Simple Monsters

Simple Monsters is a colorful children's picture book for ages 0 to 5. It has twelve original illustrations of silly monsters and each is accompanied by a funny verse similar to the literary nonsense of Lewis Carroll. It is available on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords.

All About the Sun

My daughter Hazel has written and illustrated a new children's science book called All About the Sun. It is for ages 6 to 12 and features over twenty full color illustrations surrounded by neat facts about our nearest and dearest star - the sun.

You can buy it on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords.

New Covers for Children's Books

It was time to update the book covers for my Simple series of children's books. My originals were pretty plain and uninspired, so I tried to jazz them up a bit. So, here they are. I like them much better than before, although I might still tweak them again.

Baby's First Sports Released

I'm excited to announce another young children's picture book to help parents teach their babies all the important concepts of life. Sports can help children learn critical skills including problem solving, social interaction, and exercise.

The book is called Baby's First Sports. It is a colorful children's picture book for ages 0 to 3 and has twelve original drawings of the most important equipment of many sports - the ball.

It is available on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords.

Simple Numbers Released

Simple Numbers is a colorful children's picture book for ages 0 to 3. It has eleven original pictures for the numbers zero through ten. It is a simple counting book to enjoy with young readers and available on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords.

Halloween Books FTW (For The Win)

Halloween is such a great holiday. Besides the costumes, decorations, and treats, I love the abundance of good scary stories. My favorite books to read around this time are short stories. Here are some of the short story books I have on my to-read list for this month. I've already finished some of them, but I have a feeling I'll end up recommending them all. If you are looking for some good short stories, check these out - just make sure they are age appropriate for the intended reader.

Never Kick a Ghost by Judy Sierra

Scary Stories for Halloween Nights by C.B. Colby et al

Scary Stories illustrated by Barry Moser, authors et al

Attack of the Vampire Weenies by David Lubar

All Hallows' Eve by Vivian Vande Velde

The August House Book of Scary Stories edited by Liz Parkhurst

More Bones retold by Arielle Olson and Howard Schwartz

Bloody Horowitz by Anthony Horowitz

Obviously, this is just a small list of the thousands of great Halloween-related books out there. No matter what you pick, I hope you enjoy this wonderful holiday!

Trio of Baby Books Released

This week has been a whirlwind. I was fortunate enough to publish three new picture books for young children and their parents.

Simple Animals, Simple Shapes, and You're My Baby all have original illustrations and simple language to make the books enjoyable for everyone.

You're My Baby just received a 5-star review on Smashwords. Maranda Russell writes, "Great little picture book for only 99 cents! Nice flowing verse, cute little illustrations and adorable photos of babies. I really liked how the author included pictures of babies and their parents from all different ethnic backgrounds."

All three baby books are available on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords.

Granny Gruesome - Nursery Rhymes to Terrify Children

Remember those fun and simple Mother Goose nursery rhymes from your childhood? They were usually accompanied by cute pictures of dogs and cats making cookies and dancing.

Well, no more! It's time to get gruesome!

There are over thirty illustrations full of dark humor and craziness - just perfect for teens and older who appreciate something wicked.

My new book Granny Gruesome - Nursery Rhymes to Terrify Children is now available in Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords formats.

Star Trek - The Original Series is still awesome!

I remember watching a few episodes of Star Trek, (now suffixed with "The Original Series") here and there as I was growing up. Being so young, I doubt I understood what the story lines were about or the deep, rich history and die-hard fans that it created, but boy do I remember being entertained. The graphics and special effects seem a little crude today, but they were amazing to me back then. So, with an opportunity this past week to introduce Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and the rest of the Enterprise crew to my children, we dove into the first few episodes of Season One and loved it. My kids, as well as myself, enjoyed the diverse stories, interesting characters, and familiarity of well-known catch-phrases. "I'm a doctor, Jim, not a (insert whatever)!" and "I'm giving you all the power she has, Captain." and all their variations are great fun in the moment. We are about half way through the first season, and knowing full well there are only three, we will take our time and cherish them.

Of course, then there are the movies and other TV series...oh, and books...lots and lots of books...

Masters of Doom

I just finished Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture The author David Kushner does a great job of combining his many years of research and interviews into a great book. Besides being extremely entertaining and full of insightful and interesting tidbits about two famous game makers, this book made me smile and remember back to my early video game days. When John Carmack and John Romero were brainstorming, creating, and delivering their massive hits like Wolfenstein 3-D and Doom, I was busy playing and modifying them. I don't think I ever grew into a fanatic and played them nonstop for hours every day like some fans, but looking back I can absolutely remember the great time I had with all their games.

These guys were pioneers. I was born in early 1980, so I was the perfect age to witness the advancement in PC graphics and game genres and game design that id Software created and perfected. They were the main reason for a renaissance and rebirth in the PC gaming industry. They made fun, inventive games and showcased outstanding graphics that no one else had figured out how to do at the time. This book is an easy-going read that was hard to put down. Absolutely a must read story for anyone interested in PC games, programming, and game companies.

Fun Book for Adults - Five Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth

I found a book at my local library that I had never heard of before, but the title sounded neat and the cover art was funny...so I checked it out. Once at my house, I started to read this book called 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth (And Other Useful Guides) and couldn't put it down until I was finished. It is hilarious, edgy, and intelligent - but only for adults. Kids shouldn't read this book as it is definitely intended for mature audiences. The funny drawings and dialogue combined with interesting historical and scientific facts makes this book hard to put down. It is tough to describe the book. Essentially, the book is like Seinfeld - it is about "nothing" and "everything" at the same time. The comic titled "Why it's better to pretend you don't know anything about computers" is especially dear to my heart and hauntingly true to life. This is one of those books where you wish you had written it. The author doesn't know it, but he and I are kindred spirits.