My mood (“spirits” as they are sometimes called) is a bit subdued.  If you saw the previous post about Mother’s Day, pretty sure it seems reasonable.  But add to that the lingering bedamned cold and the fact I have a gall-bladder removal scheduled (after about ten years of mysterious double-me-over pain striking at random intervals), then yeah, I could be excused for feeling less gleeful than usual.

On the other hand, my lovely wife has been planning a new office for me at the historic home we are renovating, and it was finally revealed in all of its Coast Guard-themed glory this week.

Above, I’m standing beside a “Quilt of Valor” made by a dear friend in California.  In …

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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By the Hands of Men, Book Four

The Blind Machinery of the World

She saved her friends from a life of imprisonment and escaped to the safety of England, but the shadow of modern fanaticism looms over Britain and the continent.  What future awaits Charlotte when murderous madness stalks Europe?

After escaping her enslavement by the Bolsheviks, Charlotte Braninov begins to build a new life in London.  She hoped to leave the insanity of Russia behind with the help of her family of refugees, but a dear friend and benefactor goes missing in France. Journeying to post-war Paris, she once more works as a nurse, confronting disease and danger.  With communist zealots prowling Europe, will peace forever elude Charlotte?…

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THE JOHN MILIUS SCREENWRITING AWARD

We are pleased to announce that the winner of the FEATURE FILM category of the TalNexus SmashCut Screenplay Competition will be honored with The John Milius Screenwriting Award.

John Milius is one among the few iconic screenwriters of the last 50 years.

From Robert Duval on the shores of Vietnam “I love the smell of napalm in the morning. Smells like, victory.” in Apocalypse Now, and Clint Eastwood’s “Go ahead, make my day.” as Dirty Harry in Sudden Impact, to that touching moment at the graveside in Saving Private Ryan when former Pvt. Ryan asks, “Did I live a good life?”, Milius is responsible for some of cinema’s most iconic moments as …