Dear Reader

Do you have a personal paradise?

I'm not speaking about the garden of Eden, or Shangri-la. A paradise is your little slice of relaxation and nourishment for the soul. Whether it is an island vacation, or a favorite resort, or a family home, the very act of returning begins the healing process for your spirit.

I mentioned the last time I wrote that life was being experienced. Well, I don't think I realized just how busy life was going to be this summer. Three daughters able to walk about and enjoy their summer means a lot of time spent playing with them. Absolutely wonderful…and exhausting. Three girls need the outdoors.

Which was what made this past weekend so special. A big family vacation to my personal paradise: Mount Desert Island. A large island off the coast of Maine, I've been going with my family for close to thirty years. But for my twin daughters, and my mother-in-law, this was their first trip to Maine.

If you have never been to MDI or Acadia National Park, it is one of the forgotten treasures. I watched as family experienced something I hold dear in my heart for the first time. Driving up to Mount Cadillac, the highest point on the Eastern Seaboard. Our three year old had a blast running over the rocks!

Then there was walking through Bar Harbor and Northeast Harbor. Small island towns with wonderful little shops, and gorgeous views of the ocean.

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We made it all the way down to Thunder Hole, and Seawall. And the girls all got to see a dozen deer chilling out on lawns and by the side of the road.

And of course: the food! A surprising BBQ place hidden on the island. We got to find out just how our littlest daughter feels about ribs.

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And of course, the seafood was sublime. There are plenty of ways to eat shrimp, and scallops, and every kind of saltwater fish. But no trip to Maine is complete without some lobster, and eating at a lobster pound on the water is a wonderfully messy experience.

Driving back home gave me time to think and reflect. Returning to a paradise is so relaxing because, in part, you're going back through time. The very setting of the world around you reverberates with echoes of the past. Hikes you have already done before take on a special meaning, remembering what it was like to go up the side of a mountain as a child. Food and restaurants bring back loved ones that may have passed on.

And now these echoes are being joined by new memories being made. Returning to a personal paradise enhances the experience, again, and again, until it is a veritable palace of memories.

Life continues on. Is it going exactly as planned? Of course not. And that's what makes it truly memorable.

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A quest was given to a young mage.

Go out, see the kingdom. Discover its magics and mysteries.

And he promised a miracle.

The first arc of Legends of the Realm ends with Wind on the Watchtower.

We are so excited to be bringing issue 6 and the conclusion to the Watcher Saga. Camriddeon has traveled the length and breadth of the kingdom of Dannisfire. Battled raiders, guardians, and his own darkness. But now, he fulfills a promise, and gives King Marcus Cairn a miracle.

Issue 6 of Legends of the Realm is a gorgeous 28-pages of epic fantasy. Filled with amazing illustrations from Evan Scale, we hope you enjoy this entire series.

How are the books coming along?

Nice and slowly. I'm just about done with editing the first half for The Innkeeper's Dirge, book 1. And book 2 is plugging along nicely.

I realized a few years back that my best writing is a bit of a seat-of-the-pants style. Taking a basic, three-page outline, and slowly filling it in or completely rewriting it as things progress.

Book 2 of Innkeeper's Dirge: 39,696

Children's Book Progress: 5,950

Agents Queried: 8

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Some awesome projects to check out

A 2 book graphic novel adaptation of the original Phantom of the Opera is nearing it's conclusion! Come check out Becky Laff's amazing adaptation, and back today!

What if it became mainstream knowledge that magic was real? What if you found out that your neighbor was a centuries old fey creature? What if you were living with monsters? These are the questions posed to some of the finest talent working in indie comics and each has put forward their answer.

Dead by the Book

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I didn't ask for a destiny.

Especially one that says that I'm supposed to destroy every god in existence.

It made the name William Creed a curse. Made me turn tail and run from the only home I knew. Left my friend, my favorite ghost, and hoped that the gods would just forget about me.

But now I'm back. Chasing the one good paycheck I've seen in years. Chasing some kid who's in way over his head, searching for a book that could break reality.

I'll have to take on dragons, the undead, a whole cosmos of deities, and my own mother.

Welcome to God Street. Where miracles become realities.

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