IMPISH IS NOW AVAILABLE!

IMPISH is the story of a young lawyer named Travis, who accidently sells his soul to Satan in exchange for financial gain and some luck with the women.

The devil is a little too backed up with attorneys, so Travis is instead assigned an Imp to help him with his endeavors, and Hell literally breaks loose. What follows is a hilarious—at times outrageous—adventure as Travis and his Imp try to break free from the clutches of eternal damnation.

Only $3.99 on the Kindle, $3.99 on the Nook, and  $14.99 in paperback.

Get your copy today! (and thanks for the support!)

The Perfect Escape

The part when the rain poured in sheets, and the two kids were stuck inside the Land Rover, with one kid holding a flashlight, both of them deathly still and afraid, while a Tyrannosaurus Rex stomped around outside. The thumping of its approach, the tiny ripples in the cup of water and the puddles of mud. Or the part, with the same two kids huddled behind the stainless steel kitchen counter, listening to the faint clicking of the approaching Raptor’s monstrous claw.  Or what about the time, near the beginning of the film, when you first see the herds of dinosaurs grazing.  Do you remember the magnificence of that moment?  It was amazing!  Something I’d never dreamed of seeing with my own eyes! 

I know there were many occasions before this, when I truly escaped, but this experience certainly impacted me the most. I remember I was in elementary school (4th grade).  I remember gripping the arms of my chair like I’d never done before—and have scarcely done since.  I remember where I was sitting in the movie theater, the smells, the sounds of quick breathing and shrieks. 

Jurassic Park was the first of many experiences like that—where I fell 100% into the moment and was carried away with the story, the characters, the thrills and chills.  I picked up the source novel by Michael Crichton and it was one of the first reading experiences that blew my mind.  I fell in love with books and the worlds that they opened.  Books like Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, The Rainmaker by John Grisham, ‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King, The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls, Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card and hundreds more.  I loved escaping into those stories, not because I had to escape, but because it was so much fun.  Although time is short these days, I still love to open a good book—I look forward to a great movie, or a visit to an art museum.  Writing has been a natural extension of that passion.  I get swept away in the worlds that I create as a writer—and it has opened up endless possibilities of imagination and escape.

So let me ask you this: do you remember the first time that you were carried away? Do you remember the first time that through a piece of art, a movie, book, or whatever, you left behind your everyday worries and escaped for a few moments? 

My new novel, Impish, is that kind of escape.  I think all my writing is rooted in this love of being swept away with stories, of getting so caught up in a book that you don’t notice you’ve been reading for hours.  Impish has that sort of adventurous spirit that pulls you in and doesn’t let up.  And why do I tell you this? 

Because I’d like to invite you to give IMPISH a try. 

As of today, it’s for sale on Amazon.com (only $3.99), the Nook ($3.99), and in your favorite bookstore.  My goal in writing this book was to make you smile and laugh out loud, to grip the arms of your chair and to… escape and have little fun.  

Impish is one of those stories—and I know you’ll love it.

Play That Game of Checkers

I went on a date last night with my wife.  We went to this fantastic little restaurant in Coconut Grove called Jaguar—famous for its ceviche, and rightfully so.  After dinner, we went to see The Avengers (like everyone else in the world, it seems J).  The evening was very pleasant—a much needed respite from daily stresses and challenges.

We got home late, said goodbye to the babysitter, and we checked in on the kids.  As soon as their walked through their bedroom door, my son opened his eyes and smiled at me.  He sat up sleepily and whispered, “Dad, is it time to play our game?”

My heart sunk.  He’d been asking to play a game of checkers for several days, and with everything going on (those confounded daily stresses and challenges) I’d delayed the game that he was so looking forward to.  Even worse, because of my work schedule, it had been nearly two days since I’d seen my kids awake. 

After tucking him in bed and watching him fall almost instantly asleep (he really was too tired for the game, despite his excitement), I fell asleep thinking about those little moments that we lose with our kids, our loved ones, our friends.  I thought about all the times that we get so caught up in everything going on in life, that we forget to actually live—to enjoy the world around us and the relationships we have.  I thought about that precious little girl, Avery, who was diagnosed with a terminaldisease at such a young age, and her parents who made a bucket list of all the things they wanted to do with her before she passed on from her short life.  Needless to say, I promised myself that I would play that game of checkers with my son.

A few days ago, I was invited to speak and do a reading at an art club.  I read the first chapter from my newest novel, IMPISH, which also involved a father’s game of checkers with his daughter that will never be played.  (This was purely a coincidence, as I wrote that scene more than a year ago—and have only been thinking about it recently as I’m gearing up for the release of IMPISH on May 17, 2012).  I realized that for all of the outrageousness of Impish, the dark humor, offbeat characters, and crazy plot twists, an underlying theme that I kept returning to, is this idea to make every moment of life count—before it’s too late.  Now, I don’t think that we’re all going to hell as the father in this book inadvertently did (I promise that IMPISH is more lighthearted and fun than it sounds ), but life marches on and will inevitably end one day.

So today, put aside the stress and challenge of your everyday endeavors and play that game of checkers.  That’s what I’m going to do.