Sunday Surfing

Barnes & Noble Bows To Apple And Amazon; Exits Tablet Business

How Can the Average Writer Make Money Self-Publishing E-Books?

An Introduction to Author Services, Part 1 and Part 2

Considering Self-Publishing? Don't Bother, Unless You Follow Guy Kawasaki's Advice

High Fantasy Map Quiz!

14 Words That Are Their Own Opposites

Computer Desktop Encyclopedia

Captain Obvious

Lessons Yoda Has Taught Me About Writing

Think you're a nerd? Prove it! 21 Jokes Only Nerds Will Understand I got about 16 or 17 on the first read. I'm nerdy with a capital N. Of course, being a science-loving computer programmer helps.

I added the Feedly and Bloglovin widgets this weekend. I'd be grateful if someone can verify for me that they work properly.

I have been (and plan to continue) using Feedly as my blog surfing chauffeur. I've spent a good bit of time getting things organized the way that works best for me. I still have some tweaking to go, but am thus far satisfied.

I Do Love Me Some Dragons

Perhaps it's about time I let you see another geeky, nerdy side of me.  Yes, it's true, you can tell a lot about a person by their friends.

These are my friends

All were gifts from either my wife or daughter.  Any wife who brings home a dragon for her husband has to love him, right?  (Unless, of course, the dragon is hungry and hubby has a whopper life insurance policy.)

And any daughter who brings home a dragon for Daddy must adore him, right?  (Unless, of course, Daddy has Cerberus guarding the car keys he took from her for missing curfew.)


The uploaded images are larger, so you should be able to click the various images for a better gander.  Just don't get too close.  I haven't fed them yet today.


Wizards on the other hand tend to fare far better when interacting with these noble (or not so noble) beasts.  Is there any wonder my book's prologue opens with a dragon providing warning to a wizard type?


Cultures spanning the globe celebrate, revere or fear the dragon.  Literature is replete with them, from Tolkien to the Bible.  And while every culture's perception of what these fantastic beasts are or represent, they're almost always perceived with awe.



Several of these are globes.  Adding transparent spheres into the mix just enhances the effect somehow, don't you think?  And to have the dragon's head penetrating said sphere is just plain cool.


And there's something about the way they perch on the globes that hints of deadly clever intentions.  Simultaneously sinister and noble, they lure the wise and ensnare the unsuspecting.

Several have lights, triggered on timers or in response to sound.  One roars.  Another flashes lightning amidst cracks of thunder.  What more could a geek want?



I'm rather partial to the cylindar.  It spawns a tornado.  Quite the effect.

The one on the right plays music while it's upper body and wings move, menacing and majestic.

So now you know what I'd like for Christmas, birthdays, Father's Day, and yes, even Valentine's Day! (It is about love, right?)

So gaze into the heavens and glimpse a dragon!