Author, screenwriter and playwright

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• Alien Advantage on March 12, 2011
  
  This is apparently the author's second novel. Although Alien Advantage starts out a little bit 'scatter brained' a little slow, it slowly but steadily becomes more interesting as you get further into it. All in all it is a nice, light sc-fi romp with a good dash of humor and adventure thrown in. The main character remains consistently dead-set against maturing throughout- that apparently being the guy's entire reason for existence or something (which makes him perfectly suited to his wisecracking attitude); so there isn't as much in the way of character development as there might be, but the adventure itself progresses nicely at a good pace, with nice little plot twists interspersed at appropriate moments. Until you come to an ending which might be a little disappointing at first, but upon reflection, is just unexpected enough to leave you enjoying it. If light sci-fi adventures are your thing, than I can recommend the read. ('Specially at the price!)
  
• Hush, Hush, My Love on March 31, 2011
  
  This was a very creepy love story\horror tale. A woman won't be denied her love, not even in death. Unfortunately the author does not warn his audience it contains necrophilia, which threw me for a second but I decided to read more anyway, hoping against hope there wouldn't be anything explicit. And fortunately, my faith was rewarded (although if just the word itself makes you shudder, you might want to skip reading this). Although I figured out the girl was dead probably about a page or so before I was supposed to (in a six page story that's a lot) still it had a very nice ending and it was very well written, taking into account the fact I'm assuming it has not been professionally edited. If romantic horror stories are your thing, and you don't have a lot of time late one night, then check this out.
  
• Coquina Hard on April 08, 2011
  
  A story of romance and adventure, loosely based on historical fact. It is well written, very well taking into account it is a first novel. It tells the grand story of Toria Brition, a forcibly indentured servant at a hellhole of a settlement in the years proceeding the War of Independence, and goes through some twists and turns as she fights against the injustice of her life to win everything, lose it, and in the end, come out with even more than she bargained for. It is sweeping in its scope, while still focusing on the human aspect of this historical account. Allowing a glimpse into the vulnerability and the fear of one young woman who refuses to accept her fate, and thus leads a revolution which will give nightmares to any sweatshop owner.
  
• Shroud & Sword on Aug. 01, 2011
  
  Shroud and Sword starts out promisingly, but then reads like it has half a dozen different beginnings. The story than meanders a bit too much for my liking. It could use some more editing, a little reworking as to plot points. Otherwise it has the potential to be a good sword and sorcery style fantasy, if it had another 200 pages or so. As a stand alone short story it really doesn’t take enough time for the ambitions it has. For the price it might be worth the read, if you like the author's other works.
  
• Sapphire of the Fairies (Sword of Heavens #1) on Aug. 12, 2011
  
  Sapphire of the Fairies is the first of a trilogy of young adult fantasy novels. It has all the needed hallmarks to be a sweeping fantasy tale, and is both grammatically well presented and easy to read (as in- the plot is consistent and makes sense). Although it is technically sound and starts off promising, it quickly proves to be both repetitive and fails to lay proper groundwork for character growth, in that they start off as confused young men and within a few chapters, turn into a deadly fighting force; while also dwelling on the minutia of camp and traveling. Secondary characters have very simplistic motivation which never fully becomes realized and although dialogue is generally good, can become silted in places. Even for a young adult fantasy story, it leaves much to be desired in these areas.
  
• Vanessa Alone on Aug. 15, 2011
  
  Vanessa alone is an amazingly good read. It is unfortunately one of those so called 'teaser trailers' which some author's feel is a good way to promote a larger book, rather than strictly a stand alone novel... although it does have a fully rounded plot which builds nicely and ends exactly where it should, preparatory to a second chapter which I will assume is in the full novel :) This is the well told story of a young woman locked alone in a room with a man she was indifferent too, and because of her imprisonment, comes to be rather more than indifferent to, until he is no longer around. Despite the fact that it is only the opening part of a larger work, this is very well written, extremely good, and well worth taking a look at. It is in fact so good, I am surprised it didn't receive traditional publication. Which is when all the hyperbole is said and done, perhaps the highest praise you can offer an author!
  
• Party of the First Part on Aug. 16, 2011
  
  It is five pages and I did not like the first four, which might be a bad sign except that I read it all the way to the end. More on that in a second. The writing is technically sound in punctuation and grammar, and the author has a smooth flow to his individual style. I am of course, giving him the benefit of the doubt and assuming it is meant to be tongue-in-cheek, as it is an absurdist fantasy about an insurance company willing to do everything, and I mean everything, to keep a writer's hands safe. It started abruptly and I thought I was not going to like it but being only five pages I read it all the way though. The ending was a surprise and it turned a two star work into four. Not the best thing I have ever read, but the ending was good, and nicely done.
  
• Maitre'd to the Damned on Aug. 25, 2011
  
  First off, this is two novellas featuring the same main character rather than one complete novel. I hate it when you can't tell that from the description. The writing style, tone and storyline is nothing to ah-hem, write home about (sigh, I apologize, but I couldn't resist) and there are enough grammatical and punctuation errors that I for one, noticed them (but I am judgmental about such things). This is a rather uninspired story about a man drawn into vampire hunting almost against his will, and if vampires are the kind of things you like, you might enjoy this. The author has called it noir with a paranormal tinge... I would consider it a vampire story with a noir tinge Considering the price, I guess it is worth reading. The author does at least, have a line or two that made me smile, with a wry sense of dry humor that I happen to like. That, and because overall it was readable and made sense, I give it three stars instead of only two.
  
• Slippery Slope on Sep. 01, 2011
  
  Slippery-Slope has apparently been published by Putnam (according to the author, under the title Running) I can only assume the author has chosen to use an earlier, unedited version of his novel here on smashwords, as it was full of typos... spelling mistakes, punctuation errors, ect. Other than that, the novel is the story of one man's internal struggle to accept the truth of himself, and to live with it. Unfortunately it doesn’t spend nearly enough time developing either the primary, or secondary characters, so although it has the seeds of something that could be a really great novel, I find that it falls a bit short of that. The author does have a great literary flair for dramatic and descriptive prose, and he clearly has spent time in the woods; for that alone it is worth reading. But it could use some editing, better formatting for ebook reading, and the author might want to consider rewriting it; or perhaps going back and making sure that what he has published here on smashwords is actually the same finished work, which was published by Putnam.
  
• The Walk Back on Nov. 22, 2011
  
  A great example of sex between supernatural creatures. It is very well written although it does have several problems which could be corrected with some editing work. The actual sexual interactions are very well formed, and the opening page is an excellent precursor to what happens. The description of the change itself is excellently handled and through joy to read. It is a short story which is disappointing but other than that I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys occult horror or steamy sex featuring supernatural creatures. It is so well written I am giving it four stars despite the grammar and incorrect word problems.
  
• Momo: the Disgruntled Christmas Elf on Dec. 20, 2011
  
  This was very good.
  
• The Feast of Stevens on Dec. 27, 2011
  
  This is amazingly good, not what you usually find in a 'free' self published work, although I see from the author's notes that is has been published in a magazine. Well written, funny, good dialog, description and use of characters while very gently poking fun at some people who don't like to be poked at...um wait. Someone offer her a publishing contract already.
  
• Santil's Doom on Jan. 20, 2012
  
  Santils (sic) Doom starts off very well, for the first paragraph. Good description and it sets the tone with a rising dread. After the first paragraph I found the prose to be a bit heavy handed, the writer it seemed, was trying a bit to hard, with a little too much grandiosity, to force the tone to continue on that path of dread, and the sometimes awkward sentence structure made that fall a little flat. However all in all it was a nicely done bit of writing, and the finial page or so went back to that earlier set tone for a good horrific ending; leaving a taste for more.
  
• Carpe Diem-1- A Rose Never Tasted so Good on Feb. 23, 2012
  
  I did not like this, quite frankly. I know, I know, if you have nothing good to say it is better... But in any case, the writing style I did not like, the grammatical and punctuation errors distracted, and although the described action started to get good, it ended all too abruptly.
  
• The Expendable Few - A Spinward Fringe Novel on May 12, 2012
  
  This is a very good work, suggesting that the entire series is also spectacular. It does lag a bit in places, and a few things might be easier to follow if you read the rest of the series first, but all in all it was very impressive. The beginning starts out with a nice fast pace and a human tragedy which draws the reader in and makes them want to see what happens next. Unfortunately the last third of the book lags slightly, and really I think you must have read the previous works in the series to easily following those last few chapters, but that is understandable as this isn't exactly a prequel.
  
• Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins on June 03, 2012
  
  This is an excellent trilogy of novellas, which forms a complete story about one Captain and his ship and crew. This apparently serves as the backdrop, or origins, for other books in the Freeground series. The work itself is well written, with nice pacing and okay characterizations. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good sci-fi as it has more emotional depth than some :)
  
• Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins on June 03, 2012
  
  This is an excellent trilogy of novellas, which forms a complete story about one Captain and his ship and crew. This apparently serves as the backdrop, or origins, for other books in the Freeground series. The work itself is well written, with nice pacing and okay characterizations. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good sci-fi as it has more emotional depth than some :)