An avid reader of fantasy and science fiction novels all of my life, I published my first novel The Guardian’s Apprentice in 2010.  I live with my family in the rural hills of Kentucky along with our six cats.  When not acquiring cats for my wife's plan of world domination (cat armies are terribly hard to train), I enjoy spinning stories from the wisps of magic around me.  Below are pictures and short bios of our current minions: 

I recently acquired a new writing companion on a trip to Washington D.C.  We visited a shop in Baltimore where my attention was drawn to a display case filled with various dragons.  Now I have always loved dragons, but this one truly spoke to me though I cannot explain why.  I swear I heard his voice in my head saying "Finally!  Have you ANY idea how long you've kept me waiting?  Now pay the ransom and liberate me from this prison!"

Not being one to argue with a dragon, I paid the rather exorbitant price, er - "ransom" and brought him home.  He now occupies a place next to my computer, where he supervises my writing - usually by providing frequent editorial comments about my dialogue.

After much proding and cajoling, he has finally entrusted me with his name. His true dragon name is 'Idris' and his human given nickname is 'Shimmerscale.'  I appreciate him sharing his true name with me, as most dragons are loathe to divulge such a thing to a member of one of the lesser races (humans, elves, etc.) Note:  That last comment was from Idris, not me.  I personally do not think we humans are a 'lesser' race, but who am I to argue with a dragon?  

Of regal bearing and extremely prideful, Idris does not suffer fools lightly.  He is highly intelligent and reads voraciously and considers himself an expert on many things - writing included.  I personally think he is a bit harsh with some of his editorial comments when critiquing my work, but that is a story for another time...

Returning from a journey to Washington D.C., my wife recently captured a new dragon to help supervise my writing.  'Brimstone' has a fiery temper (pun intended) and hungers for power - I do hope he and Idris will get along!

Our newest edition to the cat clan is 'Muffy'.  She is half Persian, half Himalayan, and if I'm not mistaken, she is 98.3% fur.  Eight weeks old, she is full of spunk and ready for adventure.  She seems to think that Mickey, who weighs in at 18 lbs now, is a dragon she is destined to slay.  I suspect I will walk into the room and there will be nothing left of Muffy but her tail, hanging out of Mickey's mouth...

The other day my wife jokingly wished for another cat.  The next morning, this little fellow showed up on our doorstep, scared and hungry.  Now well fed and happy, 'Max' has joined the ranks of our cat army.  If only she had wished for the winning lottery numbers...

[Summer 2011] Recently my wife enlisted a new conscript into her ever growing cat army.  One of the janitors had discovered a kitten that had been locked in a storage shed at school - in 96+ degree, humid Kentucky heat.  Severely malnourished - you could see his ribs and backbone - she brought the poor little fellow home.  The kids have named him 'Mickey' due to his enormous ears and in honor of our trips to Disney (yes, I know, a cat named after a mouse...).

We have proceeded to nurse him back to health and the vet says he is doing well - though lucky to be alive.  A very loving and affectionate cat, Mickey is starting to fatten up and loves nothing better than to curl up under your chin to sleep.  Unfortunately he is incredibly flatulent - something we hope goes away after his digestive tract gets used to regular meals.

Cocoa, Cookie and Jasmine have not accepted him yet and skulk about the back deck, plotting an assassination attempt.  Maddie is more accepting, though dislikes it immensely when he pounces on her from underneath the bed skirt...

[Spring 2012] It is now just under a year later, and as you can see, Mickey has filled in and you can no longer see his ribs.  He is now quite healthy and weighs about fifteen pounds - and wants nothing to do with outside.

Maddie was found on the side of the road in December 2009.  Only about five or six weeks old (we think) someone had apparently thrown her from a moving vehicle, shattering her left hip and leaving her with a multitude of scrapes and bruises.  When found, she had a soda cup stuck on her head and was starving.  A happy and healthy cat now, Maddie has made a full recovery and doesn’t seem to realize she’s missing a leg.  Her natural prey are Nerf darts, which she attacks with a vengeance whenever possible.

Convinced that humans exist for the sole purpose of feeding her, Cookie is fickle with her affections and dictates when the unworthy may approach.  She also has an odd fondness for the refrigerator, and if unguarded will jump onto the bottom shelf.  She will then hide behind the soda cans and refuses to come out until you go fetch a can of her favorite food.

Evil incarnate, Cocoa is bipolar on her best days.  When the mood strikes her and she wants your attention, she will sneak up behind you and lick your ankle, foot or leg.  At this point you have two choices:  (1) pet her and make her happy or (2) ignore her and suffer her wrath, which usually consists of latching onto you with her teeth (if you’re smart, you’ll go with option #1...).  Once she tires of your attention she will usually sink her teeth into your hand, indicating that your usefulness has ended.