b-B & S Book Cover Image

We’re in the final stages of proofing and I’m looking forward to putting this baby to bed.

I never really intended this to be a trilogy at all. I hate trilogies; they’re as bad as cliffhangers, or major motion pictures of books that stretch ONE book into two–or three- pictures. Thank you very much, Harry Potter, for starting that trend. I thought this series would wind up at two books, at best.

Well, the first book, Butterfly & Serpent (above) was already clocking in at over 200 pages. Once I finished the first section of the follow-up volumes, I realized this section would be completely different from the rest of the material and would probably work best as a stand-alone.

Not to give away too much, but in Book 2, Fathers & Daughters, Youssou is forced to call on Jamai’s help when a new situation rises, and he has to confront his family’s pains of the past. Jamai will come forward as a stronger, more assertive personality.

For Book 3, because of their actions in the previous adventure Jamai & Youssou find themselves thrown into the wider world. Their relationship will be tested, with the usual troubles one can expect from two very young people.

Strolling the Shores of Lake Tana

That’s all for now. I’ll keep everybody up to date as things move along.

Guns for the Week

Talk that compares Banning Knives vs. Banning Guns is spurious at best

A Knife is not a Weapon of Mass Destruction

One has to make an Effort to push the blade through Flesh, Muscle, Bone

Not to mention that nifty outfit you’re wearing

You’re only able to take out one person at a time

And you have to get Up Close & Personal

A Gun removes those limitations

A Gun is Stupid Easy

Depending on the range of your weapon, you never have to go near your target

You can spray a volley of bullets

Hundreds to a magazine

In a matter of seconds

And you never have to get your victim’s blood all over your nice flannel shirt

You would never have to make a Human Connection

To your murder victims at all

arnold-schwarzenegger-horror-movies

Now This/ Facebook May 19, 2018

Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick blames Santa Fe shooting on ‘too many exits’

If there has been only ONE entrance to their school, this guy would have had a clear shot to pick people off one by one, or shoot them all in a straight line.
Sorry, when is the last time you’ve been to a school, guy? Of course there’s multiple doors! You have 11,000 students going to different classrooms, in different rooms or portables on campus, which they have to get to within a five-minute time period.

Here’s a thought, and I’m just bein’ silly here…BAN ALL THE F—ING GUNS FORM CAMPUS! No gun zone! Gee! Ain’t that simple?

Retweeted Indivisible Guide (@IndivisibleTeam):

We’ve said #enough. We’ve said thoughts and prayers are not enough. We can’t watch the inaction in Congress go by unexcused. We can’t lose more to senseless gun violence. It’s time to #VoteThemOut.

Go to https://t.co/LDYRmnF4ut and commit to change who represents us.https://t.co/MAL9qlwrVn

Butterfly & Serpent–coming soon

We’re making progress towards a June publication date. The edit is coming along & I’m pretty close to done. Val Dumond is working with me on a new improved edit. I have to confess to several moments of embarrassment as I realized, a lot of these errors sneaked through into the original print. Thankfully those are being corrected. Given the sales on the first printing, this will pretty much be just like starting over. Cheers.

below: In Her Dreams (Jamai & Sydelle)

http://www.mike3839.deviantart.com

In Her Dreams 1 closeup- (1)

Rock Hewn Churches of Ethiopia

http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-africa/rock-hewn-churches-lalibela-ethiopia-00154

Ethiopia has seen its hard times in recent decades. However it remains the one land never to be conquered by foreigners. It also boasts magnificent rock-hewn churches, dating from the 13th Century. The name is apt; these holy sites had been literally carved from the hills of Ethiopia, centuries before the Renaissance began to turn back a thousand years of ignorance in Europe, before there was even a notion of such a place as ‘America’. LalibelaPilgrims_jpg rock-hewn-churches-of-lalibela

Now available

Just published–March 22!

This is the second volume in Muddy Puddle Press’ series (well, it might turn into a series) of One-Sentence stories. I’m happy to have been a contributor to both sets so far. Go to Amazon.com for both volumes.

Also coming soon

The follow-up book to Butterfly & Serpent follows a couple months after the reprint, if all goes smooth. Thanks again to Val Dumond for her encouragement and much needed guidance.

COMING SOON

Fathers & Daughters: Butterfly & Serpent Book II

By Michael Robbins

A terrorist assault by the Children of Sydelle results in the paralysis of

his village and the abduction of Youssou Hadebe’s mother. This is the

latest in a lifelong series of depredations against his family, and Youssou

has had enough.

He needs the only woman to ever foil their schemes, and she was now

serving a life sentence. Though Youssou is successful in securing a conditional

release, he soon finds himself facing his unresolved pain, as well as a reunion

with an enemy he was not aware even existed.

Bonus feature: The origin story of Sydelle, as told by the person she’d