On this Father’s Day, 2015, I would like to honor my father, Donald, and talk a little about his life and legacy. A short bio would go something like this: Born to the son of a Czech brewery owner and the daughter of a German brewmaster, he grew up in western Minnesota during the Great[…]
Today marks almost 2 weeks since my time of grief began. I last wrote about this on the 9th in a post titled A Double Dose Of Grief, and so this is an update. In short, I am still grieving, but now a new grief has been added to it. You see, we attended the[…]
I shaved this week for the first time in many years … the modern version, I suppose, of pulling out one’s beard. You see this was a week to grieve doubly … once for the two year anniversary of my mother’s death on November 6th, and before that for a reason that I’m not yet[…]
This month we’re reviewing (as part of the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour) Anne Elisabeth Stengl‘s latest entry in her young adult Goldstone Wood Saga: STARFLOWER. However, since I’m very busy with work, writing, and Christmas, my daughter Ness, aged 12, wrote the review. Here it is. Review of Starflower, by Ness The[…]
It was 1995, I had just moved to Missouri, and was browsing that newly expanded thing they call the Internet. I ran across a picture of Robert Frost as a young man, and sat in shock … … I had never seen anyone who looked so much like … me! No, we are certainly not[…]
For those that have read my “About Me”, you may have noticed the phrase “amateur comic book artist”, but not have known what that meant. Well, my son Leighton just purchased a WACOM Intuos4 graphics tablet, and he asked me to draw “The Spectacle”, my first comic-book hero: I named and created “The Spectacle” when[…]
Welcome to Day 2 of the CSFF Blog Tour where we are reviewing the young adult novel, VENOM AND SONG (book 2 of the Berinfell Prophecies) by co-authors Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper. Book 1 Summary (For those unfamiliar with the Berinfell Prophecies) Book 1, CURSE OF THE SPIDER KING, is a fantasy inside-out.[…]
Yesterday, a strange series of events happened … all in the perfect order to cause my daughter, Ness , to have quite a fright. First off, I was mowing the lawn, and promptly got the mower stuck in a muddy section near some woods. So I’m trolling the garage to find chains, anything, that I[…]
After multiple hundreds of hours of work by many, many individuals, we have finished the Curse of the Spider King book trailer video! If you like the video, rate it 5 stars, as that will help raise its profile and help sell more books. The Curse of the Spider King is a YA Christian fantasy[…]
Here’s an added bonus for the Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy Blog Tour where we are covering the young-adult fantasy novel, North! or Be Eaten in The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. The bonus? My son, Leighton who is 15, wrote his own review: NOTE: PLOT SPOILERS BELOW ! BEWARE !! ^ OR B E-10.[…]
A few weeks ago we watched the documentary C.S. Lewis: Beyond Narnia While not perfect, this documentary was well done, and I particularly liked the details into C.S. Lewis’s life that I had never known, such as: About his experience in the Great War, as well as what happened to him afterward. The fact that[…]
Not only is our family band working on recording our first CD, but we also have a new website, updated info, and a new banner. Check it out at: http://www.WrenSong.org JOIN THE BATTLE! Keep informed about the latest news and events for The Merlin Spiral and the upcoming Pendragon Spiral! Subscribe Related Posts Wren Song’s[…]
I want to make known to all my Missouri and Illinois blog readers a festival that celebrates the reformation. It is Providence Church’s Reformation Day Faire, held the weekend of October 23rd and 24th (2009) near Peoria, Illinois. The festival this year celebrates the work of God in and through John Calvin. The keynote speaker[…]
Yes, its true. And I don’t mean “We saw a meteor”, because most anyone could have seen a meteor in the last few days as the tail of the Tempel-Swift Comet came in contact with Earth. A meteor is something that enters the earth’s upper atmosphere and burns up, leaving a streak of light across[…]
My children’s Celtic band, Wren Song, will be performing this month at the St. Louis Festival of Nations. Admission is free! So anyone in the area, come down, meet us, and hear some excellent music. We’ll be at the Folk Grove stage at 10:00am on Saturday, August 29th, 2009. And yes, I’ll again be performing[…]
My son, Leighton, took my 2D Xara drawing of Excalibur and converted it to 3D using Blender (excellent free 3D software). To do this he imported the graphic, created a flat 3D model to match it, and then extruded it appropriately. After touching it up, he mapped my graphic to the proper faces of the[…]
Yes, you heard it right, they are building a real Medieval castle in Arkansas, near Branson, Missouri! And not just building a castle, but building it using the same tools and techniques as were available in the 12th century. And it will take them 20 years to finish! To quote their website: In the heart[…]
In my time with the Lord prior to celebrating Resurrection Sunday with my family, I found a gem in Psalm 81 [ESV]: Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob! Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp. Blow the trumpet at the new moon,[…]
February 19th started like any other day, except that I was going to the dentist to get two cavities filled. While there, I was given a shot of novocaine (or something like that) in my left cheek. While the dentist was administering the shot, I sensed what felt like electricity jolting my tongue, and my[…]
It was my birthday and my kids put out a super effort to make an incredible “movie poster” style drawing of my book! You’ll notice that the left side has all the “bad guys”, and the right side has all the “good guys (and gal). (Also, if you notice any problem with the colors, know[…]