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Way back in the mists of time, or the mid to late 1990s, there was a Highlander fanzine called Highland Blades. I was fortunate enough to have three stories published within its pages between 1996 and 1998. Now I have collected them together along with a fourth that was written for the final volume but did not appear.

Highland Blades Quartet

A quartet of Highlander stories written for the fanzine Highland Blades. Richie Ryan stumbles into an all night café only to find there are worse things than being Immortal. Or is it Tessa that learns that lesson? Connor MacLeod and his new student Ian Andrews are being investigated by a New York Police Detective who may be in for some unpleasant surprises. Connor, Ian, Methos and a couple other Immortals search for the missing Duncan MacLeod. However, the group is being hunted and they may not even be safe On Holy Ground! 

Reviews For "At What Price?"

Three reviews for my eBook "At What Price?":

Review by: Yurika Kotzé on Aug. 17, 2013 :
Wow - the imagery really got me going! I can see this book successfully be extended into a full-length title, no problem. Richard manages to describe scenes and even futuristic objects with ease. I am a big fan of authors who are able to capture atmosphere - well done! I have to add that I got lost once or twice and I would have liked to know more regarding the details of the big twist, but I really enjoyed it. Even completely forgot about my cup of coffee (a rare occurrence).
                                                                                

Review by: Artie Margrave on Aug. 15, 2013 :
This is a good and complete short, free of errors and very properly formatted. The author's style was very good, the words easy to read, and painted the details in my head without stress. The pace was brilliant, had a desirable cadence. The story itself was a bit complex but had an interesting plot. A lot was told, done, explained with an appropriate amount of words. Then there was a twist at the end that took me by surprise! I enjoyed it. Really enjoyed it.                                                          

Review by: Jammie on July 22, 2013 :
Interesting story line. Has a plot twist I didn't see coming.                                               

Thank You, General Mills!!!

General Mills have announced that this year they are making all five monster cereals available. For those of you who only know the usual three, pictured above, the other two are Fruity Yummy Mummy (mummy themed, of course) and Fruit Brute (werewolf themed). The mummy has been buried for twenty years and the wolf was caged twenty-five years ago. Looks like I'll be hiding a lot more cereal from the kids this year than usual!

Review: The Easiest Way To Survive The Undead

The Easiest Way To Survive The Undead
Artie Margrave

Having been born and raised in South Western Pennsylvania and having missed a chance to be a zombie in Romero's original "Dawn of the Dead", because I was too young, it takes a strong idea or strong execution for me to invest in a zombie story. This has both. It feels like you're reading a hurriedly penned notebook, complete with strikethroughs. I did see the ending coming, but that in no way diminished the story.

My Wife's Vows

Last week I posted my wedding vows. Now in the interest of being fair and balanced here are my wife's vows.

"As I stand here today I am humbled by all that God has given me in you. I Love You Richard I know you are a gift from The Lord, and I am confident that He has led us to this day.
God knew the deep longing in my heart for a man of Godliness, a man of gentle strength and strong character, a man of loyal devotion. He has given me that and so much more in you. You have loved me with the sweetest love a love like I have never received from a man, and you have loved my children and begun to guide and mentor then, leading (teaching) my boys in the way a man of God should live. You allowed each of us a time to know the character of your heart to see the integrity in your life and to trust the love you have for all of us.
What an incredible blessing you have been.
I promise to love you always, to lift you up when you lack the strength and encourage you to reach for your dreams, I know I’m not perfect but with God’s help and your love I promise to love you always through All Time and Space."

Awesome! with a Capital Chainsaw!

Scott Dow at Animalistic Chainsaw Carvings in Corry, Pa does some exquisite work which you can check out at the Animalistic web site. My favourite is the T-Rex above. I've now stopped in twice to look at it, the second time with some of the kids.

New Cover for "At What Price?"

Above is a side by side comparison of the new (left) and old (right) cover images for my eBook "At What Price?" Which one do you like better?

Review: The Unsheathed Key

“They’d made the legend out to be nothing but a silly story... the entire Realm’s beliefs were built upon what Súiribhán wanted them to believe...” Twelve years after the Fall, the Freed Realm is still recovering from the devastation sown by the rebellion. However, in the very house of one of Súiribhán’s most trusted workers, hope is hatching once again for the supporters of the Lost King.
The orphan Ileana starts to uncover the many lies embedded into her life, and she just might hold the key to the undoing of the new ruler. Will she choose to use it?  Suddenly, the girl finds herself at the centre of an impending war and she has to decide where to place her allegiance: with Súiribhán, the Lost King... or herself.
Guided by the wise maid Gwen until she makes her decision, Ileana will have to run. From her family, the terrifying flying beasts called hrakar, and the blood-eyed Captain who has haunted her dreams for years... 

A wonderful read! I was up until 4 in the morning just so I could finish it! "The Unsheathed Key" is an epic fantasy quest in the tradition of "The Lord of the Rings". A word of warning though, this is not one of those stand alone, read in any order series starters, it does cliffhang. Which begs the question... Where are the other two books? I need to see what happens next.

Vows

I just married on Monday August 5th, 2013. It is my second marriage. After the first one ended I was never going to go through it again. In fact I couldn't imagine why anyone would want to get married ever. I have obviously changed my mind. A fact I touched on in my vows which I thought I'd share here.

"When we met I was done with marriage, love and companionship. They were failed and flawed concepts to me. However, over these last 3 years you have made me realize that it wasn't the concepts that were flawed. It was just that something was missing, someone was missing... you. I know now that companionship is only possible with someone who shares your interests, love only with someone who shares your passion and marriage with someone who shares your faith. You are that threefold someone for me and I am here today to affirm in front of those present that I will be your companion, your love and your husband for as long as the Lord blesses us with life. I will stand with you through everything that that life will throw at us and more. You, me, our children and our God united for His purpose. Forever."