Plain Runner

Five years in the making… I am excited to announce my first novel, "Travel By Star" is available today in paperback (details in the replies). Inspired by the works of C.S. Lewis and Louis L'Amour, it is a story of fallen days and homeward hopes. Of sons adrift, and prodigal daughters. And what it takes to find the way back. Many good friends, both in in real life and here on X, have helped bring this book to completion, but I want to especially thank my editor and layout designer @JohnBLeonard for his faithfulness and friendship. A lot of life has passed since we first began. We are finally here, brother. I also want to thank once more my brilliant cover artist, @BarbaraBrendt. She showed me what these characters could be. More than that, she believed in me. I am forever grateful for her talent and her kindness. I only wish I could write faster so that I might be able to work with both of them again. Sincere thanks, as well, go out to @HeidiAHill1 and @KingAriPress. They were among my first writer friends in the world of social media and I was blessed to happen upon such steadfast encouragers. To everyone else who has befriended me here, offering timely advice, or a gentle query, or a friendly jab in the side - and to those of you who gave your time to my short stories - you are deeply appreciated. I hope you enjoy this story (at last). More than anything, I hope you come away from it resolved to fight your own good fight, and to run well, even into the sunset, knowing its light will reach back to draw you on. Thank you, all, truly. To the City!

@MichaelFKane Love to you and yours, brother. A spirited man… Sounds like the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Woke up to find this simple story about my granfather has found some legs. I appreciate the kind words, everyone and I hope the atory brought a smile to your face. 🙂

My grandfather is entering the final days of his life. He's 95 and he's ready to go home to his maker. But I thought I would tell a funny story. My mother and grandmother and I spent last night at the ER with him. About midnight the overnight hospitalist (doctor that treats patients while they are in the hospital) comes into the room. Talks to my grandmother and I for a few minutes and then begins to do a basic cognitive test on my grandfather. He starts with a simple question. "Can you tell me your name?" Now my grandfather (whose name is John) has slowed with age, but until the last few days has remained sharp, and if he has enough energy, a joker as well. He looks at the doctor, and while the confusion of his current ailment slowed his response, he eventually manages to confidently say "Juan." The doctor looks at him, then glances at my grandmother and I to see that we are laughing, before deciding that, yes, my grandfather despite his struggles managed to make a joke out of the test. He laughs. "Well I admit I was expecting a Juan to look at a little more Mexican." (My grandfather is the source of the red hair in my family and couldn't possibly look any less like a Juan) Long pause from my grandfather as he processes that. "Si." The doctor proceeded to casually call him Juan the rest of the night. A day later the decline has worsened and the end has drawn near. I passed by the doctor in the hall on the way into the ICU, had a quick chat with him about my grandfather, and then he told me that he'd never forget the 95 year old red head claiming he was Juan during a cognitive test. May we all manage to be so memorable in our last days. 😅

@_DavidMorrell @DaveBuzan Well, I can’t be calling myself a Western-Fantasy author and not read this!

I’m a big fan of Westerns. My debut novel, FIRST BLOOD (Rambo), was inspired by Westerns and my Western novel, LAST REVEILLE, was inspired by Sam Peckinpah’s classic Western movie, THE WILD BUNCH. davidmorrell.net/books/last-rev…

@MichaelFKane @RedHedgedragon @DavidRoomeAuth @TheMiddleborne I knew I could count on you. This is so helpful.

So like David I think most of the changes 'work' as well. Chani's changes are the most frustrating for me but maybe not for the same reason as others. Paul Atreides is a tragic hero. He spends much of Dune trying to avoid a bloody war and ultimately there isn't a route around it. He must embrace and subvert the plans of the Bene-Gesserit witches, become the Fremen messianic figure, and become emperor. And it is tragic. The Atreides men are the only Good men in the universe. This is evident in how their captains love them rather than fear them in Dune's barbaric feudal society. And Paul is forced to become a tyrant. The alternative is a Bene Geserrit controlled Harkonen Emperor that (to Paul's visions) lead to humanity's eventually extinction. So he has to become a tyrant. The Chani change is so jarring because she is the only happiness in the book ending. Paul's destiny force him to marry Peincess Irulan, but in the book the final scene is a quiet one between Jessica and Chani where Jessica comforts Chani. Both women were forced to be concubines of political men. Men that loved them dearly but had other obligations. But Jessica reminds Chani that the princess will lead a cold and lonely life, never to be touched by her husband. She says that history will remember that Jessica and Chani were the real Atreides wives. And the book ends right there. The movies ending is much darker and more ominous as result of chani leaving (and I have no idea how they course correct, because all huge part of the plot of Dune Messiah is that Chani has been barren for all across the time jump) So most of it I think is pretty good. I do think the tone of the ensing is altered substantially though.

@bearcubbakers Thanks, Julie. Glad to hear they’re connecting for you. Would love to hear your thoughts when you finish. 🙏

@plainrunner2 I’m nearly halfway through my first reading of Travel by Star, and the characters are so easy to get invested in. Several times I’ve found myself half heartbroken, thinking “don’t you DARE let XYZ happen to them!” It is certainly an adventure, and one I’m thrilled to be part of.

@whodamoose Fantastic! I’m in good company, then. 😅

When I was reading The Princess and the Goblin recently, it popped out to me that MacDonald (as the narrator) occasionally throws a little “you might be wondering about X, but the goblins have never told anyone the answer” kind of line in, and that got me to thinking that some of the best stories have that subtly thrown in there. It feels like the author is guiding you through a universe that he knows better than you, but still discovering himself.

@MichaelFKane Um, was “more content” supposed to be a winning argument?

Thanks but my novels aren't 'content.' I'm not opposed to using LLMs for secondary and administrative tasks, but I'm not joining the content treadmill.

@justcastellon Hey, I recognize that dusty out of place cover. 😅

Readers crave authenticity, and indie authors deliver. Free from rigid publishing timelines and trend-chasing, they take bold creative risks and craft stories that feel fresh, personal, and real. 👉 Read more: tr.ee/5Ph3KP #WritingCommunity #ReadersCommunity #indieauthors

@KingAriPress It’s funny that you say that. I almost quoted my earlier Hollywood post with “Rome can be rescued.”

@plainrunner2 Rome was full of graffiti, and it really bothered me.

Any art, any life, worth remembering is built from an undying love to rescue and restore. For the vandals are always at the gates… and inside.

@MichaelFKane I can’t remember which filmmaker said it (Capra, possibly), but there’s a somewhat well known comment that goes something like this. “When I hold the mirror as an artist, it’s my responsibility to tilt it upward.”

I heard someone use the phrase last night that true art should 'illuminate and inspire' And I liked that, because it recognizes that some worldly art gets halfway there. It can illuminate the world and tell the truth. But inspiring? That requires a more than just telling the truth. It asks you to hope for something better. It asks you to BE better. Was worth thinking about.

@MichaelFKane Talk to me when you’ve notched another decade, pup.

@plainrunner2 No one ever likes the answer I give about giving up sleep. 😬

"Why would you bring children into this world?" I have equal measures of sympathy and antipathy for those who base the most important decisions of life on unexamined cliches which boast of humility, but are little more than masks for a gruel-thin despair. The obvious answer, if there is any beauty or goodness in the world at all, is "Why wouldn't you?" Frightfulness does not become us any better than selfishness. Obviously, I am not speaking of those who wish to have children, but cannot. Neither am I speaking of those in the midst of some terrible upheaval of body or soul. Parenting is a risk that goes to the root of who we are. It calls us to grow and give in ways we may not think possible, and there are no guarantees that this won't be met with heartache or disappointment. It's true, the world is broken, and at times, cold and dark. Yet, I can think of nothing more humanly illuminating - and divinely reflecting - than the love we have for these little ones, connected to us, but uniquely their own. And that really is the question. Are you willing to love? Are you willing to be unsure and still give? Are you willing to extend warmth and light into new lives, and through them into the future? "Why would I bring children into this world?" Because I love what is good about it, and by grace, its in my nature to build more of it. To share and to believe that Someone greater and wiser than me knows what He's doing, even if I sometimes (often) do not.

@duncanreyburn At last, someone explains my genius to me. 😅

GK Chesterton, in Heretics (1905), on the value of being misunderstood: “The man who is misunderstood has always this advantage over his enemies, that they do not know his weak point or his plan of campaign. They go out against a bird with nets and against a fish with arrows. … He constantly eludes or vanquishes his opponents because his real powers and deficiencies are quite different to those with which he is credited, both by friends and foes.”

@MichaelFKane I’m some people. Sorry.

I have typed out a really funny tweet twice, but it's just not worth triggering some parts of twitter. Some folks cannot be chill enough for jokes and they would ruin my fun. Pity.

It really does feel like its own thing. Almost reminds me more of a Conan type story, in that Mars is really just a narrative excuse for high strangeness, and the Cavalryman aspect is mainly there for martial prowess. Interplanetary Romance, though? Definitely. It’s the scaling up, as it were, of Tarzan and Jane.

It’s not really sci-fi. It’s set on another planet, but the science is only there vaguely and incidentally, an excuse for the premise rather than the purpose of it. I suppose the argument could be made that the generally materialistic framing makes it sci-fi but it treats its science more like it’s magic. It also isn’t really a Western. Yes, John Carter is an ex-Virginia Cavalryman, a classic Western character, but he’s immediately plucked from that and put into a new setting with themes and tropes of its own that mostly overpower the Western trappings. What it is, however, is the first planetary romance, which in time spawned both the sci-fi western and the space opera, among other things.

Edgar Rice Burroughs' Princess of Mars is the first Sci-fi Western. Prove me wrong.

@_kylemetz The toughest part for me (I think) would be hitting the regular deadline. I might be able to do a chapter a month for some side project, but weekly would be impossible.

@plainrunner2 That’s my thought. I think curation could benefit people all around

I’m building a serial-fiction app and I want your opinion! 👇🏻

@DaveBuzan I love this movie. "I'm not trying to kill myself. I'm just freaking out!"

"Gung Ho" was released on this day in 1986. Fantastic comedy/drama from director Ron Howard and two of my all-time favorite screenwriters: Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. Highlights: Exceptional performance by Michael Keaton; terrific Thomas Newman score. Although a midsized hit upon release (tripling its production budget), "Gung Ho" remains an incredibly underrated entry in Ron Howard's impressively diverse filmography. A heartfelt and oftentimes hilarious film.

I went with Option 2. Similar to the argument making the rounds for self-published authors needing some degree of editorial support, I think it does help establish a bar. Not in a "we're too good for you" way, but in the sense that it signals intent. Most of the people I know over at Substack are already conscientious and tough on themselves, but for a new platform, it might be a good way to cultivate a place known for that type of writer.

Vote your opinion here!

Make typos while you’re at it.😂

Date that girl who knows the difference between right and wrong. Make sure you know it, too. Go for long drives in your beat up truck. Eat BBQ ribs and potato salad and that church potluck like they were just invented. Chase your nieces and nephews around at the Christmas party. Save up for a starter place wherever you can find it. Marry that girl with whatever budget you can manage. Make love. Fight fair. Build a home. Have more kids than these imbeciles think ‘responsible’ for the planet. Love God, and be good to the people you’re planted among. Honestly, the lunatics are lining up for their piece of the outer darkness. Pray for them, but do not fear them. Their gods are nothing.