My life has been pretty simple. I grew up in Alabama and graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor's in Advertising. I have spent about the last ten years in web development. In 1998, a friend of mine and I started a web design company we ran for three or four years before deciding to close it due to the demands of school. Since then, I stayed in the web working with various companies in Alabama. I worked for a brief period with Southern Progress, namely with Southern Living magazine and Health magazine, in their web departments. While there, I also wrote for Southern Living magazine, Health.com., and the company's internal newsletter. I write as much as I can. For the last five years, I have been working on my first novel. I am on the third revision now and hope to be finished with this draft by the end of the year. I also write short fiction, though not as frequently as I used to due to the time I spend on the novel. My goal is to have my novel published in the next three years. Other interests include: History (particularly medieval and ancient civlizations), Reading, Foreign Language (I currently speak Spanish but plan to learn as many as I can), Landscape Photography, the outdoors, sports (especially college football), and Travel.
The year 1066 was a pivotal moment in English history, marked by the Norman Conquest of England. However, before William the Conqueror could claim the English crown, there was a dispute over who should rightfully hold it. The main contenders were Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, and William, Duke of… Read More »The Disputed Crown
If you’re looking for a book for younger ages, I would recommend Medieval Castles edited by Catherine Bradley and illustrated by Rob Shone. This book is a good intro into the topic of castles for elementary ages and up. It introduces readers to specific terminology of castle architecture such as… Read More »Review: Medieval Castles
The gatehouse was one of the most fortified areas of a castle. It was also one of the more vulnerable. For this reason, engineers designed them with extra protection to keep invaders from easily breaching the castle walls. Commonly, gatehouses consisted of a wooden gate reinforced with iron, as well… Read More »Castle Gatehouses
Most of the time when I need to revise my writing, I find all kinds of excuses to not do it. It’s a mentally labor intensive process to think about all that needs to be done when you look back on your old work and realize it needs a face… Read More »Revision Exercise
Currently streaming on Netflix, Secrets of Great British Castles is sitting in ‘My List’ to watch. A documentary series presented by Dan Jones, it explores the history of some of the most iconic castles from medieval England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The show has two seasons. The first season… Read More »Watchlist: Secrets of Great British Castles
Bernard Cornwell has long been one of my favorite authors. I usually read his books set in the medieval period, but I thought I’d give one of his other series a try, The Starbuck Chronicles. Rebel is the first book in that series. Set during the American Civil War, the… Read More »Rebel (The Starbuck Chronicles #1) by Bernard Cornwell
After a long hiatus of not writing any new stories, I decided to go back and read Ravens Beneath the Ash today. I first wrote this short story over ten years ago. Life has kept me busy with other things the past few years but I thought I’d re-read some… Read More »Editing old writing
This fun, thirty question quiz looks at your interests, background, lifestyle, and other metrics to determine what job might have best fit you if you lived during the middle ages.
Read More »Quiz: What would your job be in the medieval period?
I’ve had Kindle Unlimited now for about a year, and even though I don’t get a chance to read as much as I would like, I definitely think it’s worth $9.99 a month, especially if you’re an avid reader. Ideally, I wish it was maybe $5.99 or $6.99 a month,… Read More »Medieval books and Kindle Unlimited