Dear Readers:
2019 has started strong, and I have a new story underway.
It’s a baby book with children’s illustrations.
The ever-so-skilled Katerina Dotneboya (Pokeweed artist) has agreed to do artwork on this venture.
It’s an ocean tale complete with critters and vivid, seafaring imagery.
Be on the lookout for updates regarding this and other exciting things in the coming weeks!
Thank you to all my readers & supporters,
Brian
Mothers are the lifeblood of our best days on earth. It’s a role not chosen but gifted. And those willing to rise to the occasion shape the planet one laboring gesture at a time. From the act of childbirth to Sunday school to wiping a bloody lip, they exhibit selflessness. And in an age where we can command gadgets to relay anything at a moment’s notice (our every whim really), this is a fresh example.
It still takes nine months for this gift to arrive. The virgin Mary to our own parental DNA, they are all embedded with the will to survive, to nurture. We cry and are comforted. The diaper is changed before a nasty rash settles in. Food and sustenance are supplied by our caretakers. We bask and rest in summer months filled with sunshine and endless amounts of Vitamin D.
My own is someone I cannot even begin to describe. She deserves more than tangible gifts on a single Sunday in May. I laugh when websites suggest gifts for me to send her way on Mother’s Day. What could I ever share with her that equates to the gift of life? Can a person come remotely close to delivering something so substantial as their own date of birth?
My own wife, and best friend, is developing our own gift right this very moment. A date stated as her own date of birth in late summer. She glows with the radiance of new life beneath her. The stomach nests baby much like a mother hen caring for her own. Inside great things are at work, and I marvel at what is hidden, what kicks and jolts the epidermis after some watermelon is munched down.
The skin of life stretches and new cells form. But unlike a yawning biology class, this is visible and mystifying. God’s own world growing before the naked eye. I watch and am comforted by the unknowable development. Something man cannot alter or create in a million lifetimes if he tried. The embryo that makes us all and hatches new wonders minute-by-minute. Time is paused and clocks are rendered useless while mothers do what only they can.
Birth without a death in sight is peace-filled, and worry is thankfully forgotten. Thanks being given to the Divine and for the mothers who created us into a world made better for it.
Hey readers, friends, and friends that are readers and friendly readers:
I wanted to give you the update, as soon as I found out that it was gaining some momentum. I have accepted a collaboration with Mr. Barry Newman to have a narration of “Baptisms & Dogs” available soon on Amazon!
Mr. Newman is a pro, and I’ve been able to sample a few of the first run-throughs he’s done on the collection. They sound good. Almost like hearing music played on a record for the first time.
He has a great accent and gets the sense of place just “right”. Here’s a sample of his work from a previous project: http://www.audible.com.au/pd/Biographies-Memoirs/Im-Ugly-and-Broke-Audiobook/B00HLM0F0U. Check him out. Again, his ability to keep the tone of a story serious, darkly comedic, and narrative all at once is quite impeccable.
I hope you’ll support us in this endeavor, as “Baptisms & Dogs” Audible edition will be up on Amazon in the coming weeks (March/April 2015). It adds a WHOLE new level to the Kindle/Print reading experience, and it makes each story come alive.
Hope you are as excited as I am about this opportunity!
Here’s to a great time reading.
– Brian
Hi, awesome reader friend. 
Did you hear?
I guess a better question would be “Did you see?” Like, “Did you see my new webpage?” Yeah. That’s more appropriate. Well, I hope so. You’re staring right at it, if you’re reading this.
Check out this new page.
Compliments of my friend, Mark Love. He’s clever and helpful and resourceful. I told him a week ago about a need for a website, and Voila! 7 days later and here’s a new site. Mark has revamped the old look from yesteryear on WordPress, and I appreciate him for it.
So…
“Did you see this new page?” Pretty killer huh?!
I will try to keep it up-to-date. Like a new car, I want to keep all of the dirt, dust, and bird poo away from the exterior, and it requires a lot of maintenance. May the WordPress one RIP. Here’s to a better 2015 with this one. (I must embrace my inner Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs.)
I’ll try to use it for book updates. Btw, there’s a new project (First-Novel) in the revisionary process right now! I’m nervous about that because…I’ve never written a full-length book before. The story collection from Summer 2014, Baptisms & Dogs, is it thus far. (By the way, there’s a cool giveaway going on over at Goodreads for a signed copy of the book: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/126435-baptisms-dogs-stories.)
Feel free to enter. It’s FREE!
Thank you for checking out this new page. May it be a place you return to, and I’ll try to keep this blog fresh and entertaining for you.
If you have funny tidbits of information, random thoughts, inspirational dialogue, and/or a zany personality feel free to share it on here and message me. I look forward to your participation and enjoyment of this literary, virtual space. As the Foo Fighters once sang, “Keep it Clean,” and we shouldn’t have any hiccups.
The World Wide Web is accessible, even to those of us that aren’t so techy. There. I said it.
–Brian
