Aspiring Author

To kick off our series on people in the Neighbor I choose to pick the brain of long time friend and aspiring author M.G. Stover. For as long as I can remember this brilliant mind has been a creative force with a passion for the arts. We just recently reconnected, and once again find ourselves living in the same city. Which has been cause to jump for joy considering he is one of my most valued and loyal friends, and has quickly become my go to guy for suggestions on movies, books, and video games. M. Stover is one of the most intelligent and open minded people I know. Lets also not forget the twist of sarcasm that he has been perfecting for years. Also fair warning to everyone beware you could end up in one of his novels! In his free time he loves to see the world, fight for causes he believes in, and spend as much time as possible with his adorable niece and nephew. When he is not working to pay the bills he is working on typing(I say typing because even he can't read his own hand writing)out the stories that have come to life inside his head. I truly hope you enjoy this interview with this inspiring, creative, original, young author as much as I have enjoyed writing about him, and someday in the future I hope his stories come to life for all us on a Barnes and Noble bookshelf.

Q: Have you always wanted to be an Author?

A: In some ways I guess. It wasn’t something I dreamed about. In fact what I wanted to do has changed many many times over the years. I remember in the seventh grade wanting to be a psychiatrist, wanting to live in Seattle, and not being opposed to radio work. I quickly realized I just wanted to be Frasier Crane.

That being said though I’ve been creating stories in my mind ever since I was a child. I spent hours creating various story lines with my action figures (x-men at the time) and just loved that feeling. Once I got to old to admit to playing with toys I started doing the same thing but this time on a computer screen and with a keyboard.


Q: What inspires you to write?

A: The desire to get all these scenes I have in my head played out and to occupy some time in a world that is a hell of a lot more fun than the boring one we all live in. Also to escape my own life for a while and put on the skin of someone who doesn’t have my own inferiority issues that we all deal with on a day to day basis.

Q: What is the title of your most recent work, and whats the storyline?

A: Currently I’m working on a series of books about the Easton brothers. The title of the series is Merlin’s Kin although its never been a title I’ve loved and is very likely to change. For me titles are way down the list in things I worry about when it comes to writing. The storyline is about two brothers Jon and Renny who’s lineage can be traced back to Merlin. Legend states that Merlin was born of a Fairy princesses and a demon prince. As a result of this mixed lineage there is a genetic curse of sorts that haunts the Easton family. The family will always produce sons, the first son will be gifted with great magic ability the second will be born a half demon and sometime in their mid-twenties go full demon. As a demon Renny will have no control over himself and injury if not murder anyone he comes into contact with. Jon has grown up seeking a cure for his brother but has come up empty and the changes in Renny become more an more obvious as the books go along.


Q: Did you favorite author, write your favorite book?

A: That’s an interesting question. Probably not when I think about it. My favorite author is Tolkien because he was the founding father of modern fantasy and while I love his books I wouldn’t say they are my favorite. I’m very hesitant to name a favorite book though because it changes with the tides and I’m such an addictive personality that whatever I’m reading is my favorite in that moment.


Q: If you had a book club what would it be reading?

A: Anything Urban Fantasy. I love the idea of this mythical creatures living in our world the way it is today and the way that our world would adapt to meet them. It’s a great time to be an author in this genre as Twilight and True Blood have just exploded and really opened the genre up to more than just D&D geeks.


Q: What authors have influenced your own work?

A: Several. Jim Butcher who writes the Dresden Files, Kim Harrison who writes the Rachel Morgan series, and Laurel K. Hamilton before she became a wanna-be erotic fiction writer in her Anita Blake series.


Q: How important is it to you to get published and will you ever give up on the dream?

A: I’ll never give up on the dream and it is only as important as my need for validation is that day so going on most days more important than anyone will ever know.


Q: What your 5 favorite books-and why?

A: (this is in no certain order) Obsidan Butterfly-Laurel Hamilton, this was the first book of the Anita Blake series I read and funny enough the last good one in the series (it was the 9th of the series). Storm Front by Jim Butcher because he does such a good job of making every supernatural thing in his world feel as if it should have been there, Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice she really kick started the vampire craze that the world is in right now and this one came out before she became so detail oriented that she’d spend an entire chapter on how a cameo looked. The Lord of the Rings- I really feel the whole thing has to be taken as one book but if I had to choose just one it would be the Two Towers. The sense of dread is so creeping in that book that even if you know how it ends you just don’t see how it’s possible. Finally, anything that collects the entire works of Shakespeare. I know its not really a book but it is written word and really everyone in this game is in some way or another just cribbing off the Bard.

Also not listed in anything above would have to be my unabashed love of comic books. It is only the fact that I couldn’t restrain my spending on them that I don’t still buy them today but I do keep up with what’s happening through various websites and every other week I ponder stopping by the comic book shop and buying up a bunch.


Q: Do you let anyone read your unfinished work?

A: If they are prepared to ignore misspellings, grammar errors, and lie to me and tell me how wonderful it is. That’s only partially a joke but it is incredibly stomach churning to even think about someone reading my stuff who I know. Now I can send it off to a million agents and they can reject it and that’s fine but when it is someone I know and they are only barely interested its soul crushing.

Q: Are you a fiction, or non-fiction kinda guy?

A: Fiction without a doubt and it has to be fun fiction. I can no longer read depressing works and I know that its probably rotting my brain and putting to shame my English degree but I just want to tune turn on and drop out when I’m reading anymore. Frankly with movies, TV, and Video Games a book has to do a lot more work to keep my interest anymore, so at the very least I know what I’m working against in my own books.

People of Our Neighborhood

Who are the people of our neighborhood....A couple nights ago when sleep once again shunned me. I started thinking about topics and subjects for my blog. Then it hit me. I know so many interesting people who are living out dreams, effecting other people lives, and making a difference in our community. Some do it quietly with simple acts of service or even just with their career choice. While others are screaming to the world and to share their art and talents, and even their callings. People who bravely wake up every morning ready to fight today's battles. I admire these people, and I believe that each one of them in their own special ways holds many of the keys to life, dreams, success, and the pursuit of happiness. They all struggle, stress, fall down, lose their way, and just have some gosh darn bad days, but they keep getting up, and keep running the race for dreams. They keep doing their part to make a difference in our little corn of the world. I believe these people and people like them are the heart of our communities. So I have decided to dedicate a blog series to these often over looked folks. The average Joe's that really aren't so average! Stay tuned this week for the series of interviews with unique individuals that make up the people in our neighborhood, and help me celebrate them this week!

Pink Elephants and Purple Cows

Why.....Well because well...well just because that's just the way it is. Yes sometimes things get a little crazy, and a lot busy. My house is sometimes not much more than controlled chaos, but lets be honest without a little chaos life would get kinda boring. If things ran smoothly everyday what we have to learn from or laugh about. Even still I must admit today I am tired, and a bit cranky. Okay so a lot cranky. I don't really want to talk about that at least not right now, not today. I want to talk about the quirky, crazy, off the wall thing I think about when I need a little laugh inside my head. No you do not want to be inside my head it's dangerous, weird, geeky, complicated, and well just a bit odd at times. So anyways when I am stressed or need to switch my thoughts. I think of.....Are you ready for this? I think of Pink Elephants and Purple Cows. Why well because counting to 10 never really worked out to well for me, and well this is just way funnier, and it makes me smirk before the stress even have a chance to devour me. So before you write me off as a totally insane(which I my very well be, but that's a different blog)you should try it out. I bet you at least grin. Pink Elephants, Purple Cows, Pink Elephants, Purple Cows! In my experience it's all about finding what works for you, and knowing it really is okay to be a little off the wall!!! =)

Impressions

I would like to put a spotlight on when a hobby becomes a work of art. Two young, beautiful, creative, small town country girls have done just that. They have taken something that they both love to do, and turned it into precious moments captured on film. The young ladies turn important moments, events, people, and create art. They are inspired by life, and the passionate love they have for it, they embrace your moments as if they are their own. Giving the gift of making time stand still in photos. They keep your babies hands and feet tiny, capture a laugh from your true love, a snuggle formed between father and daughter, the growth of an expanding family, the beauty a bride feels on her special day. These amateur photographers have captured a gift of not only taking beautiful photos for a hobby, but they have mastered the ability to capture life as it blooms, and gifts to us something to remember it by. Their photographs are the art of true life. Small and precious impressions stolen from father time himself. To take a viewing of the Art just click here - Impressions . That will navigate you to the beauty of life the girls captured thus far. Enjoy!

Red Horizon, a fragment of my own heart

Red Horizon
Sea moss green, with a touch of golden
As if the sun herself kissed his eyes
With a touch of her brightest ray
Twinkling with fire of an emotion left unexplored
A mischievous smirk upon his childhood face
With a tall and slender frame
To guide his soul along this path of brilliant youth
A fragment of my very own heart
My beautiful red horizon, my beautiful sun kissed son….


I wrote this poem one late night when sleep wasn't coming very easily to me. I was missing my first born son Carter who was off visiting his Grandparents for 3 weeks. This poem is some of the amazing things I see when I look at my oldest son. He has beautiful red hair that makes him stand out in crowd of children. His eyes are a deep moss green, with just a touch of yellow. His eyes carry something inside of them that I am pretty sure has not yet been revealed to the world yet. He rarely gives a full on smile, but in it's place is a little smirk. Which lets me know he is happy, up to something, or has a surprise up his sleeve. He is taller than most his classmates, and extremely slender. Which has earned him the nickname Sticks. He is clever, witty, and a bit of a perfectionist in the things he loves. I see his father's passion for music in this little boy that thinks he is already an adult. There are so many days I know that I am way to hard on him, expecting more out of him than I should because he is the eldest, but knowing how very smart, and capable he is of so many great things that will fall within his path, and knowing that he has something truly great to offer this world. I wrote this poem for me, and for him. Because I am honored to be his Mother, and he truly is a fragment of my own heart!

Something about about New Orleans

Nashville my home. A city that thrives on dreams, and music is away of life. The people of Nashville are a melting pot of culture, and if you look hard enough there is always something to do. Yes Nashville is my beloved home. However there is another city that has captured part of my heart. A city where the streets are shaded with old oak trees. I know a funny thing to remember about a city, but these oaks just look as if they hold the secrets to this marvelous city's rich past. As you walk the streets and admire the grace, and humble beauty of the buildings and homes, and listen to the rumble of the charming streetcars making their rounds. Which they have been doing for over 150 years. I find that impressive myself. Yes this city is rich with character from the French Quarter to the hidden treasures on almost every street. As for the people they are not much different from the city herself full of character, class, pride, overcoming, and beauty, but honestly in a city like New Orleans I didn't expected the people to be any less than beautiful. These folks make hope a way of life, and they are truly what I love most about this city. The New Orleanians definitely don't hide behind mask. So this city that has stolen a piece of me away from my home city of Nashvegas. This rising above the odds New Orleans. A city where art lines the streets, music fills the humid air, and a bad meal is just not easy to come by. This beautiful vintage city with a charm and romance like no other city in America. There is just something about New Orleans!!!

Spilled Milk

Kids will be kids. It's very true, and they will only be little for a short amount of time. So laugh a lot, remember to breathe, and don't expected them to be little adults. Children are going to make messes, keep you up all night, talk with their mouth full, pick their noses in public, be extremely loud no matter where you are, get hurt, manipulate, demonstrate bodily functions, get good clothes dirty, tell your secrets, call you unfair, be brutally honest to, st angers or even family members, test boundaries, and cross them, wipe their noses on clean sleeves not necessarily theirs. It's just all apart of the wonderful world of childhood. So no need to worry your child isn't normal. The truth is they are just being a child, and be assured they are in good company. It's very important to set rules, and teach your children good manners, without expecting them to be adults. That will happen soon enough. If you are begging for tomorrow to get here, your going to miss the joy today has to offer. Go ahead let them be kids, embrace their curious little spirits, laugh at chaos, and scoop them up give them great big hugs, then you may go and clean up the spilled milk!

Because I said so.....

All my life for as long as I could remember, I always knew I wanted to have darling little children running around my house. I had big plans and high hopes. I was going to be the totally cool and fashionable mom! I was never going to lounge in sweats that where 10 years old, or tell my children the famous "Because I am Mom and I said so"....this statement made me cringe when my own Mother said it to me during my childhood. I was always going to have a better reason than that. I was always going to be kind, understanding, and fun! You know afternoons at the park, days of sing with fake mics, building tents in the living room floor, and never raising my voice to yell at them. In other words I as going to be so much fun my kids would never have time to be angry with me. THE PERFECT MOM!!! So are you all laughing at me yet?
So........after becoming the mother of 3 darling little Children(only when they sleep)....Carter age 7, and Wesley age 4, and Cooper 18 months. I will admit we do have adventures on a daily basis they just don't run as smoothly as they did in dreams. My middle child and biggest handful..I swear something takes over in my children when they turn 2...His adventures including pretending daily he is Picasso, flushing anything and everything down the toilet including an attempt on the puppy a couple years ago, he best skill is training for the major leagues as for throwing stuff out the front at one point included the child proof knob that I put on the bathroom door! He also has peed on a Aqua-doodle to see it that would change it blue like the water,empties his closet to find just the right shirt like Dad's(usually after I have just done the laundry). Wesley is my free spirit,and one of the happiest most sincere children you will meet. I am learning to embrace his creative side! As for Carter my oldest whom is actually an actor with great skills...he can laugh and cry in and change from one to another in a matter of seconds, and I think he gets Diva status for always wanting things his way! He is smart,helpful,and thinks he is 20 years old. Cooper my youngest, with a personality that is blooming at full force is a climber, mockingbird,and rough and tough all around little boy! between him and my middle son it should be a race to who gives me my first gray hair! Oh as for the because I said so....it's a staple statement under my roof!!!! As for the comfort of sweats...I live in them, and the older they are the better, actually makes me feel good to fit into something that I wore 10 years ago...who cares if the elastic no longer returns to it's shape after being stretched! All in all my house is chaos..and I am far far far from being the perfect at anything! My laundry piles to the ceiling, I am over run by toys, and will be forever be the lone female under my roof... which in my book gives me the right to never grow up as well (Because we all know men never do).
So most folks probably think I have lost my mind, having 3 young children all boys! Which could very well be the case or that I was just a little nuts from the start you can decide!!! Truth be known I would probably have 10 more little boys, okay so maybe not 10, but all in all I am truly happy with my boys. The way I look at it is my life would be boring with out my children. Yes they drive me crazy, and yes I sometimes miss the relaxing nights, or the late night movies or the going as I please when I pleased! But looking at it all in one big picture, I am happy. Happy for all the sweet moments my children give me they are truly my greatest accomplishment! I may never be rich, I may never have a college degree, and I may never see the seven wonders of the world, but I will always be Mom to my boys! Not only that but we have given them a truly remarkable gift ...Each other!!! I actually see that in the end all the sacrifices and all the chaos it truly is well worth the love we all benefit from having each other! So like I say....Motherhood the greatest job you will ever love that makes you want to pull your hair out! I use to think my job was to help them survive these magical, wonderful, once in a lifetime thing called childhood, but you know...I think it's me who needs the survival manual 101 Ways To Endure Mothering 3 Boys!

Much love and Happiness to all
-The Most Imperfect Mother

A Wife's Review

Nine years ago this past June I married my high school sweetheart, my best friend, my rock, and my soul mate. A creative type, a fabulous father, a God fearing man, loving husband, and one of the most talent people I have ever known. A passionate songwriter which is one of the many reasons I fell deeply in love with him. I will save you from the millions of other mushie reasons that I love him. Lets get back to the song writing, and music making part of this incredible man. This year with the help of many friends, wonderful musicians, talented voices, a few incredible co-writers, and my very talented brother-in-law the first independent album Four Letter Word was released this year. Which in my humble opinion these songs are Stephen Garrett at his best. Four Letter Word is an album about real, raw, unpredictable love. He blends lyrics and melodies together into a sweet and sour romantic tango of love. His ability to magically weave many personal experiences and being a witness to lives into the lines of so many of his songs. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, and taking a chance on the public feeling, experiencing, and looking for love in much of the same way this album is screaming. All this to say that in my home, and in the deepest unbroken, unjaded pieces of my heart is where I hold my love for this man, this creator of art. Even in the struggles of living this musically lead dream, and the sacrifices that are made by my family as a whole, are so very worth it when I listen to this finished project,this Four Letter Word album all about love. No matter what our future holds I am proud to be the wife of this song writing fool, and I am proud to have a love that is just not breakable!!! So here is to being his Angel!!! And here is to everyone out there taking a look at someone you love, and being proud of the accomplishments,the struggles overcome, and the dreams being lived!!!!

Because Spaghetti O's are Important Memories!

Today as my four year old pulled a chair up next to me climb up into the chair to stand at the counter and help me prepare lunch. I am reminded very much of my four year old self happily standing on a chair stirring Spaghetti O's with my Granny standing beside me. I remember the small green pot we cooked in, and her aging hand guiding my little hands with a wooden spoon. Her house was my playground on any and every day she could convince my parents to let her have me for the day or even a couple hours. At the wonderment of her house in the eyes of my curious self, I would be fascinated with the colors and colors of yarn, I would play house with real pots and pans, with my little pink plastic stroller with a baby doll I gave a hair cute not so long ago am I sure ( thought she looked better bald), I would chase the big white cat, whom I thought needed to wear a dress. Most of all on this day I am remembering her. Remembering how much she loved in the short years she had with me. Remembering her curly hair, and her large rimmed glasses. Wishing I had more to remember, and wondering what she would think of me as grown woman Hoping she would be proud of me. Wishing she was still here to spoil my children with push-ups and square pizzas! Here is to remembering the Woman who fell in love with the American Solider, taught me to cook Spaghetti O's, spoiled me with love, and fed me as many push-ups as I could eat! My dear Granny with her German spirit, and lasting impressions on a four year old pigtail wearing tomboy! My Granny the lunch lady....Because memories last a lifetime, and everyone deserves to be remembered, and love last forever!

Hope is Real, Love is Needed

I just got done reading some blogs, I am not going to address the subject lines, but I really believe that there is not enough love in the world, not enough compassion, to much judgemental hearts, and not enough helping hands! Sad really! Love is so important it holds us together or rips us apart, and Hope is real! We have lost focus of so many of the truly important things! We are all about MINE MINE MINE!!! Completely Heart breaking to me! Have we all really become so jaded towards one another that we have forgotten how to love.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves."
-- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Letting Go...the end of summer

As the glorious days of summer are coming to a close, and the busy months of the upcoming school year begin I will admit I am a bit sad. Which I believe we can be sad, and excited all that same time. Sad because I enjoy my children the laughter, hugs, adventures, and all the great joy they bring me in one single day. My children are not burdens to me, even when I do feel as though I could pull my hair out or the moments I feel as steam is truly seeping from ears. When summer ends so do so many of the great memory making childhood moments, the field trips to Grandma's house and the zoo, roasting marshmallows on a muggy summer night, catching fireflies because you are truly amazed by their beauty, water gun fights with cousins, being care free because that's what summers for. So many amazing memories built in the months of summer. So I am sad about its end, and letting go once again. The time comes every year for me to let him go. While my heartaches to keep him neatly protected beneath my wings, I must send him out into this world without me. And while this makes me sad in so many ways, I am also excited for what this year holds for him. Learning new things, meeting new people, forming relationships, and taking his small steps to adulthood. I am excited for him and for his future, although I wouldn't mind if time would move a bit slower. So guiding him the best I can, helping him avoid mistakes, but letting him make a few along the way....I pray for him, love him, and I am extremely proud of him! So as the summer ends, and this school year begins letting my oldest go and wishing him a fabulous, fun, productive school year...with so many marvelous adventures this 2nd grade year!

Excuse the Mess, I am Making Memories with My Children

As my day comes to an end, with coke poured over a glass of ice, and a bowl of dry cereal...because I don't do milk (YUCK). The dirty dishes still on the table from dinner, the dirty clothes still laying on the bathroom floor, and the toys still scatter along the hallway of the house. And the 3 little babies tucked soundly in bed, and kissed, and checked on twice! After a night full of fun, and the laughter of my children. Games on the Wii, Stories from and old Child Craft book, my mom use to read to me when I was a tiny princess. Now I pass on those poems, and short stories to my princes. All 3 fighting to make room on my lap, and me loving and juggling the 3 them and the book! What a wonderful day of making memories with my children on these final days of summer. What a peaceful night when the house is quiet, and the coke refreshing!