Conquering the mountain

So this last weekend, I decided to solo climb Y Mountain.  For those of you who don’t know, Y Mountain is one of the smaller mountains along the Wasatch range local to the Provo/Orem area.  It’s called Y Mountain because of the enormous letter “Y” painted on its side (yeah, that’s what they do to… Continue reading Conquering the mountain

Craving another retreat

Last night, I got together with an old friend from last year and went camping down in Sanpete county, in the Manti-Lasal National Forest.  Even though I didn’t get a whole lot of writing done, it was a much needed change of scenery. Man, southern Utah is so different from the Salt Lake and Utah… Continue reading Craving another retreat

Where will Joe go?

Just a quick and dirty update before bed, because hey it’s been forever since I’ve posted to this thing. Holy crap, this last week was CRAZY for my family!  Youngest sister got married, middle sister had a baby, and oldest sister…well, I’m not at liberty to discuss that yet.  But congratulations to all of you!… Continue reading Where will Joe go?

Some thoughts on the future

I went to the first class of English 318 yesterday, and the lecture got me to thinking about my mid- to long-term future as a writer. Brandon spent most of the period organizing the class, which was made doubly difficult by the ridiculously small classroom size.  I swear, bureaucracies exist only to make life difficult. … Continue reading Some thoughts on the future

The second to last post of the year

I’ve been figuring out what to say in my Obligatory New Year’s post–resolutions and all that.  Before I do that, though, I wanted to give an update on recent goings-on. First, the writing: I’m making excellent headway in the latest draft of Mercenary Savior, and should be finished by the end of next week.  WAFH… Continue reading The second to last post of the year

In the Realm of the Wolf by David Gemmell

Never leave home without a weapon, Dakyras taught his adopted daughter Miriel.  Though they live a quiet life alone in the mountains, death is never far from the man known as Waylander. When the Assassin’s Guild puts out a high price on Waylander’s head, both Waylander and Miriel find themselves on the run.  With them… Continue reading In the Realm of the Wolf by David Gemmell

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold

Cordelia Naismith never thought she would find the love of her life on a scientific survey to an unexplored border world, let alone that he would be a Barrayan, one of the enemy.  But Aral Vorkosigan is not just any other officer in the Barrayan Military.  He is courteous, fair-minded, thoughtful–and above all else, driven… Continue reading Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold

Life in the Real World

So it’s been a week since I graduated, and life in the “real world” is very different from academia.  In some ways, it’s scary, but in other ways, it’s actually kind of fun. Freedom from schoolwork is HUGE.  Seriously, I had no idea how much day-to-day stress came from school until now.  Without this or… Continue reading Life in the Real World

With the Lightnings by David Drake

Daniel Leary, Lieutenant in the Republic of Cinnabar Navy, dreams of commanding a military starship one day.  Unfortunately, as the estranged son of a corrupt senator, and with almost no money to his name, he has virtually no chance of ever seeing it happen. While serving in an assignment on Kostrama, a neutral trade world… Continue reading With the Lightnings by David Drake

Gah! It sucks

I’m about a third of the way through To Search the Starry Sea, and my greatest fear at this point is that it isn’t as good as the last novel I wrote.  Because if it isn’t as good, that means that I’m getting worse, not better, and if I’m getting worse, that means I’m never… Continue reading Gah! It sucks