No island archipelago worth its salt would be without its mists, and the San Juan Islands, tucked into a remote corner of the Pacific Northwest, are no exception. Location names like Smuggler’s Bay and Dead Man’s Bay give away the nefarious activity, spawned by isolation, once hidden under nature's concealing cloak.
Following the Pig War, an … Continue Reading ››
In the early middle ages, a commendation ceremony to give homage to a liege lord required an oath of fealty that sealed the relationship between the lord and a member of his fighting forces.
The Commendation Ceremony
The commendation ceremony was divided into two parts: the act of homage and an oath of fealty.
My favorite childhood game was one of the imagination. I loved playing make believe. Maybe that's why creating the book extras area of the website is so fun for me. It's extra nice to know you love Fantasy Worlds, Historical Worlds, andMysterious Worlds,too.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is equivalent to magic. – Arthur C. Clarke
I don't consider myself technically advanced, but I can find my way around most problems that crop up at my website. Often, my solution is to simplify, as I did recently when I the password requirement to access the book extras features at … Continue Reading ››
When I was a child of seven, my father taught me to ride a bike. I'll never forget the time I went hurtling down the sidewalk only to hear him call out from a little way behind me. He'd let go without my knowing.
How could balance come so easily? I felt duty-bound to … Continue Reading ››
Research for my upcoming novel, Deceptive Tide, turned up some fascinating facts about the San Juan Islands, a group of mysterious islands off the coast of Washington state. Here are ten of my favorite facts about this unique island paradise in the Pacific Northwest.
Blind man's bluff was a favorite game to play whenever friends or family kids got together. If you're not familiar with this game, it is tag wearing a blindfold. Someone always wound up hurt, of course, but we played anyway.
When you are small fear takes a back seat to adventure. It's only when you grow … Continue Reading ››
Some places stir strong emotions due to the memories they evoke. This is the case for me whenever I return to an old crossing on the Stanislaus River, to the covered bridge at Knights Ferry. This was a place of history long before I first laid eyes on it during a childhood outing with my … Continue Reading ››
I made a humbling discovery recently. For a blog series I'm writing, I researched the psychology of conflict and turned up four basic types of internal conflict. The labels in psychology for these four tensions are not understandable by most of us, but here's my translation: choosing between two positive outcomes, choosing the lessor of … Continue Reading ››
