Wattpad - Bullseye

23 APR 17 Howdy all!  Hope everyone is having a great Sunday!
I write here and there and like many other authors I have various pages at different sites. My latest writing I posted up over on Wattpad, which has several small pieces and one serialized story. Go check it out:

Wattpad - Montellano

Latest story piece is Bullseye, inspired by a dream. It's about being arrested. I forgot most of it by the time I got around to writing today, but the core survived. It turned out all right despite all that and I have some ideas on how to merge it with a few other pieces I've written. Not my usual stuff but then again what is the usual stuff when the story is inspired by a dream?

Dumb pun: Mountains aren't just funny, they're hill areas! :) I like puns. One of the many reasons I enjoy the Xanth series.

Picture for today:
Nothing could be more true.

Another Short Story!

15 APR 17 I have another short story in the pipeline! A total departure from my normal genre, this short story is a crime story. Set a few years in the future, it focuses on a dastardly man who goes to extreme lengths to get the ultimate Viagra. It was written specifically for an anthology about incarceration in the future. The anthology is due out later this year. This will be the second short story published this year, a third story, horror genre, is at another publisher as well, still awaiting final approval.

My wife also has a story in the same incarceration anthology, which is very nice and another change from the usual. The anthologies that we have been a part of so far have leaned more toward my neck of the woods genre-wise: Fantasy. She has felt like the odd man out and now in this anthology, I am the odd man out. Even though I wrote a story that fits with the theme of the anthology it definitely is not my comfort zone at all. Feels good though to stretch my writing wings.

What I really want to do now is write a fantasy story about police and incarceration. Makes my mind juices water. How would the police develop in a world of magic? Might makes right? Truth spells? Crimson Bands of Cytorrak or some similar means of restraint? Would there be sheriffs? Cops? Makes you think. Reminds me of Corwin being blinded in the Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny. Now that was a punishment. It also makes me think of the Xanth series by Piers Anthony and the banishment of those who have no magic.

In my main fantasy setting, as times change, incarceration and policing change dramatically. It is something that I am still working on. I like the idea of justice. I may have found my next story idea!

Picture for today: A Snowy Sentinel, to go along with the theme of policing.

New Short Story - The Legacy

I have a new short story released out into the wild! Woot Woot!

You can get it now for 25% off over at www.createspace.com/7040219

Enter in the discount code: 9HW5GHYR to receive a 25% discount on purchases. This code is valid for this month ONLY!

My wife Cheryl Toner has a story in the anthology also. Hers is a murder mystery, a murder most foul, in the Pentagon of all places! All the tales in the anthology revolve around or take place during the winter.

My story is called The Legacy, and deals with what happens when an ancient witch, the eldest of five magical sisters, dies. Here's a taste:

“Well, that’s it then.” Destra said as they helped each other get back on their feet. She was always the practical one. She hugged her stomach and hung her head, still shivering. “Anna’s gone.”

Twilight was soon replaced by the stars and coruscating colors of the northern lights. The three old witches shuffled back indoors. Anna and her would-be rescuer never surfaced.

The arctic air grew colder by the second. A keening noise ran away, out into the darkening and was joined by wolves howling deep and long in the night. That sad susurration traveled far and wide through all the lands. Those who were able to hear the Death Knell knew what it signified. The eldest had passed. The entire family would mourn tonight.

Well, what are you waiting for? Go buy it!

And feel free to share this post shamelessly across all social media platforms my homies! lol

Picture today is of a woman dying, and much like in my story, she is releasing something as her last act, something precious flying its way to her eldest son. His legacy.

The VA and Surgery

27 MAR 17

I have snored for most of my life and I was referred to a sleep study by the Veteran's Administration (VA) near me (Overton Medical). The first doctor I saw took a look down my throat and said surgery may be an option and so did the sleep study Doc. When I got to Dental, the actual doctors that would be cutting me open listed what they wanted to do. It sounded pretty severe. 

The most minor of the THREE surgeries was removal of my uvula, the little dangler in the back of your throat. Not sure what it does but I assumed it could be snipped off without too much consequence. And it is obviously in prime location to get in the way of a quiet of sleep. Okay, sounds good so far. The second surgery was a removal and change up to my septum. They were wanting to cut at the bottom of my nose, peel it open, remove the septum, cut it up and use it to make changes to the interior of my nose. The last thing on the schedule was the most drastic-sounding to me: they were going to cut a cubic centimeter chunk of my chin (a piece attached on the backside to my tongue) and move it and my tongue forward a few millimeters. All three surgeries together should stop all snoring forever!

Wow.

Surgery took hours longer than they thought, but when all was said and done, everything went all right. No complications at all. I was even able to go home the same day. It is pretty amazing that the only stitches to be seen on the outside were on the underside of my nose. Everything else was done inside my body.

This is me at the hospital in recovery. I was the first one in for surgery that day and the last one to leave.

Nobody told me I would peeing so much after surgery! Every hour on the hour for forever!

The pain medicine also did a number on me. Made me constipated, itchy all over and gave me nausea. I had all the side affect symptoms listed. 

This is me ready to leave the hospital. Well, maybe not quite ready. lol

And this is me after a day at home.

I have bandages over my nose and chin. The only stitches are on the underside of my nose. Swelling of my nose and chin as well. Stints up each nostril that will come out tomorrow. One thing you don't see in the pictures is the bruising in and under my chin.

The docs did a good measure of the level of pain meds I would need, but I encountered a lot of side affects. The itchiness, constipation, and wooziness were big obstacles. I was definitely in enough pain to take the medicine though. Over the week I tried various times to pace out the meds, but ended up on Sunday (surgery was on Monday) switching to taking a half dosage for each time.  That left me hurting, but I could think a little more.

I'm not looking forward to teaching tomorrow, but we will see. I have a relatively easy day, hoping I can do it! Then an appointment in the afternoon to get the stints out and then should be done!

UPDATE: So the x-ray below is from a follow-up visit to the dentist. It shows that they did not cut a piece out of my jaw, rather they broke off my entire chin and moved it about 6 mm.  Wow, well no wonder it still hurts! It's numb, they said will most likely take around a year to heal completely. Five screws and a little plate.

Roots of Magic

18 MAR 17
If magic were real, ever since mankind has been around or even earlier, what would it look like? What shape would it take? I pondered this question as I rewrote a section of a story today. 

To me, the beginning of magics might start with cavemen hunching away from the winds and the rains, shaking in primal fear when the lightning and thunder come a calling. Maybe they appealed for protection from a beloved ancestor remembered for his bravery and strength against the elements. Maybe they make a gesture at random and the falling snow lessons and the storms subside. Do they find magic in the world around them, to keep them warm, provide shelter or food? Magic may have been one of the first 'inventions' of mankind, along with stone tools/weapons, the use of fire, and boats. Primitive magic could be considered a further control of the elements as man shaped stones, tamed fire, and mastered water. Air would have to wait.

But let's go back even further. Let's go back to the times of dolphins, sharks and trees.

Dolphins are thinkers, no reason to fudge around about it. And life started in the sea. Heck, sharks are about 50,000,000 years older than trees. So magic use, if magic were real, would probably have started with dolphins, our finned, smart, mammal friends. If ancient man could figure out elementary magic, we can assume thinking dolphins could too, unless humankind is just special. Sea magic. Dolphin magicians. The power of tides and currents. How would they conjure? By waving their fins? Swimming in certain patterns? What would spell-casting dolphins do to the world? Mystical fish calls for meals? Fend off icebergs and predators? Conjure up glowing lights at night to see by? Would dolphin warlocks swim through the air, using magic to explore the 'upper waters' as they might call the atmosphere? I can see that, a school of dolphin mages swimming through some clouds, looking down at the cavemen on the ground. Would dolphins use magic to protect themselves from intruding men in boats? From sharks? Would sharks use magic? 

Speaking of the roots of magic, how about plants? They've been around a lot longer than man as well. Started in the oceans too. Might they know secrets from before the land times? Seaweed might use magic for what? Or is seaweed too basic? Maybe plant magic starts with more advanced species, like trees. What would trees use magic for? Protection? Movement? Reproduction? Plant magic would be strong, strong as the oaks.

So many questions. Lots of story ideas in there.



Today's picture: I don't know why the scaly creature in the pic is using a tome, maybe he stole it from a land-dweller. But yeah, sea-magic, ocean-magic, water-magic.

Life is Beautiful Grazie and Danke

08 MAR 17

First off, a big shout out to everyone around the world who is reading these missives! Nearly a dozen other countries are showing up in the stats! Thank you! Danke, Grazie! Domo Arigato!

Thank You!

No matter what subject I teach or where I am teaching, I always try to slip in the award-winning movie Life is Beautiful sometime during the year. If you've seen it, let me know in the comments what it is about the movie that affects you so, good and bad. I wish I knew enough Italian to enjoy the movie in the original language, it sounds so musical. I can understand enough to watch it in Italian with English subtitles and follow it all right.

The reason I mention the movie is because I had a pretty cool thing happen in class a few weeks after we watched it. My students were quietly working away at an assignment and one of them sneezed. Normally this elicits several "Bless You's" from other students and a "Thank You" in response from the sneezer.

Today however the student who sneezed said, "Grazie," like Joseph, the son in the movie. Then someone in class whispered, "Danke. You're supposed to say Danke." And a few of the students nodded and smiled. It was kind of a touching moment. Right then I knew the movie had become something personal to them, a treasured memory that they would cherish for many years to come.

If you haven't seen the movie yet, go see it! I'll wait right here with a cup of tea and hanky. It's a holocaust movie, so if that isn't your cup of tea, well, you should see it anyway. It's a great movie.

There is a pivotal moment where the young son Joseph (who is an Italian Jew) is eating with a bunch of German children inside of a concentration camp. He is masquerading as a German and is getting his first good meal in a long while. But when he is served dessert his manners come to the fore and he says 'Grazie' to the waiter, which means 'thank you' in Italian. Oh no! But he is pretending to be German! He should have said Danke! The German waiter knows something is amiss and leaves to raise the alarm and get someone to haul this impostor child away. The father, Guido, is nearby, serving food as well and has a few moments in which to think of some way to save his son's life.

When we watched the movie earlier in the year, I timed the day's viewing to stop right at the moment when Guido is trying to figure out how to save his son's life. Students screamed their outrage! How could I stop the movie right then! I assigned them homework: Put yourself in Guido's shoes and try to figure out how to save your son. 

The most amazing thing happened the next day. Several students came to me and said they couldn't wait till class and they watched the movie online. That's when you know you have their attention! I even had one student cry at the end of the movie, she was so emotional. The movie really stuck with them.

Again, if you haven't seen it, go see it! Let me know what you think, good or bad. The first half of the movie is a little silly, the second half more serious. I have a few favorite scenes. Go ahead in the comments and let me know what your favorite scene is.

Two pictures for today, both from one of my favorite moments in the film:

 "First prize is a tank!"

"These guys get to play the part of the mean guards who yell all the time!"

Guest Post over at Our Write Side

04 MAR 17: The good folks over at Our Write Side were kind enough to ask for a guest post on the writing process.  I gave it some due thought and the whole shebang is posted over on their site:

My post over at Our Write Side

The post is about how I write short stories. I am actually going to write the tale detailed in the article (The War of the Woods) when I get a chance. It is indeed one that is in the hopper for development. It was pretty cool to do the whole 'how do I get from point A to point B' when writing something. Never really done that before. 

Picture for today, a beautiful, mystical elephant. Will he turn into a story? Who knows what the future may hold.