The “SmashCut CineFest” film festival happens Thursday.  There, I’ll be receiving my “John Milius Screenwriting” award, hosted by Taliesin Nexus, a group of creative folks rather more interested in liberty and freedom than whatever is the woke subject du jour.

I’m hoping I might, just possibly, meet the man himself, the legendary Mr. Milius (whose career I can’t even begin to capture, except to say “Conan,” “Red Dawn,” or “The Wind and the Lion.”).  No one’s promised an introduction, and Mr. Milius has been ill recently, but if my life has proven anything to me, it’s that a kid who mostly grew up in Nebraska can – has to – dream.

Still, I’m going to the Dream Factory …

4H day is tomorrow, so the kids are walking their animals.

This is Kaylee and Waylon the lamb.

And then from the other end of our street came Kalan, who was in a play with my son, Cameron.

I don’t know much about goats, but I was pretty sure of this young fellow’s breed.  Anyone who’s read “By the Hands of Men, Book Five: Robert The Wrath of a Righteous Man” learned a bit about that particular breed of goat.

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Can’t I give it more than 5 (stars)?

I read a LOT, probably about one novel per week on average. “By The Hands of Men” is without question the best historical fiction series I have ever read. In these meticulously researched books, the characters quickly come alive to the reader, and soon feel like personal friends. As you read you will share their successes, disappointments, near-death experiences, horror, and satisfactions. They speak in period language, and their values and sense of honor are recognizable in any circumstance. You will truly CARE about them.

Not all of the characters are good people. As the series title hints, all manner of horror and atrocity can come from the hands of …

Ringside at the Circus of the Fallen is the sixth and final volume of the By the Hands of Men series.  Historical fiction by Roy M. Griffis, this epic saga sweeps across four continents in a gripping tale of fate, loss, redemption, and love.

Robert and Charlotte fell in love amid the mud and blood of the Great War, before human duplicity tore them apart.  Two decades and thousands of miles later, fate gives them another chance.  Is the memory of young love enough to make the two weary travelers dare to risk heartbreak once more?

Robert has carried Charlotte in his heart ever since they first met near the front lines in France.  All the long miles he traveled, …

Man, I love finding this stuff.  It adds a layer of reality to the dream-making.

Like this first image.  Notice Karloff’s hands and the painted on lines.

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