“Go then, there are other worlds than these…” – Stephen King, The Gunslinger

I was once having a conversation with a friend and they pitched me the idea; what if Metropolis and Gotham City were actually the same city?

(For those of you who are not as nerdy as my friends and I, Metropolis is generally the main city in Superman’s stories and Gotham City is generally the main city of Batman stories.)

The point my friend was trying to make was that each character’s world view affected the world around them.

This past week I conducted an experiment regarding this.

Obviously, the current state of the world is not the most uplifting. Many people have lost their jobs, some people are trapped in close quarters with abusive partners, and there is a constant concern for day to day life as we know it.

Which brings me to my experiment…

I have a rather eclectic group of friends on Facebook. I don’t like to discuss politics on social media or on my site, as I don’t believe it is a productive way/place to do it, but allow me to say this. I have friends on both sides of the political fence and going on Facebook offered little beyond concern and anxiety for me.

I saw my friends demanding each to unfriend the other for a difference of opinion. I saw venom and “ad hominem” (against the man) arguments being tossed around. Posts like “if you believe XYZ unfriend me right now because you are too stupid…”, etc.

So, I deleted my social media accounts from my phone; and you know what? It feels great!

I have checked social media minimally and I have glanced at the news. I’m not an advocate of having one’s head in the sand but I wanted to remove the constant bombardment of people’s opinions, which is mainly what Facebook is comprised of.

When you listen to someone speak or read their posts think about whether or not they are appealing to your emotions, count how many times they swear, listen to their stories and be cognizant of who benefits…Truly wise people do not rely on emotion, they simply speak the truth.

Another thing I did this past week was watch the movie Apocalypse Now (Redux).

The current crisis is difficult but don’t forget all those who have come before us and the crises they faced in their time.

Now, I think we have talked about everyone’s favorite topic enough.

This month I would like to give a shout out to some local do-gooders.

Chantal and I were heading out to get some pizza last weekend and we saw our neighbors had put up a sign “free hot dogs!” As we drove by, we saw a hot dog machine and our neighbor’s sitting out equipped with masks, gloves, and tongs. I took the next road to turn around and double back. I have seen many a lemonade stand but this was new to me.

Turns out my neighbor, Shawn, was recently laid-off from USA foods and he had an abundance of hot dogs. So like most people who have recently been laid-off, his first thought was: “What can my family do to give back to our local community?” So Shawn, his lovely wife Rudy, and their enthusiastic son Luke decided to give away free hot dogs to spread some joy.

Check out their Youtube channel here! And don’t forget to subscribe so you can see what they have planned in the next few weeks!

A quick update for Where Man and Monster Meet:

I am happy to say that Icarus Falls has officially launched! I submitted it to Amazon for review earlier today and it should be available within the next few days.

Similar to my neighbors I am just getting warmed up. I have more books to write and hopefully there will be second anthology work coming out in late summer/early fall that I am working on with some of my friends.

So, this month’s advice:

Do something to gain some perspective and don’t be afraid to push yourself. Remember that there are “other worlds” out there. Try getting off of social media for a week or two or watching a movie about the human struggle. Finally, keep an eye out for free hot dogs!

Till next time!

Don't Drink the Corona!

A lot has changed since my last post only a month ago.

There has been a lot of doom and gloom on the news and new struggles have upset the patterns of our everyday lives.

I was planning on writing about how to support Indieauthors, but I don’t think it’s the best topic for

today with all that is happening around the world.

Today, I want to talk about time.

I see a lot of people on social media complaining about being stuck at home, and frankly, I am amazed.

I am fortunate enough to still be working (though it’s not always what I want to be doing) but I would love to have several weeks off. I have a small shelf of books I have told myself I am going to read someday, several video games I wish I had more time to play, and several books of my own that need writing. Not to mention an amazing wife who is stuck at home with me and gets to watch me stare into a computer all day.

Yet I keep seeing people going stir crazy.

Don’t let quarantines get to you – Don’t fall into despair with each new statistic.

There is a silver lining on this crisis. Take the time you always claim you need to rest, recoup, and to begin the things you have been putting off. I love Netflix as much as the next guy, but don’t just watch episode after episode of “Love is Blind” or “Tiger King”.

You only get so much time - make the most of it.

View this time as a gift, not just for writers but for everyone. Spend time with your families if you live with them. If you can’t be with them physically, facetime them, skype them, have a go to meeting with them. Learn to play that guitar you have had for six years but never touched or push down the keys on the piano in your living room that nobody plays. Learn a new language or a new skill, a lot of magic tricks require nothing more than a deck of cards.

My wife (Chantal, for future reference) and I went for a walk today, as we live in an extremely rural area, and we saw a mother and her little girl drawing with sidewalk chalk. When we passed by later we saw what they had drawn in the middle of the road – Flowers, sunshine, and the words “Smile, stay healthy”.

I don’t know if they realize just how meaningful their day was. In a world so focused on the negative, this mother and daughter fostered their relationship with each other, and then to top it off used that time not only to build their relationship, but to make a work of art that would hopefully bring a little joy to others.

I believe that this is one of the primary purposes of art; to bring a sense of joy, wonder, and meaning to the viewer.

I have seen a few others who have decided to take up that torch as well in this time of crisis like John Krasinski and his new news channel: SGN (Some Good News).

One last person I would like to mention is my wife, Chantal. She has been working on her acrylic and oil painting skills. Check out her work on Instagram here.

I have been debating for a while now making my book available online for free, and this seems like the right time to do it. Just go to the Where Man and Monster Meet page of the site and you will find it a PDF copy available to view. I wouldn’t call my writing joyful per say, but perhaps cathartic. Either way I hope you enjoy it.

So, this month’s advice:

Use this time where you are forced to slow down to remember that life is really about living, not working or worrying.

See you next month!

The Fear of Being Imperfect.

I’m sure you have all been waiting eagerly for this next post so I will do my best not to disappoint!

I want to write today about the fear of being imperfect.

A close friend of mine (let’s call him Bob) once told me that I was a perfectionist. We were in college at the time and I laughed at the comment as I was a B-C student, not so perfect. Then he told me what he meant by “perfectionist”. He didn’t mean that I struggled to make all of my work perfect, it was quite obvious that that was not the case. He meant that if I didn’t believe I could do something one hundred percent, I wouldn’t put any effort in at all.

He’s right. Hence, I am writing a very imperfect blog.

That mindset has been a defense for me for quite some time and it is still something I struggle with.

Many aspiring writers are afflicted by this mentality. We want our work to be perfect. Maybe it comes from the desire to be successful or maybe it is a fear of being criticized, either way, it is often a slow killing poison. Obviously you should want your work to be good and up to snuff but I have watched writers become too afraid to call their work finished and others become too afraid to even begin.

Everything you have ever been good at has taken practice, failure, and critique.

Why would writing be any different?

I sent both of my books to Bob, before self-publishing, to get his feedback. In college, we talked a lot about stories we were working on and narrative structure. Bob told me several stories that I found absolutely fascinating. I fear that those stories will eventually be lost to time as Bob suffers from a similar fear of his work being imperfect.

My advice on combating this fear of being imperfect is to start small in your writing.

Start by writing short stories.

I see so many new self-publishing authors start with a four to five hundred page novel or try to kick off their fantasy saga that will be seven books long and is eerily similar to Game of Thrones. Think about it: who is going to read a work that ambitious by someone they have never heard of?

So start small. Once you have a few short stories that you believe are up to par. Give them to family and friends for feedback and, if you are really ambitious, have someone outside of that trusted circle read them (obviously be careful that your stories are copywrited, etc.)

I was recently at a Caspian concert (I hope they will forgive me for mentioning them here), a post-rock band from MA. A recording of Bluebird by Charles Bukowski opened one of the songs. I had never heard it before but it is now one of my favorite poems. I began listening to his other work and found one on the topic of writing. Bukowski writes,

“If you first have to read it to your wife or your girlfriend or your boyfriend or your parents or to anybody at all, you're not ready…”

So, my advice: Do not be afraid to write, do not be afraid of criticism, and do not be afraid to call your work complete. You have other stories that also deserve to be told.

Please like and share my work! And I will see you next month!

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Click here to listen to Caspian – https://www.caspian.band/

Click here to listen to Bluebird by Charles Bukowski – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhi6y1XWb-E

Click here to listen to On Writing by Charles Bukowski - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9iBEUNfikk