I have had the privilege of having an interview/bio posted on author Tanya
Watt’s blog http://authortanyawatt.wordpress.com/. 
She calls it a “Shout Out”.  It was very kind of her to take this time to
publicize “Quest for the Red Sapphire”.  Take a look and see for
yourself.   Keep on reading everyone!

I’d like to use this blog to give some props to my good friend Angel
Dunworth.  She is one of the most talented writers I know and she has just
had her first book published.  “Snapshots from Home, Stories from
Dysfunctional High School” is an insightful look at the problems facing many of
today’s adolescents.  It is a collection of relatable stories and
consequences.  This is a noble effort on Dunworth’s part to shed light on
topics parents have been dealing with for years but had little support for
handling.  She has numerous resources on her web site  http://www.streetlighthalo.com/index.html
to help embattled families cope with problems ranging from drugs to relationship
issues.  Their collection of stories is believable because they come from
the heart.  She points out that troubled teens are not bad kids.  They
just need a little help.  Pressures today are different than they were even
a few years ago.  This book is an essential coping tool for families in
need of help.  Stop by and download a copy at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/401286
for just $1.99.  This book could change a life and maybe even save one.

Well, it’s one of those things in life that you see coming.  You know it’s
coming.  You often wish it wasn’t coming.  But in the end it is like
most events in life.  There really isn’t anything you can do to change
it.  Today is my birthday.  I thought about this blog for a
while.  I could write the “Why I Hate Birthdays” blog or the “Why I Love
Birthday’s Blog”.  As usual, I fall somewhere in the middle.  So this
is the “Memories of My Birthdays” blog.  So let’s get the negative part of
it out of the way.  I have been sick on over half of my birthdays,
including this one.  There have been snow storms on seven of them. 
The space shuttle Challenger blew up on one of them.  That was a
bummer.  The only famous person to be born on my birthday is Alan
Alda.  As much as I liked M.A.S.H., my brother was born on the same day as
Paul McCartney.  I cry ‘foul!’  That’s really about it for the
whining.  As John Lennon said in a Christmas song, “…Another year over, and
a new one just begun.”  Now let’s look at the more pleasant things.  I
was born very late and in the middle of a cold snap in Port Huron, MI.  My
mother said, “I knew you would not come out until the temperature broke freezing
and the first day it did, you were born.”  Those of you who follow my
writing know my mother was a key individual in my life.  She always used
this date to single me out and remind me I was special.  She always woke me
up by singing Happy Birthday.  Even when I was in college or moved far
away, I would get a call.  Sometimes it was on the answering machine
waiting when I arrived home.  Once I was in Vancouver, BC
working.   I was staying in the bottom of this little
bed-and-breakfast for a few months.  She contacted the owner and had her
get me a cake so I would have one on my birthday.  I love fresh fruit and
one of the things I always ask for is fresh fruit.  Unless I move to
Australia that’s going to be a tall order.  But Mom took me grocery
shopping every year and we would get a pineapple, oranges, grapes and a
coconut.  Dad would always make his world class lasagna.  He always
used real ricotta cheese and a splash of tabasco sauce (maybe that’s why my
stomach would get so upset) to give it some kick.  It took hours to prepare
and he built it like he was doing surgery.  My brothers and sister would
blow up balloons and then we would rub them on our heads in order to build up a
static charge and stick them to the walls.  My sister is one of those
people who would be the best at anything she tried.  Every year she would
make me a Devil’s Food cake with sour crème icing.  They were
masterpieces.  I never truly thanked her for all the effort.  In
college my two roommates would play the Beatles song “Birthday’ and sing it to
me.  And now I take my whole family to Olive Garden and have Dairy Queen
Cake for dessert.  It doesn’t sound too bad, does it?  I am blessed to
have family that cares about me and they show it on this day.  I guess
birthdays aren’t all bad.

Volume 2 in the Sapphire Chronicles, “Sapphire Crucible” is edging slowly toward
being ready.  The editor has it but I need to write a prologue.  
That doesn’t sound so difficult when you consider how many words I have written
on this project.  It actually is a challenge for me.  Summing things
up in few words has never been my style.  I much prefer to let my words
flow and shake out every idea in my crazy mind.  My favorite band is
Genesis and I remember an interview years ago with their keyboard player, Tony
Banks.  He was asked why they had so many long songs rather than more
radio-friendly short ones.  He explained that writing a short song is much
harder than writing a long one.  That sounded ridiculous.  Surely
writing something short is easier than writing something long.  He
explained that writing a long song allows you to work your idea to
completion.  Writing a short song only allows you to touch on highlights of
the idea and therefore leaves you feeling incomplete.  Between the
interviews I have been blessed with and the prologue for the next book, it has
been hard to take a 490 page novel and sum it up in a few pages.  I have
been storyboarding the order and keep having to edit out parts to shorten its
length.  It’s a good thing I use this process or else I would end up
writing the whole first book over again!  It really is hard to write in
fewer words…at least for me.  I have talked to some writers who say the
fewer words they have to write, the better.  That simply amazes me. 
What kind of writer doesn’t like to write as much?  I can understand
wanting to finish a project for closure.  The writing itself, however, is
one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life.   Perhaps it is seen
as more of a job by others.  That would make sense.  If you view
something as work it automatically takes on a less appealing stature.  My
wife laughed when I told her about the prologue.  She told me, “Writing
things in few words really isn’t you.”  She does know me best. 
Nevertheless, if Genesis can write radio hits, I can write an effective
prologue.  So those of you waiting for Book 2, be patient.  It will be
coming.  If you haven’t read Book 1, give it a read.  Think of it as a
long prologue.

I have been honored to have another interview posted!  This time the good
folks at “A Drip of Truth and a Drop of Lies” took the time to interview me and
post my answers.  It is really exciting to be able to reach out to
different groups simultaneously!  Here is the link.  Enjoy!  http://dolewrites.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/rival-gates-has-been-interviewed/

I just had an awesome interview with “The Book Club”.  Follow this link and
press the picture of the book cover.  I am very proud of this piece. 

http://rubinaramesh.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-fighter-and-writer-who-started-story.html

Cars are such a pain.  They are a necessity in our lives.  Your
ability to work or shop or anything else depends on the reliability of your
automobile.  My Mother-in-law used to say, “You have a car payment or you
have car repairs and sometimes you have both.”  Ain’t it the truth! 
Every time I take my car in for one of those discount oil changes they always
find something in dire need of repair.  The brakes are worn down and they
never seem to be able to turn rotors anymore.  They always have to be
replaced because they are too thin.  Another time the shocks and struts
were in bad shape which was making the car dangerous.  (Making the car
dangerous seems to be the selling point with every repair.)  The tires look
fine but they have small cracks in them and could blow at any time, like when
you’re driving your family on the highway.  Then there are the ambiguous
problems.  There’s a leek and we need to trace it back to its source. 
That never ends well.  The check engine light is on and that means there’s
a $20 sensor that needs to be replaced but it will cost $200 in labor to get it
changed.  Suddenly that oil change has become a very expensive, day long
trip to the mechanic.  Engines aren’t the only thing ridiculous about the
cost of cars.  My daughter’s car was backed into and the driver was
responsible enough to exchange information.  It took about two weeks to fix
the car and thankfully neither we nor our insurance had to pay the bill.  I
say that because the bill was $3700 for a dent in the quarter-panel.  When
we looked at it in detail we saw that less than $400 went for parts.  About
another $250 went to tax.  The rest was all labor!  I am in the wrong
field.  That is a ton of money for labor.  With most of these repairs,
however, you have to have them done or else risk your family’s and your own
safety.  There is never a good time for a large auto expense but they do
always seem to come when money is tightest.  What alternative is
there?  Even if you checked five other places, they are all going to give
you at least as grim a diagnosis.  At first I was angry at the mechanics
but then I started thinking about it from their point of view.  Yes, it is
in their best interest to find things wrong with your car.  But consider
this.  What if they saw a potential problem like the cracks in the tires
and told you it was something that could wait to be fixed.  Then you go out
and have an accident because of the faulty tires.  They just opened
themselves up for a lawsuit.  So I guess they have more than just selfish
reasons for bringing up these problems.  They are protecting
themselves.  It doesn’t make me any happier but I can at least see both
sides of the coin now.

I have the honor of being interviewed today on Kelsey’s Book Corner Blog. 
The guest blog/interview has a character interview, a piece about the book and a
section about me.  I want to take this time to thank the good folks at
Kelsey’s Book Corner for their hospitality in giving me this publicity. 
They were very kind and helpful in making this appearance possible.  Here
is the link.  Enjoy the read and the site!  http://www.bloglovin.com/frame?post=2232911011&blog=2403327&link=aHR0cDovL2tlbHNleW9wc2FobC5ibG9nc3BvdC5jb20vMjAxNC8wMS9jaGFyYWN0ZXItaW50ZXJ2aWV3LWFzc2Fzc2luLW9uZS1ieS5odG1s&frame_

Today I have both daughters home with colds.  They are so sad, locked up in
their rooms wanting nothing but soup.  I heard that a study was done on
chicken soup and that there were deemed to be no medicinal qualities to the
product.  Nevertheless, as far back as I can remember, chicken soup has
been the go-to remedy for every sniffle, sneeze and other cold symptom. 
There must be some medicinal quality to it or it wouldn’t keep being used. 
Once I had a cold when I was little and I could not sleep.  My mother was
out of town and my father was looking after me.  He went into the kitchen
and came out a little bit later with a cup steaming hot.  He told me to
drink it and I did.  It tasted like lemon but was very strong.  I
finished it and went right to sleep.  The next morning I woke up and went
to school.  What was the cure?  He had made me what he called a “Hot
Totty”.  I was very impressed by my father’s healing ability and shared the
story with my mother when she came home.  To this day I have not heard what
Dad put in there but I suspect there was a splash of Johnny Walker Scotch. 
Mom took Dad aside upstairs and I could hear her muffled voice yelling for one
of the few times in my life.  For good or ill, all I can say is I felt
better in the morning.  I probably had only the smallest bit of alcohol but
it is no more than I would have had with cough syrup.  Though I am not
brave enough to try such remedies on my own children, I can’t help but wonder if
some of the old cures were better or at least as good as what we have
today.  After all, for all the talk on television, they still haven’t cured
the common cold.  We used wet wash cloths and Tylenol to bring down fevers
when I was young.  Now they have dozens of medicines out there that claim
to do the same thing.  Who’s to say which is better?  It is amazing
with all our modern science that we still must often rely on the body to heal
itself.  I am not putting down modern medicine.  As I have said many
times, without today’s medicines I would not even be alive right now. 
Still, there seems to be some merit to the old ways.  Many cultures around
the world use very basic remedies that seem to be effective.  Maybe it is
time to try something old before something new.

There are certain universal truths known to mankind.  Most of them you have
heard before like, “A body in motion tends to stay in motion” or “You can’t make
an omelet without breaking some eggs”.  Other truths are lesser known but
just as correct.  For example, “When someone else yawns around you, it
makes you very likely to also yawn.”  I don’t know why that is true but it
is.  Before writing this I was talking to my youngest daughter about such
things and she said, “Don’t forget the most important one.  When people get
angry, ice cream makes them feel better.”  At first I ignored the notion
but then reconsidered.  She just might have something there.  When my
son was little and my wife would come home from work she was usually
angry.  She did not particularly like her job and it was a great source of
stress in her life.  As she changed clothes, my son would put “Dirty
Dancing” in the VCR and scoop a big mound of ice cream for her.  If it was
an unusually bad day he would break out the fudge topping and scoop it on to
hold his creation together.  Other times he would cut a banana in half and
then put on the ice cream and fudge (only in extreme emergencies!).  Once
my wife entered the living room the movie had started and my son would rush
forward holding the dessert over his head and forward like he was making a
sacred sacrifice to a pagan god.  My wife was always pleased with the gift
and would watch the movie in bliss so that she could see that “Nobody puts Baby
in the corner!”  It worked every time.  My son taught his sisters and
they carried on the tradition.  There is something about ice cream that
simply puts you in a better mood.  Have you ever had a bad day and then
stopped at Dairy Queen or another ice cream emporium and felt better by the time
you left?  It is a universal truth that works on all but those who are
lactose intolerant.  I have no scientific data to back this up, mind you,
but my empirical observations tell me the theory is correct.  Perhaps there
is a chemical reaction that takes place with the ice cream?  Maybe it
brings back memories of younger days when stress was not so intense. 
Whatever the reason, I don’t argue with the results.  So next time someone
you love is in a bad mood, fetch them a bowl of their favorite ice cream. 
After all, it can’t hurt.