Guest Blog - Happy Fourth of July!

Maybe it's because I am a proud father of a Soldier who served our country in Iraq and Afghanistan, but I look at the Fourth of July and Memorial Day holidays in a special way. That's why I want to share a post by fellow Helping Hands Press author, Joseph Max Lewis. Joseph is part of the author team on "The Declaration of Independence" series. The complete series will be available on Amazon on July 4th. Joseph is also a former Green Beret and is currently a Lawyer. I hope you enjoy reading Joseph's keen insights into the one of this nation's most important founding fathers, John Hancock.

Paddle Toward the Sun: Toughts on Dr. Maya Angelou

It's been awhile, folks. Sorry. I've wanted to post this for several weeks now . . .

In May, the world lost the celebrated African-American author and poet Dr. Maya Angelou. As a way of confession, I’ll admit I was not too familiar with her life or her work. Sadly, such is the way of someone like me, someone so narrowly focused on their own genre, their own tiny niche, that they miss the shining stars in the writing universe.        

With Dr. Angelou’s passing, I saw the vast public outpouring across the media outlets and wanted to learn more about this Pulitzer Prize-nominated woman who had touched so many lives.   

Guest Post: Soldier & Author Travis Perry

Travis Perry wears many hats. Over the last few month's I've had the privilege of working with him and five other authors on the Colony Zero short story project Colony Zero - Volume 1 - Contact . I found his breadth of scientific knowledge and languages quite impressive. I wanted to sit and have a cyber-chat with him.I hope you find the conversation as interesting as I did.

MARK: Many writers have day jobs along with their writing life. You, however, take that even further. I understand that you’re in the reserves. Before I go any further, I want to personally thank you for your service to the country.  

First off, give us some background. What branch of the service are you in? How many years?  What type of work do you do?

Have you been deployed?

Reflection on the Sacrifice Lamb

Easter, the time of new beginnings . . . Easter eggs and bunnies and spring flowers, little girls in their pretty spring dresses and bonnets.  There is such exhilaration just feeling the warm sun on my face after what was arguably the worst winter in recent memory. As the old saying goes: Hope springs eternal.

For me, though, Easter is not so much about looking ahead, but rather a time of reflection. I believe the same may be true for our Jewish friends during this season of Passover, a time to commemorate and reflect on God’s deliverance.

Saving a Life

Columbine High School, Nickel Mine Amish School, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Virginia Tech . . . tragedies that can never be erased from our collective memory. With each senseless tragedy, I remember my heart breaking. I mourned for the young ones whose lives ended far too soon. I grieved for the families, and I marveled at the heroes who freely gave their lives to save others. But even as I watched and grieved, it was always from a distance. Not now. With the terrible stabbings at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, PA on April 9^th, the unthinkable came to my backyard.     

One of those days . . .

Duck Dodgers and The Darker Side of Me

OK, talk about procrastinating! Maybe this day job thingy and working on two writing projects has something to do with it. But I have an announcement to make that’s a week overdue. My short story collection, Darker Passages, is now available in eBook on Amazon. Woot!

Look at the fantastic cover created by my son, Jason Venturini. Yep, shameless plug. Read the title. Do you notice the creepy specter at the end of the passages?  Yeah, it's all kind of dark. 

Well, I have to come clean: my writing and my short stories all have darker tones to them. Slasher stories? No! Vampires? Forget it; they suck out your brains along with your blood. But, you won’t find me writing a new episode of Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century either, no matter how much I love Daffy and Marvin the Martian.  

Why do my tales lean toward the dark? Perhaps it’s because we all have a darker side. No matter how bright and cheerful on the outside, we all have our insecurities, our fears, the personal demons we spar with every day.  Maybe in some small way my writing allows me to layout my demons for the world to see, hoping to find some surcease. Don’t get me wrong. I love life. I laugh and I joke around a lot. I love my family and friends. I’ve had a lot of great adventures. Nevertheless, I do believe we live in a fallen world that can be very dark at times. To quote a famous saying: “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow do! :-)  

I pray that the night is truly far spent, and the day is indeed close at hand.

I’ll leave you with a little Duck Dodgers. Enjoy.