Reality Game - Day 26

As I mentioned last week, I didn't expect to do much writing on the novel. On two different days I'd done some writing on a short story, and clocked in around 400 words on it. I found two words I threw together as a title, "Orion's Integration." Until today, I didn't know where I was going with this story, but the end revealed itself today.

I had awaken shortly after 1 pm. Had a "day off" from working with my wife, but had to run to the bank after taking care of bookkeeping another errand, and make dinner: fried fish, mac and cheese, and steamed broccoli. Still had some time to work on the short story this afternoon, and was able to add another 500 words in an hour and a half.

Spent the evening with the wife after cooking. Watched a movie, ordered some products she needed, she went to bed around 1 am. After I finished some bookkeeping, fixing the front door knob, I grabbed some snacks and sat back down to write.

From about 2 am until 6 am, I typed away. Finished the short story, adding another 1550 words during that time. The short story clocked in at almost 2500 words. Not a speed demon, but that makes my total word count for today around 2000. Not bad. If I could do that every night, I'd finish that novel within a month.

Orion's Integration I'm writing for our local writers' club anthology. But I'll probably post it here when I get it edited. More on that later.

Today was when I'd hoped I would have finished the Reality Game novel. As it is, I'm just under 5000 words on it. For October, I need to edit my Christmas devotional so it will be updated and ready for the Christmas season. I don't expect that to take all my time this month, so I hope to continue to plug away at the novel too. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Until next time.

Reality Game - Day 20

More progress on the novel, though I just remembered that I should have been working on a short story for our Writers' Club anthology. Deadline, October 1st. I planned on submitting an original short story, one or two previously published ones, and maybe a few poems. I pretty much have one week left to pull all that together.

This Tuesday was a little weird for me. Last night I wrote my blog article for Spec Faith. Started it later than planned, so was up until almost 8 am getting it done. I knew I'd at least need to sleep until 2 pm. When my alarm went off, I could tell my body wasn't ready to go. I had a critique group meeting starting at 2:30. Thought maybe I'd go after pulling myself together. Better late than none, but I just couldn't motivate myself.

I ate some breakfast and checked email. By the time I started to think about printing out a section to take to critique, it was getting to be 4:30. Since it ends at 5, not much point. So still feeling groggy, I spent some time on the infidelity forum. My body demanded more rest, so took an hour nap until 7 pm.

Wife came home after I pulled myself out of bed. We realized we never bought the fish for me to fry, so we ended up going to grab some BBQ at a local place called Holy Smokes. Very tender and delicious. A ton better than what I subjected Grace to in Dallas last year. We watched "Yesterday's Enterprise" while we ate, a popular episode o f ST TNG. We'd finished going through the Firefly series (boy, sure wish there were more, just enough to whet your appetite), so I picked back up on Extant, a science fiction series I've been picking at here and there.

Finished that. Had a Skype call with my daughter in Mississippi. Watched a few YouTube videos as I didn't feel like doing much of anything. Briefly considered just going to bed early and actually having a morning before work in the afternoon because I didn't feel in the mood to do anything.

But by the time I got my wife to bed and did the bookkeeping for her business (light today), it was nearing 12:30 am. I saw I could have a good night to get some writing done. So I took my meds, answered some more threads on the infidelity forum, then by 2 am I was sitting down at my computer with prunes, cashews, and a hot cup of peach tea.

Typed away for an hour and a half and got in 1000 words. Not too shabby, all things considered. Not as fast as I used to type, but faster than I've been of late. Better than the 600 in an hour and a half I did last time. That finished out Chapter 2. I have vague idea where this is going, but not sure yet how it will develop. These stories tend to have plenty of plot twists and turns in them, and I'm focusing on the relationship dynamics more too. Especially after what happened in the last book, Virtual Game. Spoilers!

So decided by the time I wrote this blog, I'd be ready for bed. Getting close to 4:30 now, so I'll get some decent sleep before the alarm wakes me at noon. So at least this strange day involved making more progress on the novel. But I'll probably have to take a break the  next few days to get that short story written, compile my submissions, write part two of my infidelity blog post on trust, and try to take over the world. So getting words in on the novel may not happen until later this week. We'll see how it pans out. Wednesday, however, is more cleaning work. All afternoon and don't usually get back until around 8 to 9 pm.

---------------

Day 1: 444 words
Day 14: 456 words
Day 18: 687 words
Day 20: 1041 words

----

Novel total: 4399 words

Reality Game - Day 18

Bottom line, I'm probably not going to make my original goal of finishing this novel by the end of the month. But I've not given up. Work, writer's club, my weekly SpecFaith blog, Infidelity blog and discussion participation, left me little time. Not to mention all the little "must get done" tasks like fixing a flat, special church services, getting the car registered, etc. You know the drill. Then there is simply a lack of energy issues at times too.

That said, I have made some progress. One positive is I saw my neurologist last Monday, and she upped my dose. That has made typing a little easier and speedier. Not as fast as I was before Parkinson's set in, but faster and with less mistakes than I have been of late.

Last week I put in another 456 words on the novel. Until tonight, that is all I'd done on it since 9/4. I was up late last night writing a blog post for my infidelity blog, around 1000 words. Realized the subject was too big, so labeled it part 1. Planning on part 2 this coming week.

So last night I hit the sack around 5:30 am, and woke up at 7 am. We headed off to church. Came home shortly after 2 pm. Then went back to sleep after checking email and responding to one message from my infidelity group. Woke up around 7 pm. Relaxed. Watched some videos on YouTube while my youngest son (20) finished up dinner. We ate while watching the latest Dr. Who episode and an episode of Star Trek TNG from season 3. Then my wife and I pulled it together, and went grocery shopping by 10:30 pm. Returned home shortly after midnight, then put groceries away, made sure trash was out, put her cleaning supplies back in the van (she gets up early on Mondays to clean a car dealership's office before it opens). Once we settled down, she went to bed around 1:30 or 1:45. Don't recall which.

That is all a pretty normal Sunday for me. Sometimes I get more sleep on Saturday night than an hour and a half, but rarely a whole lot. If I get in three hours, I'm doing good. I catch up  during my extended Sunday afternoon nap.

So after checking on the infidelity forum and responding to a couple of people, I returned to the kitchen to clean the griddle and my smoothie cup. Stocked up on raw cashews and prunes, then retired to my computer to see if I could get in some writing while my meds were in full bloom.

Started on that around 3:30 and wrote until around 5 am. During that time, got in 687 words. Crazy. I remember getting in that many during a 30 minute timed writing challenge during Nano in previous years. Now it takes me three times as long. Even with the upped meds and making it easier to type, it isn't back to normal. I'll just keep writing anyway.

So now I'm taking time to write this blog, then I'll head off to bed to wake up around noon. Monday night I'll need to write my SpecFaith blog post, which usually takes most of the night as well. It usually ends up being close to 1000 words. I'll keep plugging away at this novel until it is done.

---------------

Day 1: 444 words
Day 14: 456 words
Day 18: 687 words

----

Novel total: 3358 words

Reality's Fire Reviewed

The third novel in The Reality Chronicles saga, Reality's Fire, recently acquired a new review from Yellow30 Sci-Fi. Click on the link to check out the full review, but below is an excerpt to wet your appetite. The reviewer enjoyed it, recommended it, and gave it 4 stars on Amazon. Enjoy.

Reality’s Fire is a good read, with lots of action, some suspense, and much soul searching on the part of the characters. Each must grapple with their inner feelings if they wish to succeed. Copple effectively gets across the idea that with God anything is possible, even if man messes up. Forgiveness, repentance, and the importance of following His will for our lives are key points as well.

Power Hungry: A Virtual Chronicles Short Story

This short story is set to happen shortly after the events in Hero Game. This story does not appear in any of the books.

---

Bridget snapped her eyes open. She'd almost fallen asleep. She peered across their bedroom and examined her brother, Jeremy. The moonlight filtering through the blinds gave enough light to illuminate his face. Yes, he had fallen sleep, and yes, he didn't have his mask on.

He'd declared tonight a night off from virtual superhero patrolling. Saving people seemed minor in comparison to saving two planets. Besides, Jeremy said we made only a small dint in the number of crimes around the globe. Earth would get along without them for one night.

Jeremy may have seen this as an opportunity to relax, but that made it a prime chance for her to do her own thing without worrying about Jeremy or Mickey looking over her shoulder. Being nine, they tended to treat her like a kid. She would show them.

She slid her mask from under her pillow and pulled it over her head. She glanced at Jeremy to make sure he hadn't woken up, then pulled her covers over head, just in case he got up in the middle of the night.

"Suit, appear as Comet Girl," she whispered. Darkness overtook her for a couple of seconds before the control room on Titan materialized. Banks of screens, five rows high and twenty across, flashed images of live TV news feeds from across Earth.

She skipped to the control panel extending along the width of the screens and seated herself. She wiggled her fingers over the buttons in anticipation. "First, I want to see what new superhero I can use." She pushed a button and the screen in front of her lost its feed and a computer desktop appeared.

"Computer, display superhero list for Bridget Goodhue."

A list scrolled up the screen and stopped. Bridget slid her finger down them as she read. "Buggy." No, she'd tried that one before. Being a superhero gnat had limited advantages. "Duster." Being able to turn into dust and reform was cool, but got old real quick. Throwing dust in people's eyes was the worst she could do. How lame was that.

She scanned further down. Most of the options she'd seen before. They're weren't many choices. None of them had guns, rays, or such. Comet Girl came the closest to having any kind of real crime-fighting power.

She flopped back in her seat and crossed her arms. "No fair." What she needed was access to the programing and add in some features, but she didn't know anything about programing. Especially in Zorian.

She sat up. "Robert. He's a help robot. Maybe he. . . " She leaped from her seat and sped out of the room, down the stainless steel hallway, and into the bay. She picked an Eagle-class ship and entered. She stopped in the middle of the ship's control room. "Help!"

A door slid open and Robert rolled out of his bay. Flashing lights dotted his metallic chest. Accordion arms extended claws into the air. The glass bulb atop him sparked with electricity as he talked. "Robert is here to help. State your question."

"Can you access the programing of my superheroes?"

The flashing buttons sped up for a couple of seconds. "Affirmative."

"Can you add a feature to one of my superheroes?"

"Negative. I'm not programmed to build virtual features."

Bridget stomped her right foot. "How can I get more powers then? This sucks."

Robert retracted his claws back into his body. "Transfer."

Bridget met Robert's globe. "Transfer? What do you mean?"

"Move established superheroes from one account to yours."

"Move!" She smiled. "You mean, I can transfer Astro Man to my list?"

"Affirmative."

She clapped. "Then do it. Move Jeremy's superhero to my account."

A claw extended and touched his bulb, ever so slightly tilted. Lights flashed. He pulled his claw back in and straightened up. "Files are moved to Bridget Goodhue's account successfully."

"That's more like it." She closed her eyes. "Suit, appear here as Astro Man." Light dimmed to black and back again. Except now she stood taller. "Thank you, Robert. You can return to your bay."

She gasped. Her voice. It sounded like Jeremy's. She raced to the sleeping quarter and found a mirror in the bathroom. She swallowed. She looked exactly like her brother. "I'm a boy!" Her hand brushed against something on her side. "A boy with a raygun!" She slid it out and examined it. A sleek barrel widened to cover a stock. A cutaway section on the back held several buttons, with tiny code written under them.

How am I supposed to know what these do? Bridget holstered the gun. "Looks like I need a crash course on Astro Man's gun." She sped out of the ship, noticing how stronger her muscles pushed against the floor and longer her leaps. She returned to the control room and settled down into a chair to review Astro Man's bio and weapons specs. Minutes ticked by as she attempted to memorize the button codes.

She pulled the gun out and stared at the buttons. "BL for blinding light. R for ray gun. G for gravity ray. Not hard."

"Hey, Bucko! I see you couldn't stay away either."

Bridget jerked out of her chair. She spun around, her heart racing. "Mickey?"

Mickey, suited up as Blue Nova, frowned. "What's the matter, Bucko? You're as jumpy as Bridget? And what's with the formality?"

Bridget sucked in a deep breath. Did she tell him the truth? She didn't want to get caught. "Huh. . .you surprised me is all. Mick. I was. . .focused."

Mickey glanced at the screen. "On Astro Man's info? You know that superhero inside and out. He's your favorite."

Bridget shut the screen down before Mickey could notice it was under her account. "It had been a while since I looked at it. You never know if you've missed some little detail that. . . ," How would Jeremy say it? ". . .you've overlooked before."

Mickey slapped Jeremy on the back. "Always studying the instructions. I think you're addicted to them." He laughed.

Bridget feigned a half-smile.

A beeping penetrated the room. Bridget found the monitor whose light was flashing. "There." The news cast covered a mine opening that had collapsed in India. A group of miners, trapped inside, struggled to live.

Mickey glanced at Bridget. "We'd better act. What's the plan?"

"The. . .the. . .the plan? Uh, what do you think?"

Mickey focused on Bridget. "Bucko, you're always barking out orders."

Bridget shrugged. "I know. How rude of me. I think it's time to not hog all the authority around here. Suggestions?"

Mickey shook his head. "Sometimes you surprise me, Bucko. My suggestion would be Astro Man uses his gravity ray to lift the rocks up. I'll zoom in as Blue Nova and carry them out in less than a minute."

Bridget smiled. "Good idea." At least she'd identified the gravity ray. This sounded simple enough. "Let's go."

She entered the coordinates. "Suit, appear at coordinates as Astro Man." The control room faded to be replaced by the bustle of emergency workers scurrying to remove rocks from the opening.

One man noticed them, pointed and began chattering in his native language. Some men clustered around a table looked up, then headed their direction.

Mickey glanced at Bridget, as if expecting her to do something. He faced the men. "Any of you speak English?"

Two men raised their hands. One of them stepped forward. "We know who you are. Are you here to help?"

Bridget nodded, realizing she needed to take charge like Jeremy would. "Yes. Have everyone stand back from the opening. We'll take it from there."

The man nodded and communicated her message to the others. Men barked orders and the workers around the opening cleared away.

Bridget grinned. Seeing everyone obey her as the authority sent a surge of energy through her. Have ray gun, will save the world!

She turned to see Mickey staring at her with a frown. "Anytime you're ready, Astro Man. I'm sure those men don't mind waiting a few more minutes while you bask in your glory."

"Oh, yes. Of course." She forced the grin off her face as she pulled the raygun out. She pushed the button labeled "G" and pointed it at the rocks.

Mickey zipped next to the rocks. "I'm in position."

Bridget pulled the trigger. A blue ray erupted from the barrel and hit the pile of rocks. They quivered for a moment, then collapsed. More of the entrance crumbled down and onto Mickey. Mickey fell unconscious onto the ground as a pile of rocks pinned him onto the dirt.

Bridget gasped and let up on the trigger. Gravity ray meant more gravity. She'd not read how to reverse it. She ran over to where Mickey lay. What do I do now?

"I thought you know what you doing!" the Indian man shouted at her.

She raised her visor to wipe tears away. "I did too."

"What you plan to do about this? Fix it or get out of the way."

"Maybe I can help."

Bridget knew that voice. Jeremy, dressed in blue jeans, sneakers, and a tee-shirt, stood before her. "Uh oh."

"You better believe this is uh oh. Now, give me that gun." Jeremy held out his hand. Bridget placed the gun in his palm. Jeremy hit a button on the gun and pointed it at Mickey. "First, we need to kill Blue Nova."

The Indian man jumped in front of him. "Who are you? You can't kill Blue Nova!"

Jeremy sighed. "I'm not really killing him. He'll reappear in a few seconds if I shoot him."

The Indian man focused on Bridget. "Is this true?"

Bridget nodded. "Yep."

The man moved out of the way. "I hope you know what you doing."

Jeremy pointed and pulled the trigger. Mickey's body vanished in the flash of a red ray.

Bridget stood. "How did you know?"

"You never sleep with covers pulled over your head. Not to mention all my superheros are gone. That's why I had to come here as myself."

Bridget widened her eyes. "But I thought I only moved Astro Man over. Robert must have misunderstood me."

Jeremy cracked a smile. "So that's how you did it. Smart, Sis. Though I'll have to have a talk with Robert about authorization protocols."

Blue Nova appeared beside them. "Bucko and Bucko? What's going on?"

Jeremy laughed. "You think that's strange. I've been having a conversation with myself." He punched a button and moved a slider bar at the top, then handed the gun back to Bridget. "I don't need to attract attention to myself. You'll have to do the honors."

Bridget received the gun and stepped back.

"That's good. Now aim and keep the trigger pulled until Blue Nova can get everyone out."

Mickey backed away from the entrance. Bridget shot the gun. A green ray, wider in radius, engulfed the entrance. The rocks rose into the air. Bridget kept the ray aimed on the rocks.

Mickey disappeared, then reappeared every two to three seconds carrying a miner. Medical personnel scurried to attend to them. Once Mickey indicated everyone was out, and the entrance was clear, Jeremy told Bridget how to lower the rocks safely.

Once done, they hurried behind some trees and returned to the control room. Bridget hung her head in preparation for the rant.

Jeremy sat and crossed his arms. "Why, Sis?"

"I don't know." She huffed. Yes she did. "Just, everyone treats me like a kid."

Mickey laughed. "You are a kid."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Am not!"

Mickey pointed at her. "Case closed."

Bridget huffed. "I wanted a superhero with punch, like Astro Man. Do you know how much stronger you are than any of mine?"

Jeremy run a hand through his hair. "Sis, you'll have superheroes with more punch eventually. But you may not be ready for them. Do you think you were ready to be Astro Man today?"

She bowed her head. "No."

"You'll be ready in time. Meanwhile, you're an important part of our team."

Mickey nodded. "You've saved my butt a few times."

Bridget smiled. "I have to admit, Comet Girl is easier to control. I just think what I want the dust to do, and it does it. No buttons and dials to figure out."

Jeremy rose from his seat. "Now that we've got that settled, I want my superheroes back. Time to pay Robert a little visit."

Bridget smiled. "Suit, appear as Comet Girl."

---

Read more about Mind Game and Hero Game, along with sample chapters and where they can be purchased.

Yippee for Christmas! by R. L. Copple

As I've been doing for the last few years, I'm presenting to friends, family, and fans a Christmas short story as my Christmas gift to you. Thanks to everyone who has read, supported, and been a friend over the past year, and I pray into the new year as well. Now, enjoy my new Christmas short story: Yippee for Christmas!

---

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away that amazingly looked a lot like Texas, there lived a king named Loren. King Loren ruled a kingdom full of joyous, peaceful, and loving people. For they had much to be thankful for. From the mountain ranges in the west, to the plains in the north, to the ocean beaches on the southern coast, and the forest in the east, rarely was heard a dissenting voice. Crime gained no foothold here, as no one lived in discontent. It was Heaven on Earth.

What you say? Impossible? One would think so, save for one basic fact. The biggest celebration in this kingdom happened every December 25th on Christmas day. Each year, the king threw the grandest party in his castle, not sparing neither Christmas turkey, Christmas ham, Christmas tamales, or Christmas picante sauce. No child left without a present from the king. The whole kingdom celebrated Christmas.

What? Oh, you're wondering why this created their private utopia? Not because of the food, but because of what they celebrated: joy, peace, and love. The celebration reminded them all year long to practice these virtues, and so they did with the utmost fervor. They celebrated and practiced these virtues so well that all crime vanished, no one starved or lacked a roof over their heads, and no one complained over what they had, didn't have, or what their neighbor had that they didn't. The focus on joy, peace, and love overshadowed everything else.

One Christmas eve, King Loren's death ended his reign. The funeral line processed in a solemn march through the city as adults and children lined the streets. The normal joy of the season fell silent against the night of the king's life. Everyone reminisced about the good king's deeds and heroic decisions, and the most honorable kingdom in the world under his rule. No one shared a negative word against him, so great was their love for him.

King Loren's rule fell to his oldest son, Xander. Before the festivities of Christmas began, the lords of the land installed King Loren's son to the throne.

As King Xander examined the solemn crowd in the usually festive hall, he said to them, "My loyal subjects. Ever did my father find joy, peace, and love in the Christmas celebration. We can do no less in honor of his memory. He would not be pleased to find us sad on this day, lest we forget all he has taught us. So let us lift a glass to his memory and celebrate this festival as if he is watching, for he very well may be."

Heads nodded and smiles filled the sea of faces sitting around tables laden with all sorts of Christmas foods. Hands reached for glasses to join in the toast, all except one. One hand raised above the growing hum of voices and said, "My lord, I have a complaint!"

Gasps raced across the hall; talking halted. The king, along with every other eye in the crowd, stared at the man with the upraised hand. King Xander scratched his beard in disbelief. "Kind sir, are you from our fair kingdom? For complaints are rare with our people who celebrate and practice joy, peace, and love throughout the year. What possible complaint will you bring before us on this august day?"

The man lowered his hand and stood. "My lord, I am new to these parts. I had heard of the joy, peace, and love of this land, and wished to join such worthy festivities. Now that I am here, I feel excluded, for I am not of your religion. Would not it be more inclusive of all faiths who also celebrate joy, peace, and love, if we gave this holiday a new name? I beseech you to consider this request so that I too, and those who follow other faiths, are free to celebrate with you." The man sat down.

All eyes turned to the king in anticipation of his words. King Xander stroked his beard for a moment and then said, "Long has it been the tradition in our land, set by my father, to call this day Christmas. Yet your argument is sound. I will put my wise men to the task and by next Christmas—or whatever it will be called—we will have a new name. So be it."

The lords replied back, "May the king's will be done." The man smiled, and the celebration continued through the day as it had for many years.

Shortly before the next Christmas...I mean, whatever it would be called, King Xander made an announcement in his court. "My dear subjects. Last year, I declared we would find a more inclusive name for our celebration of joy, peace, and love. After much consultation with my wisest counselors, we have settled on that name.

"Beginning this year, it will no longer be referred to as Christmas, but Yippee! You will no longer have a Christmas tree, but instead, a Yippee cactus. Santa will no longer deliver Christmas presents; he will leave children Yippee presents. No longer will you hear Christmas in your songs. Rather you'll hear songs like, 'Yippee, Yippee time is here. Time for laughter, time for cheer...' Instead of hearing the story ''Twas the Night Before Christmas,' you will hear, ''Twas the Night Before Yippee.' All references to Christmas will be changed throughout the kingdom in favor of the new name to commemorate joy, peace, and love: Yippee!"

The hall erupted in a glorious, "Yippee!" followed by clapping and shouts. They had never felt more inclusive.

Christmases...I mean, Yippees came and went for seven years. Each year the celebration grew grander to outdo the last. But other changes emerged over the seven years. Crime rose from nearly non-existent to 30%. Complaints became the norm instead of the exception. Despite doing more in the Yippee parties than his father, King Xander received notices of discontent about them and a good many other government services as well. Joy, peace, and love declined even while their virtues were lauded.

At the eighth annual celebration of Yippee, King Xander put on another exciting Yippee party at his castle. After listening to a rousing rendition of "Yippie Bells," and a fun sing-along with the king of "O, Yippee Night," the king sat at the head of a table filled with Yippee turkey, Yippee ham, Yippee tamales, and Yippee picante sauce. By this point, King Xander had also added his own touch to the menu: Yippee figgy pudding.

King Xander stood, raised his glass of Yippee wine, and then said, "My loyal subjects, each year at this time we celebrate the virtues of joy, peace, and love: the founding principles of our land. So I toast with each of you that these virtues will prevail among us and that our country will always celebrate their values and benefits."

A couple of heads nodded. Many said, "Whatever." Hands wandered toward glasses to join in the toast, all except one. One hand raised above the growing grunts, and an eight-year old boy said, "My lord, I have a complaint!"

A few, "What's new?" comments echoed among them as eyes focused on the king's response.

King Xander waved his hand. "You'll need to take it to the complaint department. It is open on Mondays through Fridays from noon to one o'clock."

The boy stood. "I have a question then. Why?"

The king's forehead wrinkled. "Why what?"

"Why do we celebrate joy, peace, and love? Especially when there is so little of it."

King Xander moved his mouth as if to talk for two seconds before emitting an answer. "Why? Because my young lad, you are not able to remember the joy of my father's reign. The celebration of these virtues is what provided such prosperity and harmony in our land for many years. We have fallen from that ideal, I will grant you, but that is no reason to not celebrate their glorious effect upon our kingdom."

The child shook his head. "But why celebrate something that ain't happening?"

King Xander scratched his head, then turned to the wise men seated on the left side of his table. "Answer the boy's question."

The wise men stared at each other to see who would give an answer. Five seconds passed, then the oldest of them stood. Wise Joseph—King Loren's trusted adviser and the one, lone dissenting voice concerning the Yippee celebration change—bowed to the king.

Wise Joseph faced the child. "In the ancient writings, the angels appeared to shepherds in the fields by night. Upon arriving, the angels declared a message of great joy, and upon departing, they shared the words, "On Earth, peace." That is, peace and goodwill among men. But these virtues were not the purpose behind their celebration. Rather the angels pointed to One who would infuse joy, peace, and love among mankind. It is not the virtues we celebrate, but the god-man who came from Heaven to give us joy, peace, and love." Wise Joseph returned to his seat.

Silence prevailed for five seconds. Then the child asked, "Who is this god-man?"

The king stared at the boy, then raised his hand. "My loyal subjects. I fear we have made a grave mistake these past eight years. In our attempt to be inclusive, we have excluded the very person who instills these virtues into each one of us. Knowledge of and living by His words have diminished, and therefore, so has joy, peace, and love. From this moment forward, we will return to calling this celebration Christmas. We will have our Christmas trees, our Christmas foods, our Christmas presents, and yes, even our Christmas figgy pudding to celebrate the Christ through who we are made joyful, peaceful, and loving. We are not inclusive by excluding anyone, most especially the guest of honor, but by inviting all to join in His celebration. So be it."

The lords raised their glasses. "May the king's will be done." Loud clapping and cheers arose from the celebrants.

And so the kingdom celebrated Christmas once again, and a measure of joy, peace, and love returned to the land over the following years. What? You want to know what happened to the ideal kingdom? Once corrupted with the knowledge of evil, the kingdom is rebuilt one person, one heart at a time as they partake in the redemption of the God-man and find true joy, peace, and love abiding within. The ideal kingdom reigns in such persons, and it is this truth that the people of King Xander's country learned to celebrate.

Yippee for Christmas!

Lisa Godfrees Interviews Me

Lisa Godfrees recently reviewed my book, Mind Game, which she really enjoyed, so she asked me if I'd be up for an interview. So, like, yeah! So, by jove, she did, I answered, and she posted. I'm blushing a bit with the praise, but she asked some good questions you may not have seen on many of the previous interviews. So check out her author spotlight on me, the "spectacular R. L. Copple" as she puts it.

Jennifer Eifrig Interviews Me

Author Jennifer Eifrig has posted an interview of me. She asked some more unique questions than some I've had, and so you get some unique answers than perhaps you've heard from previous interviews with me. I think she did a great job, and am thankful for providing the opportunity.

Check out her interview with me and post comments on her site. You can here as well. Thanks for checking it out.

Series Title Contest

I'm giving my readers a chance to win a copy of my book, Reality's Dawn. How, you ask, do you accomplish that?

I'm in need of a series title for a new book I'm currently editing. Here are the details on what it needs:

1. It is a series centered around dragons in the Reality World. It is a spin-off from the first series, from the book Reality's Fire that is about to come out.


2. It will be at least five books long.


3. The title needs to have "dragon" in some form or fashion in it.


4. It needs to avoid being trite.


5. The atmosphere of the series will be similar to the Reality Chronicles series.


6. It should avoid using the word "Chronicles" in it, since I have two series with that already used.

Sound easy? Well, if you have a good one, post it in the comments here. If I find one I like and want to use, you'll win a free copy of Reality's Dawn, ebook or paperback if within the continental United States. Contest ends midnight on June 3rd. If I don't like any of the choices, no one wins.

So with that information...GO!

Reader's Realm Interview

Today, a new interview with yours truly has "magically" appeared at the Reader's Realm blog site. Not only do you get the sheer pleasure of reading about me and my musings, but by leaving comment, you'll get put in the draw for a chance to win a copy of Reality's Dawn, the first book in "The Reality Chronicles" series. And you'll learn a little bit about my most recently published book, Hero Game.

So don't delay, jump over there and throw in your two cents for a book that would cost you well over ten dollars. Not a bad deal, eh?

New Interview and Chance to Win a Book

Yet another interview is up on Zoe Mack's blog. Want to learn the three things you're not likely to know about me? I divulge that information in this interview! An exclusive!

And not only that, if you leave a comment, you'll get a chance to win a free copy of the book that started it all, Infinite Realities. It is a good sampler of the kinds of stories you'll find in the full novel, Reality's Dawn. So if you've not had a chance to read either book, get yourself over to the blog, read it and laugh at me, and then comment to get your name in the running.

Do it.

Interview at Precarious Yates

Another person has undertaken the grueling task of interviewing me. This interview was specifically concerning my self-publishing work, and my recent self-published novel, Mind Game.

To check out this interview, visit her blog. You may find some other info there of interest as well!

Thanks!

Pre-order Reality's Ascent through B&N

That's right, the first sighting of the new book, Reality's Ascent, has been spotted. Once again, Barnes and Noble shows the book up first. If they are your preferred book vendor of choice, don't delay, go order today, so as soon as it is released, a copy will be on its way!

Reality's Ascent is a reprinting by Splashdown Books of Transforming Realities originally published by Double-Edged Publishing. The new version sports a snazzy new cover, and a few formatting, typos, grammar, and continuity issues were fixed, we pray without introducing new ones. Point being, if you have Transforming Realities, this is essentially the same book. If you don't, now's your chance to grab a copy that is fresh and up-to-date.

It's Coming! It's Coming! Reality's Coming!

Reality's Dawn Appearing Early March!

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, reality invaded the world.

When the presence of reality emerges from under the façade of perception, lives are changed. Forever.

A mystical ring binds Sisko to bless others with miracles and avoid using its power for himself, which would lead to a curse. With his friends Josh the wizard and Seth the leader of a gang of thieves, Sisko explores the emerging reality through his travels and adventures.

Journey with Sisko as reality's presence confronts and changes the greedy, the killers, the trapped, the demonic, and Sisko himself.

...Reality has dawned, and no one will be the same.

The Dawning of my new book, Reality's Dawn, is upon us. Within a week or two, the new title should be appearing on Amazon and other fine online retail establishments. And have we got some fine activities planned for the upcoming release.

For starters, I will be the in the spotlight Monday through Thursday at Encourage an Author Blog. Thanks to Casey Harringshaw for hosting me this week. You'll not only hear news of this book, but other books I've published, and you'll get an excerpt from a new story in this book, never read before by human eyes...except a small handful of dedicated critiquers and proofers.

Monday, March 7th, at 8:00 pm Central Time, will be a chat kick-off party. A chance to ask questions, get to know me better, and who knows what else will happen. Plug the date and time into your reminder calendar so you won't forget. Do it now. I'll wait.

Then one more item. At some point in the coming week, author A . M. Roelke will post an interview of me at her blog. You can watch for it at her blog or watch here as I'll post a note when it goes live.

What? Can't wait until it comes out? Satisfy that craving by pre-ordering directly from the publisher, Splashdown Books.

I'm excited to finally offer this expanded life of Sisko's journey with the ring. The additional ten stories in it really fill out and deepen the original novella, Infinite Realities. I invite you to share the excitement with me, and I pray, grab a paperback or ebook of it when it comes out, which of course I'll be the first to let you know when each one becomes available.

NaNoWriMo Barnes and Noble Bookfair

As readers of this blog know, I've participated in "National Novel Writing Month" for the last four years, making this coming November my fifth run at the crazed word race. Last year I wrote just over 102,000 words in November, my personal record. It will be hard to beat that again, but I'm sure going to make a valiant attempt! If you want to track my progress, make sure you follow me on my Twitter account: rlcopple, where I will be giving near-daily updates on my word count.

Now for the news. Each October, our regional liaison/leader, Emily, plans events leading up to the launch date. Last year, she had me give a presentation at the Round Rock, TX library on planing for a novel. This year, she is launching a bookfair at the Round Rock, TX Barnes & Noble. If you are in the Austin, TX area on October 23rd, you can download the flyer to get the date, time, and location.

Around 4:00 pm that day, I will be doing a reading from my published NaNo novel, Transforming Realities. Some other NaNo published authors will be reading from theirs as well, but I would love to see/meet whoever is able to show up for the event. There will be activities going on all day.

So, who all will be doing NaNoWriMo (short for "National Novel Writing Month") this year? Don't know what it is? Really it's quite simple. Even though it is called "national," people from all over the world participate: Europe, Africa, Australia, everywhere. You register (it's free!) at the central site where you will be able to set up your profile, tell about the novel you will be writing, connect with other writers in your area or anywhere in the world, and most importantly, provides a place to enter and track your word count.

The goal is to write 50,000 or more words in the month of November. What you write may be publishable, it may be practice, it may be whatever you come up with. The concern isn't how good it is, or even what it is, but to get the creative side of your brain flowing and give your inner editor a rest for a month...and just write! Most people are surprised by just how good what comes out actually is, and it's the best way to develop and display your voice.

Haven't done it before? Why not give it a try? The worst that can happen is you don't reach 50,000 words. Maybe you only get to 10,000. Hey, that's 10,000 more than you would have had otherwise? It's hard to lose on this, other than not giving it a shot even once.

See you on the NaNo forums, and hopefully if you can make it, to the B&N bookfair.  Write on!

Press Release: Final Reality Book Picked Up

R. L. Copple, author of the Reality Series (Infinite Realities, and Transforming Realities) is pleased to announce his third and final book in that series, The Reality, has been picked up by ResAlien Press and is expected to be available early December 2010.

SFReader.com Review of TR

Residential Aliens magazine editor, Lyn Perry, has turned in a review of Transforming Realities to SFReader.com. It isn't a five-star review, but it is balanced and honest.

On the one issue he has with the book, I expected some wouldn't care for it. So I'm not surprised I've run across someone who doesn't. It's one of those things you either enjoy or don't. Depends on what type of book you like to read. And interestingly, this is the only novel out of the five I've written that has this specific quality. But in writing it, it fit the plot.

He missed some info I would have liked to get his input on, namely character development--a major part of any story. I can only assume they weren't "cardboard" characters for him, or he would have mentioned it.

That said, the review is fairly positive aside from his one main complaint. I appreciate his view and hope it helps readers to decide if they'd like to read the book or not. If you want to find out what Lyn Perry thought of the book, read it on SFReader.com.

Thanks for reading.