The broad wagon wheels ground loudly as the handler drove the vehicle off of the powdered crystal of the salt flat onto a hard shelf jutting out from the towering obsidian monolith. They had arrived near the darkest hour of the night. “Welcome to the Island of Black Glass. I’ll leave my wagon here with [...]
Crossing the White Sea had been an arduous experience. The tribespeople’s ingenuity had amazed Simon. The handler had driven his lizard team up through the tunnel beyond the veil. Their path was lit only by the soft glow of thousands of crystals. But the old tribesman drove the team with great confidence at a speed [...]
Simon could not tell whether he was awake or dreaming. He could not tell what was real or imagined. The pain. Was the pain real? Was the thirst real? The cracking of his ravaged lips, the burning dryness of his throat, the blistering constriction of his sinuses, the pounding throb behind his eyes, and the [...]
Tor opened his eyes. He lay on his back on sands illuminated by the glow of a million stars glittering overhead. He felt kindled by a strange, cold fire that burned inside him. It seemed to him that only moments had passed in that other dream-like state. But the wheel of stars overhead told him [...]
Tor floated in a darkness lit by clouds of purple fog and showers of incandescent sparks. He sensed the lurking presence of the shadow but could not see it. “What have you done?” “No more than what you asked. Have you forgotten your words so quickly?” “What words? I agreed to share my vision with [...]
Today, Margot, Bella, and I hiked a 6.2 mile loop through the Mission Peak Regional Preserve. It’s a large area (about 3000 acres) with miles of hiking trails, including sections of the Bay Area Ridge Trail and the Ohlone Trail. The views are breathtaking from countless places in the park, which looks down across Fremont [...]
Chapter 11: Desperate Times “Plagues are not the only thing to come out of the Great Desert. The shamans of the reclusive Desert Tribes are rumored have cures for disease and treatments for health conditions that surpass the understanding of the Healers Guild. Unfortunately, they do not often share their knowledge with outsiders. Those who [...]
It’s official. I’ve signed myself up to work on a second novel. But wait! I haven’t even finished the first one you say! Technically true. But I had so much fun writing my Voices of the Deep short story, that I decided to do something similar again. Don’t worry, I’m still working on Doormakers’ Fall, [...]
Hello loyal reader(s). As the title of this journal entry suggests, this has been a big week. On the work side I managed to secure a second round interview with a Solar PV company in East Bay. They’re doing some very exciting work developing and deploying cost competitive renewable energy solutions. Right up my alley. [...]
The sun was peering bleary-eyed over the eastern horizon as Howard stood waiting on pier number eleven in Westrim’s busy bargeport. Two days had passed in a blur, and with each moment he drifted farther and farther away from the life he had taken for granted. Elise had kept him housebound the entire time. It [...]
