John Kennedy Toole took his life in 1969I have been feeling like John Kennedy Toole lately, at least how I imagine he must have felt before he killed himself. Toole is the Pulitzer Prize winning author of A Confederacy of Dunces. I admit I only got a third way through his book before giving up. Not because... Continue Reading →

Book signing for "The Dark Age of Enya" c. 2005So you want to write a novel . . . great! Lots of people do it every day. But the difference between writing a good novel and writing a stack of pages with words on them is the difference between riding your bike around the block... Continue Reading →

This will be the last post of 2012, so I thought it'd be fun to look back at the year. While my quest (and make no mistake, it is a quest) to find an agent or a publisher for Ages of Aenya continues, it's been a great and productive year for my little niche of the... Continue Reading →

1. The Once and Future King by T.H. White This is the very best telling of one of the very best myths. It's the story of King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, and Guinevere, with everything you might want out of fantasy. But more importantly, T.H. White pulls at the heart strings while teaching you lessons about... Continue Reading →

I've heard it said by many different people that Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was written while the author was on some kind of hallucinogenic drug. I still believe this to be an urban legend, but after finishing Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, I can understand why some people might come to that... Continue Reading →

Despite the little voice inside me that is saying, "Don't do it, Nick!" I am compelled to talk about the issue of feedback, and yes, I realize a lot of this is going to sound like sour grapes, but I feel there is a lot of ignorance that needs to be dispelled.It's silly for me... Continue Reading →

Pentaconter leaving the port of Hedonia courtesy of Evan KyrouChapter 8 Mare NostrumThey sailed two days from the port of Thetis, along the Hedonian coast, toward what had been the most trafficked harbor in the world. None of the fifty oarsmen or their captain, Cambses, believed they would find any ships moored at its docks,... Continue Reading →

Chapter 7Sex and PoliticsThelana walked like a caged battle cat about the beautiful surroundings of their bedchambers, with its twin-pillared arcades, chandelier oil lamps, and seashell shaped fountains. “Of all the spoiled brats!” she muttered. “If I ever step foot onto paved earth again, it will be too soon!”“Hush!” It was Emma. “You’re going to... Continue Reading →

I first heard of Roger Zelazny in the September 2004 edition of H&E Naturist magazine, in a review of my book. In it, Tim Forcer writes,Sword and sorcery is a very old tradition of story-telling - possibly the oldest. Alimonos is not afraid to acknowledge one of the earliest in this tradition, that ancient Greek, Homer. He also quotes from... Continue Reading →

Image courtesy of my favorite artist, Frank FrazettaChapter 6Queen FrazettaBeams of sunlight angled through openings in unseen walls forming an illuminated square about a raised platform. At the periphery of this square were four arcades, each to a domed ceiling, flanked by pairs of narrow pillars. Impressions marked every wall, arch, and dome, a matrix... Continue Reading →