This past Friday, I was interviewed on a local TV station in Charlottesville in connection with the Virginia Festival of the Book. I was popping around doing visits to various schools helping to get students into reading. Matt sent out some press releases and landed a TV interview — small miracle!!

So we go to the TV station and what do they want to know?? Do they want to know about Luthiel’s Song? Not so much. Do they want to know about writing a good book? Nope. Do they want to know about the importance of reading at a young age?? No way. (more…)

Thirteen Wyrd Stones were crafted by Vlad Valkire while under the instruction of Mithorden at Lenidras. They are crystals that hold within them each a bit of the song of Aehmiel and the light of Lumen. Powerful aids to sorcery, the Wyrd Stones transport their users into the World of Dreams — the world from which all things spiritual and magical come. Wyrd Stones wholly reveal what sorcerers must sense in order to practice their art — the raw stuff of creation — true dreams, making it readily available for use in magic. When activated, the Wyrd Stone causes its user to become ghost-like and semi-solid. Things of the physical world other than moonsteel or nethril affect them less, passing through them with only slight resistance. Great wounds become minor. Hunger, fatigue, pain, all become an afterthought in the World of Dreams. But creatures of nightmare and dream may directly affect a sorcerer entering the World of Dreams.

She is the spirit of Oesha given flesh and form. Perhaps the greatest of the Ahrda, she is also the wife of the Lord of the Dark Forest. For thousands of years, now, she has slept — much to the grief of her lord.

Of old, Vyrl were graceful Aedar who lived upon the moon Eledweil. These angels were wise in the ways of all living things and held a deep bond with any creature who roamed the face of that once-beautiful moon.

In these days, the Vyrl sustained themselves by feeding upon the dreams of any creature they happened upon. (more…)

A small, but significant part of my story is my involvement with MySpace. This circumstance is not only due to the fact that I’ve spent two and a half years building what is, likely, the largest and most well recognized author profile on the site, but also due to the notoriety or, depending on your circle, infamy myspace commands.

For one, the site has vast public appeal. It provides what is essentially a free website to all comers with the capability to email, blog, post pictures and music. It also opens the gateway to a vast network of potential friends many of them bands and artists of varying renown.

As of this writing, there is nothing short of 5.5 million bands on myspace alone. The site boasts 163 million users and was ranked the most trafficked site on the web in November 2006. All in all, it is an impressive structure and, in many ways, exemplifies the freedoms and foibles through which the larger web has thrived and struggled.

In my assessment, which may very well be flawed, the website’s success rests on two pillars. (more…)

Book Review
The Master of Secrets
D. S. Lliteras

Dear friends,

What follows is my review for the novel The Master of Secrets by D. S. Lliteras. Before I go into the review, I’d like to say a few words about Lliteras. For one, he’s a very accomplished author and has written ten books in the past ten years. Most of his work centers around the time of Christ’s crucifixion. It explores this period in a shockingly gritty fashion and is both informative to read for what it reveals about the period and entertaining as his characters tend to be interesting, terrifying, or infinitely likeable. One last qualifier — Lliteras’s work does not beat you over the head with the Bible. His narratives are balanced and, in my opinion, enjoyable for Christian and non-Christian readers alike.

Now for “The Master of Secrets” ….

“The Master of Secrets” is a fable set in biblical times. It is the story of the adventure of a pre-teen boy — Addan — who was also a disciple and a witness to Christ’s crucifixion. He is swept away into an outer darkness filled with danger, temptation, and adventure. Reeling from the shock and desolation of Golgotha, Addan, falls in with a likable scoundrel, a heroic thief and individualistic pagan, a charismatic seller of potions and stories. (more…)