There are a lot of early plot details that become critically important as the book develops to its climax, and the way so much is woven is is pretty great. But I can’t ignore how abruptly and somewhat unsatisfactorily the story ends. It does sort of lead into the greater body of King’s work, involving a villain that spreads across many of his works. Sadly, I lack the temperament to enjoy the other books the character is in, but that’s a me thing.

I still love this book. I have the audio version and listen to it probably once a year or so. It might be familiarity that breeds contempt, but what outgrowing of it I’ve done as a reader and writer is more aimed to dislike the last fifth or so of the book. Maybe even not that much. The climax is so darn good! It’s just the denouement that leaves me unsatisfied. 

Which is also something I recognize in my own works. I struggle with endings. Maybe this is part of why I’m so aware of it.

Fuzzy Nation (John Scalzi) - Now we’re getting into books I discovered more recently than my late teens and early 20s. I found Fuzzy Nation when I was in my early 30s, but then again, this one was published in 2011, so it didn’t even exist until more recently than the previous three.
Fuzzy Nation is a reboot of a 1962 novel called Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper. Honestly, I think one of the biggest draws of it for me is that it has the same sort of woven ends effect as The Eyes of the Dragon does. The tiniest details from the beginning come back to build the climax in the most massively satisfying way, I can only hope one day I’ll be as skilled a wordsmith. It centers around a planet being mined for resources at the expense of the its natural flora and fauna, and it’s… it’s just a whole lot of legal corporate bullshit versus environmentalism and ethics and I am here for it. 

Again, I mostly consume it via audio format. Wil Wheaton does the narration and does a fantastic job, honestly. 

This book is witty and heartfelt on so many levels. The characters feel very fleshed out, layered just like actual people are. That’s something I can very much say Scalzi does well. I’ve read a few of his books, but Fuzzy Nation is one that brings me to laughter and tears (both joyous and sad) every time I read or listen to it.

Dungeon Crawler Carl (Matt Dinniman) - Okay, I’m counting the whole series in this one, or at least what’s come out so far (up to book 7, This Inevitable Ruin). This is very much a new addition to my favorite book lists, as I’ve only been a fan for about two or maybe 3 years now (I honestly forget). But I've already talked about it on this blog, too. It's that good.

DCC is irreverent, gory, violent, absurd, and has made me cry more than I would have thought a series described that way could. Its premise is that Earth’s apocalypse is going to be televised; aliens have laid claim to Earth’s natural resources, but there is a slim chance humanity can regain its claim over our planet. If someone completes the 18-floor dungeon, they have a right to claim Earth. The dungeon is essentially one of the most popular reality shows in the greater universe, with quadrillions (or more) aliens of all types tuning in. Popularity and profitability are major draws, and the protagonist Carl (who get stuck with his ex-girlfriend’s show cat) has to navigate a universe much bigger than him while simply trying to stay alive in a video-game-like dungeon.

The characters, settings, and style Dinniman have cultivated for this series are absolutely enthralling. I eat these books up, but they’re ones I’m more than happy to wait for with each new installment. If you’re not sensitive to foul language and a hell of a lot of violence, blood, and gore, read these. The audio versions are brilliant (voice actor/narrator Jeff Hays is phenomenal). I also know there is a full audio immersion version  that I haven’t listened to yet. I need to.
This is the kind of book I wish I could write. The fan base Dinniman has cultivated is incredible. His writing is lean, descriptive, and… okay look, I don’t know how he did it, but the man managed to write an entire book where the actual setting cannot be fathomed… and it makes sense… somehow.

I’m just flat out in awe of Dinniman and this series. I need to read his other words, but based on what I’ve heard of Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon, I need to be very VERY mentally prepared for it.

A couple weeks ago, I talked about convincing myself that effort can be used in small chunks. Long stretches of craft, be it writing, crafting, exercise, or whatever aren't the only good use of my time and energy. 

I've been making some good strides on that front. I'm one of those chronically early people, so I always set my morning alarms to give me more time than I need. On days when I work, I usually end up with 30-40 minutes to myself after getting ready and eating. I know that amount of time isn't "small," but for me, it's less than I'm accustomed to. I've been so long of the mindset that 2 hours is the minimum functional working time that making good on 30 minutes is big for me.

And I've been doing it. I might not manage to edit a full chapter, but I can edit some, or write a few paragraphs of a story in that time. It's getting easier again to find that train of thought and then note for myself where to pick up next time.

In short, I am a work in progress myself, and I'm improving. A few minutes at a time.

This is the last blog post before May 2025, and man, May is going to be insane. On the day-job front-- I've talked about this before-- I'll be working weekends at the Roll Your Destiny booth at the TN Renaissance Festival. During the week, I'll still be picking up some hours at my local Jo-Ann store until it closes (which is supposed to happen later in May, but I haven't heard an official date yet). 

But wait! There's more! I've also lined up another part-time job at a local business, starting at some point in May. It's a local climbing gym, so I'll be starting another physical job, which I'm actually really excited about. It's also nice to know that I won't be completely adrift once Jo-Ann closes. But it's going to be more crazy activity and time management in May.

Outside that, I'm still working on maintaining/advancing my gig projects. I've put out some auditions and applications for voice work and some content writing gigs, I'm still streaming on Twitch (currently bling playing Super Metroid for SNES), and I'm working towards my anticipated plan of offering pro-Game/Dungeon Master services locally this fall, once The Chain Nerd convention season is over. 

It's been 2.5 months now since I started this journey, and I'm not insane yet. I'm still afloat, but it's hard. It really is. Everything is still moving forward though, so I'm okay. 

May, bring it ON.

It's been a very long, hectic week. I'm getting exceedingly eager for the prospect of my temporary job at my local closing Joann store to end, which is a very bittersweet sentence. 

But the thing I'm most excited for in the coming days is the Tennessee Renaissance Festival, which I've been attending yearly since 1999 (with 2020 and 2021 being missed due to Covid). Needless to say, it's a highlight of my year and has become a very big part of my life.

This year is going to be very different. A dream is coming true.

I'll be WORKING THERE.

I wish I could say it was because The Chain Nerd was going to have a booth, but we're nowhere near ready for that. However, I'm not going to be official Festival staff, though I did plan to attend auditions. 

Until I got in touch with a vendor who was looking for help. Last year, a small new company called Roll Your Destiny set up a booth. They boasted an interactive quest for a modest fee, one with full lore, puzzles, and a reward at the end.

My best friend and I jumped at the opportunity, enjoyed the HELL out of ourselves, and originally thought that was it.

But it was the owner of RYD who was looking for help. I swear, it was like a puzzle just falling into place, totally solved. We were exactly what RYD needed: actors, writers, total gamer nerds, and ones who had very strong knowledge of this particular festival AND had our own garb. We wanted an in into Festival setup and behind-the-scenes, money (I mean seriously) and a chance to really help a small business we believe in. This year, we get to MAKE the magic for others. We're the quest givers, the loremasters, and the ones maintaining the fantasy.

I could not be more excited.

It's not like some high-production value acting. No, this is a side story to the festival itself. The quests (we'll have a main quest and a separate side quest to offer) take you all over the grounds, to people you might not have normally interacted with. It will make you the hero of your own story, the puzzle-solver, the savior of... well... you'll have to come to the festival and undertake the quest yourself to find out.

RYD was so much fun, and somehow, I've managed to get on the other side of the curtain. Let me be your quest giver and bring you into a story you get to live!

​See you in May! Hopefully.

I've realized I don't really talk about my favorite books or what I read much, so I thought this would be a good week to do so. I think favorite books will be a longer post some other time, but for now, here's what I've read recently or am reading now.

First off, I do want to talk briefly about how I consume books. The combination of age, time scarcity, physical restlessness, worsening vision, and mental focus changing have made me almost entirely an audiobook consumer. This has happened gradually over the last 13 years or so, but it's pretty solid now that I consume audiobooks more often than written fiction beyond short stories.

Anyway, recent and current reads:

• Sunrise on the Reaping - Susanne Collins - The latest Hunger Games novel, a series I'm a massive fan of, both the books and movies. This book did not disappoint in the slightest. I was caught up from start to finish. Prequels have always been a huge draw for me, since I'm always very interested in HOW things happen rather than WHAT actually happens, if that makes sense. Explanations and context, I suppose.
• Morning Star - Pierce Brown - This is the third book in Brown's Red Rising trilogy, after Red Rising and Golden Son. Futuristic dystopian class warfare with a remarkably strong and vibrant Roman Empire/mythology influence. This has been a re-listen, but it's been probably 5 or more years since I did one, and it's always great to reunite with old friends.
• Dungeon Crawler Carl (full series) - Matt Dinniman - This series is currently up to book 7, This Inevitable Ruin, which was released late last year and in audio back in February. The entire series is literary RPG, with it being the telling of Earth's destruction being televised as a dungeon-crawling game show using surviving humans as the players. It's irreverent, hilarious, emotional, and damn inspiring. If you're not sensitive to violence, language, all that stuff, I absolutely recommend this series.
  

I have a bunch of books in my to-read list, naturally, including the Percy Jackson series, Number the Stars, The Shadow of What Was Lost, All Systems Red, and Fourth Wing just to start. I also have done fairly recent relistens to The Blackwater Saga, and I listened to The Martian and Project Hail Mary last year and plan to listen again soon.

In short, read, my friends. Consume literature. It's there waiting for you.

I'm in a very odd position right now. The physicality of my current job is no longer new and so draining, and it's rapidly coming to a point it will be dropping off my radar. At the same time, I'm gearing up for another new temporary gig that I'm very much looking forward to (See you guys at the TN Renaissance Festival in May!)

I am, at my core, a creature of routine. Yet I'm also in need of adventure and unexpected stimulation. I can potentially welcome disruptions to the routine, but not always. It's weird, but then again, so are most people. There are plenty of others out there who are the same way.

Being me, the nature of my current life situation right now has me feeling ever so slightly but constantly off balance. I don't have a regular work schedule right now, so I don't get to plan my days like I would really like to to accommodate the weird ways my brain works. This is, really, good for me, as much as it makes me grumble. For a long time, I was able to whip out a few sentences of writing at the drop of a hat. I could pick up and put down projects when I only had a few minutes to do so. From about 2017 on, though, I really got myself into a sort of... routine rut, I guess. My job and life schedule made it possible for me to carve large chunks of time to devote to creative endeavors.

I have a tendency to weigh everything in my life as a worth/transaction sort of deal. Is it worth the time to set up for this activity if I only get to do it for a few minutes? Do I want to bother getting out my paints if I only have 30 minutes to actually paint? Will I feel like it was worth getting settled in to write even though I only have time to edit one paragraph or write 2 sentences?

I have to keep telling myself that the answer is YES. It is emphatically yes.

​At my core, I am and always have been a creator. It's so hard to talk myself out of thinking I need to maximize my time, or that it's not worth the effort to put myself in the mindset to actually do the creating.

It's time to reclaim what I've let atrophy. It's absolutely worth the effort to crank out one sentence, one line of that drawing, a couple stitches of that project, or whatever it is you're picking at.

The point is not to maximize the creation in hopes of money. It should be for the passion of the creating itself. The making. At least for me, I need to remember how I used to be able to click over into a creative mindset at the drop of a hat when I had a moment. Those big time investments have great value, but so do the little ones.

Even just glancing at a current work-in-progress for a bit can help. It puts it back at the forefront of the mind, lets it stay fresh in perspective.

I didn't start this post with a real goal in mind, but I think I found one. This week, my goal is to at least write a sentence a day. Those days I don't have earmarked for writing, I still need to pull up my writing files and pick at something, just to keep the brainjuices flowing.

I'm cross-posting this little intro between my free blog post and my paid Patreon post, because it pretty much sums everything up.

It's been a rough few weeks with the new job taking up a lot of time (obviously), but it's also been good in it's exercise. I've been getting in more steps and doing low weight/high rep lifting thanks to stocking things. Alas, the time and energy it takes has been leaving me pretty fatigued mentally and physically at the end of the day, so I'm afraid I haven't had the time to write that I want to. I have to keep reminding myself this job is temporary. Even if I stay working at the store until it closes, it's only a few more weeks, and then I get my time back. Until the next thing, anyway.

CURRENT PROJECTS March 31 2025

• Dungeons & Dragons campaign 1: Bard Campaign - Session #6 fully planned. No progress, as we haven't played yet.​
• D&D campaign 2: Tootskies Campaign - Session 0.5 is ready to play, and we should be playing April 9!
• D&D Single Adventure - This is new to the list. I'm at a point where I'm ready to act on a new endeavor. I've played D&D since college, and oddly enough, I've only ever played fully homebrewed adventures. I've made my own for my parties ever since I started DMing. In fact, it wasn't until late 2024 that I ever actually held an official adventure module in my hands. I'll probably start small, but it's on my radar. Hopefully, I can make the first basic adventure happen in April.
  
• Criminal from Birth sequel - I had really hoped to have more done on this in March, but the day job ate into a lot of it. Second Draft Status: 13 of 37 chapters edited. (5 since last update)
• Magic Items book - Outline Status: Roughly 60-65% through with planning, maybe? No progress this month.

I had this post created last week and apparently it never posted here. Did on Patreon, free to the public, but... well, here it is late. 

To be totally honest, I don't have a lot to go on about this week. I am working a new part-time job, which is naturally eating into a lot of my creative time. This week was particularly unproductive because the job is a moderately physical one (stocking primarily, but some cashiering) so I was coming home after work physically exhausted and needing to refresh myself however possible. That meant a lot of rest. 

Fortunately, the human body is ridiculously adaptable, and just like with any new fitness/workout/physical regimen, reaching a new normal is surprisingly rapid. I'm very thankful for my massage gun. Luckily, I'm only stocking two days this week, so I should be less worn out so much, leading to spending my evenings doing the creative. I was able to pick at things some this week.

Even better, this job is definitely not permanent. The location where I'm working is closing in the next two months or so, which is just buying me time to get more creative feelers out and try to find some freelance writing or voice work to help pay the bills. Until then, the physical retail job it is. 

At least I'm getting in exercise. Long-term low-impact walking and some lifting, so cardio and strength endurance. Low weight - high repetition. I call it a win.​

Shakespeare famously uses a five-act structure. While I don't feel like my life is actually following the acknowledged actual form of building conflict and resolution that the five-act structure uses, I cannot help but feel like the last few months have been the beginning of my third act. Let me explain:

Act 1 for me, I would say is birth to my school years, and I'll honestly include college in that, so call it ages 0-23 or so. I think it's something of a self-explanatory act for many of us: childhood, puberty, teen years, and into young adulthood.

My Act 2, appears to have been about that age 23-40. A short act, but rather than learning to be a person, it was learning to be an adult. In those years, I went from being a recent college graduate waiting tables to a bank teller, to a call center employee (various jobs there), to a music publishing administrator. There were other notable events, such as the births of my nephews and godchildren, buying my house, and a few devastating relationships. On a more personal level, this was when I podcasted, did NaNoWriMo a few times, and published all my novels from Empeddigo to Assassin's Kin. It's also the period of time when I finally got the two gender-affirming surgeries that changed my life.

The nature of life blurs the lines between these "life acts." I could argue two real starting points for my Act 3, which is just getting started.

The first place I could point it would be about a year ago, when I first decided to pursue a neurodivergence diagnosis. Long story short, it was in June of 2024 when I was formally diagnosed as autistic. That diagnosis has and still is putting so much of my life into perspective. Behaviors I have that baffle or annoy me suddenly make sense, and by making sense, are more easily tolerated, forgiven, or even embraced. I am learning to better advocate for myself and to communicate why something is a struggle, without feeling like a fool or failure for not understanding why something like a simple phone call is so hard. 

The second place I could point to as the start of Act 3 is far more recent. A bit of context: I just had my 6th anniversary at my job in November 2024. The company gives two weeks of holiday break at the end of the year, which is generous and always greatly appreciated. I relished the time away, knowing it would be January 6th before I returned to work.

On January 1, I was finally able to acknowledge I was deeply in depression. Not for the first time, and I'm not unsafe. I won't go into my personal depression battle history, but I was able to recognize it and admit it then. I returned to work after the holidays feeling as if I'd had no time away. 

Long story short, I eventually realized that job itself was the primary source of the depression. For two of the last six years in the job, I'd been unhappy, to the point of actually searching for new employment. Hundreds of applications and not a single interview. Hell, I probably only got rejections 5% of the time, if that. More than anything, the applications were met with ghosting. But I digress. I was unhappy but treading water.

Treading water was no longer an option. After a lot of thought, I realized I had to take a risk:

I had to quit without having a safety net to catch me. For my mental and emotional health, I had to leave the job. I hadn't written decently in years, though it did sort of start coming back in the latter half of 2024.

So I did. I put in my notice, and I left that job. I started looking for new work, but in different places. And I started getting responses. Rejections, mostly, but that's better than ghosting. That's when I realized why:

For two years, I was applying for jobs similar to what I'd been doing in music publishing.

That wasn't where I needed to be. 

I'm a creator. I write, I craft, I speak. 

I make.

That's what I need to be doing with my life.

So this is what Act 3 looks like. I'm still here, currently working a part-time job that I don't like, but that at least puts some money in my pocket. But more importantly, I'm spending my time MAKING again. I'm working on books and stories. I'm getting voice demos together to audition for voice acting gigs. I'm crafting a lot more than I have in the last few years, whipping out chainmail again. 

I'm scared, honestly. But more importantly, I am HAPPY. In my job of the last 6 years, I've been financially comfortable... but spiritually broken. 

Act 3 has turned that around completely. I hope my savings last me long enough to start supporting myself through a combination of grunt jobs and freelance work. I hope that by the time this year is out, I might be scraping by with the occasional voice gig, patrons, a new book?!, and maybe even professional Dungeon/Game Master work. 

My life has always been meant to entertain and inspire. A lot of my Act 2 tried to do that, but I let the world trample me a bit, and I basically went into hibernation as an act of self-preservation. In Act 3, I'm throwing myself at it harder.

Other people can do it, so can I.

Act 3 is just getting started, and I feel so much more powerful than I ever have. I'm more afraid than I've ever been, but even that pales against my determination and drive right now. I've always been ambitious, but now I am not holding back for fear of failure. No more being safe.

No more scared, over-cautious, self-shrinking here. I have just as much ability and right as anyone to have both success and happiness. 

I really hope you come along for the ride, because I'm going to be seeing and doing some amazing things. Please come with me.