With Christmas just a week away I ventured out to my local mall to do a little
Christmas shopping while the crowds were minimal.  As usual, I had to do a
little People Watching.  (After all, I was a Communication Major!)  In
the jewelry stores were women looking at men’s jewelry but more so, men looking
at gifts for women.  I watched as the men stood like deer staring at
headlights coming and went along with whatever the pretty young associate
recommended.  The poor fellas never had a chance.  They just handed
over their credit cards and walked bewildered out of the store.  Then I
walked by Victoria’s Secret.  I think all those pretty young female
associates shop there, but that’s not what I’m there to see.  There are
always two or three guys in there who look like they are being watched for
shoplifting.  They appear uncomfortable and nervous.  Once in a while
the will walk over to some lingerie and look intently.  Then a woman comes
near and the turnaround as if they didn’t know the display was near them. 
You can see the panic building inside them as they are interested in buying
something special for that special someone but do not want to look like a
pervert.  I take such pleasure in watching because I would be that guy if I
went in the store.  My problem is I am a talker so I enlist the help of a
store clerk.  They are always nice but I am a salesperson’s dream in that
place.  Tell me my wife needs it and it’s going in the bag.  If only
it were that simple.  You, as a man, might think you have your bases
covered with bra or panty sizes but it’s not that simple.  What cut should
the panties be?  What do you want them made of?  What color do you
want?  Are they supposed to match the bra?  Who would know,
anyway?  Are they even CALLED panties anymore or is that dating me too
much?  Then there are bras.  Where should the strap be?  Should
it be in close or out wide?  Should there be one at all.  Do you want
a push-up bra?  (That doesn’t sound too comfortable)  Then again, if
you give a push-up bra, what message are you sending?  That won’t end well.
As for lingerie, what size do you get?  Apparently not all sizes fit the
same.  If you buy something too small, she is going to feel fat.  If
you buy something too big, she will think YOU are saying she IS fat.  Good
luck ever seeing that article of clothing on her.   And what do you
call the lingerie?  Is it a teddy?  There’s some sort of thing with
garters and hose that looks like it would tear you dress shirts to shreds in the
washer.  Having watched the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is no
help.  What do you say? “I want what the fifth girl in was wearing.  I
think she had wings on.”  Yeah; that’ll help you find it.  The nice
lady helping you is sympathetic and you don’t want her to think you’re obsessed
with sex so you try to cover with an unoffensive statement.  “Is that
comfortable to wear?”  Wrong question!  Though they assure you it is I
have a hard time believing any of that clothing I’m looking at is
comfortable.  The longer you’re in there, the more you want to run for the
exit.  By the time the poor guy in the store is done he has a bag full of
landmines he has been talked into that are set to explode on December
25th.  He even has a bottle of the newest fragrance because it was a great
deal with the other items.  It makes you think the guys in the jewelry
stores didn’t have it so bad after all.

I am a guest blogger on Angel Dunworth's site today.  It is a great honor.  Here
is the link:  http://streetlighthalo.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Tomorrow night a good Friend of mine, Angle Dunworth is hosting me on her
blog.  Just go to: http://www.streetlighthalo.com/index.html
and click on blog.  Angel is a marvelous writer in her own right and it is
a great honor to be recognized by her on her site.  So tune in Monday for
the guest blog.

It is that annual time of year when all the Christmas shows you have known since
you were a child come on television.  I just watched Rudolph the Red Nosed
Reindeer with my three-year –old granddaughter.  These shows take on a
whole different perspective when you watch them with a child.  On the plus
side, you see them through the wondering eyes of a child who is terrified by the
Abominable Snow Monster of the North.  It reminds you of how scared you
were when you were little by the poorly disguised puppet.  The songs they
sing are ones you know by heart from old memories and present day department
stores.  You sense the tension when Rudolph and his family are
captured.  Everything somehow seems new and alive again.  It is almost
like you are a child all over and story is gripping.  On the other hand,
when watched through an adult’s eyes you notice some new things.  For
example, Rudolph’s father was a terrible dad, trying to hide his son’s
irregularity.  So the kid had a red nose.  Is that really so
bad?  He could have been deformed or had five legs or something.  He
has one little imperfection and his father freaks out.  Then the rest of
their society does one step worse.  They alienate him and ban him from all
reindeer games.  You would think he had a communicable disease.  But
surely jolly old St. Nick puts a stop to it, right?  No.  He
encouraged the segregation and says it is a shame about Rudolph’s nose since he
had such a great take off.  So what lesson does the story teach?  Is
it a story of tolerance and acceptance of people who are different?  I
think not.  We are shown that Rudolph was better served by running away to
grow up in the wilderness than by staying with his family.  Only characters
with their own irregularities join his company. Herbie, the elf dentist and
Yukon Cornelius are not bothered in the least by Rudolph’s nose.  Even so,
Rudolph seeks his father’s approval and heads home only to find his family
captives of the snow monster.  As my granddaughter cringed I thought that
karma had come around for Rudolph’s family.  After they are saved the other
characters regret their action but only accept Rudolph when they see what he can
do for them.   Santa only appreciates the little reindeer when he sees
how he can use him for his own benefit.  In summary we have an intolerant
society including Rudolph’s family that only holds him in esteem when they see
how his gift can benefit them.  Did I miss anything?  Oh yes, the snow
monster gets accepted in the end as well…after they pull out all his
teeth.  Think how embarrassed he will be when he gets together with his
snow monster friends.  Maybe they won’t let him play in all the snow
monster games!

Short blog tonight but I wanted to give a shout out to Freshfiction.com. 
They posted an author bio and link to my book just for asking.  Here’s the
link http://freshfiction.com/author.php?id=34104
.  In the coming weeks I will be posting on several sites so stay
tuned.  I am amazed at the reaction from my blog entitled, My Trip to Sam’s
Club.  No one believes the part about the barrel of Jack Daniels but it is
true.  Someone bought it.  If you had the keg, what would you do with
it?  What do you think he is going to do with it?  After investing
over $8000.00 I would hope he has more plans than just a shot glass.  Leave
your comments

I was taught as a child that everyone is the best at something; even if that
thing is just being yourself.  Well I have looked over my life and
determined that I have a claim to fame after all.  I am the World’s Worst
Gift Giver…who has a very good reason each time.  A lot of people really
screw up the gift giving at this time of year but I actually put weeks and
sometimes months of thought into my blunders.  How my wife has not divorced
me yet is beyond me.  Let me give you some examples.  I once gave a
great gift to my wife of a Winnie the Pooh jacket that eventually wore
out.  I spent every Christmas for 8 years looking for another one like
it.  I finally found something similar on E-bay.  I confirmed my
wife’s size and it matched!  I paid…well…a lot but won it.  Then on
Christmas day I found out the size I was given by my wife was the Men’s
size.  I bought the Women’s size.  It only fit my youngest daughter
who refused to where it.  Another time I was sent to buy a purse for my
wife.  I even brought a female friend along and a list of all the qualities
necessary.  After 7 hours of shopping I found it.  I went to 13 stores
but I finally found the purse that met all the criteria.  My wife opened it
up, thanked me and hung it on the closet doorknob for several years until my
daughter snagged it.  Somehow I totally missed the mark.  I bought my
boss a fine bottle of scotch once because I knew he liked various high end
brands.  It turns out I bought the one he drank with his friend who died of
cancer and he hasn’t bought a bottle since.  Then I gave him one.  The
man nearly cried.  I bought my children a Wii a few years ago and the game
Dance, Dance Revolution.  I didn’t know you needed a dance pad with it to
make the game work.  Then I couldn’t return the opened game and the pad was
only available in a bundle with a new game.  Just my luck.  I thought
I would try something different and give my wife a gift card to a massage
spa.  That was three years ago and the card is still unused.  She is
afraid she will like it too much and want to keep going at great expense. 
She is so sweet, but I blew it again.  I bought my son a hat when I was
away on business.  I bought a large but did not see the word “Youth” on the
label.  It only fit on the dog’s head.  I have bought flowers that
died the next day.  Then I bought chocolates that never were eaten. 
They were the wrong kind.  I really mean well but I can’t get this gift
giving thing down.   It has reached the point where I ask people if
they want a certain item and only buy it if they say yes.  It ruins the
surprise but it is the only way I can get it right.  Sometimes I have the
children save the web page for me so I don’t mess it up.  I am the King of
Well Intentioned Screw Ups.

I just went shopping at Sam’s Club.  I needed a car battery and it was
going to take a while so I shopped a little and watched people a lot!  I
must say, every cart must have had a different story and I am sure they were all
fascinating.  One cart had 15 one gallon jugs of hot sauce, 1 gallon of
kidney beans, a giant shaker of chili sauce, and a large apple pie. 
Another person bought 27 24–packs of hotdog buns, one gallon of relish, one
gallon of mustard, one gallon of ketchup. (I personally think they will be short
on ketchup) and one 8-pack of Pepsi.  Those are going to be some thirsty
people.  I sure hope they have enough hot dogs.  The next cart had a
turkey fryer, 2 spiral sliced hams and 6 boxes of Hunny Buns.  It was more
bizarre the longer I watched.  One lady had 17 bottles of wine and some
green peppers.  Others looked like they were getting ready for the
apocalypse.  One person had (I counted) 32 bags of frozen chicken and was
moving to the frozen beef patties with a flat cart.  Another person had 12
packs of slim fast, 8 boxes of diet snack bars and six bags of corn chips. 
Well, I guess they know themselves better than I do.  It seems though like,
if you’re going to cheat on a diet and you’re planning for it, what’s the point
of dieting in the first place?  If you’re going to fall off the cliff you
might as well get a running start, I always say.  Another person had 8
boxes of white paper and a bag of trail mix.  Then I saw a crowd gathering
in the alcohol aisle.  I went over to see what it was all about. 
There was a display for Jack Daniels and at the very top was an actual barrel of
J.D. with a sign the said, “One time buy.  Barrel for $8560.00” and a
person was buying it!  There were store associates going to get a lift in
order to get it down from the display.  I had seen it earlier and thought,
“There’s something they’ll never sell.”  Just a short time later, it was
sold.  Think about how much money that is?  Then think about how much
liquor that holds.  I don’t have any idea of the volume but I have to
believe the Super Bowl party is going to be at his house this year!  What
would you even do with that much whiskey?  It would take years to
drink.  It reminded me of some forgettable nights in college that made me
swear off the drink.  Even if some friends went in on it with you, that
would still be an enormous amount of alcohol.  I wish I had taken the
opportunity to ask that guy a few questions.  Cashiers at Sam’s must come
home every night and say, “You’ll never guess what the person coming through my
line had.”  At least the job isn’t boring.

A question I am often asked is how I come up with characters for my books. 
Until I started being asked, I hadn’t actually sat down and thought about the
question.  The answer is that I look for certain attributes I need in a
character and develop from there.  Main characters come first.  I have
talked to different writers and they all do things differently.  In my case
I decided to start with the Protagonist.  It was my intent to write a
series loaded with action.  If I was going to do that I needed a strong
lead character to fit that mold.  In creating Linvin (my protagonist) I
made him a general who worked his way up the ranks at a young age.  I made
him strong and charismatic.  He is the kind of person who can inspire
people to achieve beyond what they thought they could simply because he told
them it was possible.  Linvin is intelligent and always fights battles
where the odds are against his success.  Thus, he must use his intellect to
solve problems and even the odds.  He’s the boxer who gets knocked to the
mat but always gets back up to fight on.  In short, Linvin is a hero in
every sense of the word.  The problem with creating such a man is to avoid
what I like to call “The Superman Effect”.  Simply put, it is the creation
of a character that is flawless and cannot lose.  The very fact that he CAN
lose is what makes the action so intense.  Where’s the drama with a hero
who never loses and cannot possibly be defeated?  Perhaps that has an
audience but it never appealed to me.  I like strong characters that CAN be
beaten…though not easily.  Linvin has flaws.  He is still young and
headstrong.  When he forgets his teachings or lets his emotions rule his
actions he makes unwise decisions.  Most importantly, he lets people get
under his skin and then he loses his edge.  It almost always leads to
ruin.  That is a character I think readers can root for and associate with
on some level.  Once you have a solid Protagonist created, you need the
conflict in the story.  You need an Antagonist.  For my first book I
decided to do something a little on the different side.  Instead of having
one well known antagonist, I chose to have several of varying degrees of
agitation.  To have a good Antagonist you need someone who perfectly
exploits the Protagonist’s weaknesses.  They must exploit their advantage
and cause great distress and even suffering.  I have antagonists in
Linvin’s cousins (Bander and Rander…mostly Rander).  They are a constant
source of irritation and routinely press Linvin to his limits of
tolerance.  Then there are the Numbers Assassins trailing him.  They
are hardly mentioned and yet are always top of mind.  Finally there is what
I call the “Invisible Antagonist” This is an enemy set against Linvin from the
start, but not identified.  The reader is kept guessing about their name
throughout the book but it is clear the person is powerful and set squarely
against Linvin.  The second book, due out in the next couple of months will
finally unmask this villain and bring the conflict full circle.  And that
is my method for starting a story.  If you write, find one that works for
you.

I would be amiss if I didn’t start out this blog with a shout out to my alma
mater Michigan State University who just won the Big 10 Championship in
football.  Go State!  With that said, I will get back to
business.  The other night I noticed something as I sat down in my
chair.  My wife was doing something on her smart phone.  My one
daughter was on her tablet and my other daughter was listening to her
iPod.  We are a technology based society these days.  I actually have
free reign on the desktop computer because no one else in the family really uses
it except me.  This is not a blog about technology being evil or
great.  It is an affirmation that it has become a cornerstone in our
lives.  I make no secret of the fact that I basically learned to write by
telling stories with my family after dinner as a child.  Sometimes we
played cards as we talked but we always had a pot of tea.  It sounds boring
and downright painful to my children but that was our family time.  We had
television and that was about it.  If there was a show you wanted to see,
you better remember to watch it and hope no one else was using the T.V. because
there was no DVR to save it for you.  So we talked and told stories and
played games.  It seems like those days have gone by.  I look at the
Christmas lists I have been given and they are increasingly tech related. 
In college I was on the cutting edge of technology.  Now I am a dinosaur
needing my children to help me figure out my smartphone.  When my daughters
do their homework and can’t find the answers they look on the internet.  I
used to look things up in a set of encyclopedias we owned.  It makes me
wonder which way is better.  Having the internet puts information at your
fingertips and allows you to find the answers quickly.  That’s certainly a
plus.   It is efficient and effective.  Looking things up in
books took more time and was often painstaking.  Then again, maybe I
learned more?  Perhaps searching for the answers taught me organizational
skills and the value of hard work.  With all that being said, if I were in
school and needed help on a paper I would definitely make use of the
internet.  Everything is right there.  I think that is the point of
this blog.  You can love technology.  You can hate technology. 
But one way or another, it is here to stay.  When companies fail to change
with the times, they go out of business.  (See Blockbuster)  We as
individuals can’t afford to be left behind in today’s technical world.  But
sometimes I really do miss those talks over a pot of tea.

I think my debit card just sent me a message.  That message was, “Stop
using me for everything!”  It literally broke into pieces.  The corner
chipped off along with part of the reader strip.  Then it split
horizontally in two places.  That card really didn’t want to be used
again!  I called my bank and it will take 2 weeks to get me a new
one.  That means for two weeks I have to use cash.  And in order to
get the cash I have to go INTO THE BANK.  Farewell beloved impersonal
ATM.  How I miss the ability to sit in my car and be given cash.  Now
I will at least have to put on a hat when my hair is a mess in order to go into
the bank to withdraw money.  And carrying cash is so inconvenient. 
What if I want gas and want to pay at the pump?  Too bad.  I have to
guess how much my car will hold and then go pay the attendant.  Afterward I
have to go back and get the change.  How repulsive.  I feel like I’m
back in college or something.  Then there is the problem of having a pocket
of change jingling around with you.  Very uncool.  I am in serious
withdrawal pains.  It has been less than a week and I think I am going to
pull my hair out.  I can’t believe how much I have come to rely on that
card.  Oh please let the new one come early.  It is sad how addicted
to the card I have become but it is so convenient.  You would think I was
getting over drugs but it’s just a spending habit.  Don’t even ask me to
write a check.  I do that a couple of times a year for the lawn guy. 
That’s about it.  All I can do is watch the mail and wait for my glorious
card to return.