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Continue reading →: Imagining AishaIn Geronimo’s Spirits, one of the novels I am drafting, the lead character Chappo seeks revenge for his brother Tak’s fentanyl overdose death. His pursuit of the responsible Mexican cartel leads to a 21st century Apache-Mexican War. In an effort to track down a lead to a cartel lawyer, Chappo…
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Continue reading →: Research on ConcussionsIn Chapter 4 “The Monster” in my draft for Boudica and The Butcher, Gideon returns injured from the battle at the mill. While Boudica is useless in helping him, she does summon help. Asclepia, the medic from Chapter 1 “Harvest of Blood” comes to assess his wounds. I knew that…
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Continue reading →: State of Nature StoriesOne setting I have reused in several drafted short stories is a modern man and woman alone in a state of nature. It is my hat tip to the thought experiment of the contract theorists about the origin of government. In my stories, it becomes an exploration of: Who is…
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Continue reading →: Imagining MataOne of the pivotal characters in my draft novel Boudica and The Butcher is Mata. She is an assassin unexpectedly trapped in Pilgerruh by The Butcher’s siege of the city. Cleaver, the city’s rebel leader, had her captured. He blackmailed/hired her to kill The Butcher. Stuck for a name I…
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Continue reading →: Origins of Sy’s Name in “Divine Gift”When doing initial drafts, I usually don’t even name the main characters. Why? I don’t know who they are yet. As a placeholder, I may give a temporary name from a listing of popular baby names. By the time, I start editing I get serious about naming characters as I…
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Continue reading →: Mya AssassinBelow is the raw beginning of dialogue between a man and Death for my short story with a working name “Mya Assassin.” The raw draft lacks narrative, description, & editing. During drafting, I focus on dialogue, some action, and character interaction. I was inspired by a couple YouTube videos by…
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Continue reading →: Imagining TessaWhen drafting Boudica and The Butcher, I took a break to create a series of short stories set in the same period and location. The idea behind these 20 short stories was to focus on some world building outside the novel; what does the world of a future Second America…
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Continue reading →: Researching Combat Ear ProtectionI was watching a video of The AK Guy, as one does, when it dawned on me that the characters in Boudica and The Butcher should probably have some ear protection in combat situations. For example, in the draft of Chapter 1 “Harvest of Blood,” I should add during the…
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Continue reading →: Voices in His HeadI have a drafted short story that begins with a schizophrenic driven from his college classroom by the voices in his head. He escapes back to his apartment where he drinks Jack until the voices in his head are drunk, which enables him to sleep. In his dream, he meets…
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Continue reading →: Imagining AsclepiaIf you have read my draft chapter “Harvest of Blood” then you have met Asclepia without knowing her name. Initially her story was drafted as a standalone story in the same future Second American Civil War setting as Boudica and The Butcher, but I liked her so much that I…






