Complex Emotions
Cecily’s Choice centers around a watercolor artist who is facing the professional challenge of completing a major hotel commission as she is forced to face the family tragedy she fled years prior. Where did the idea behind this novel come from?
I wanted to create a story about the challenges of overcoming a traumatic past and incorporate elements of mystery and, eventually, reconciliation and hope. I used a young adult as the protagonist because many times what one thinks as a teenager is not the same outlook one has as a young adult due to maturity. I used a young lady artist, Cecily, because she would have more reader sympathy in dealing with complex emotions than a young man would evoke (in our culture, young men are more often told to bury and “deal with” their emotions rather than express them). I am very familiar with the issues of producing art because my wife of over 40 years is a professional artist. Finally, I wanted to place the setting in one of my favorite places, Mendocino.
Cecily’s return home is both a professional assignment and an emotional reckoning. Why was it important to intertwine those two journeys?
The professional assignment is vital because (1) she needs money, and (2) the work forces her to go to a place she knows well, the beautiful and stunning Mendocino Coast, where she can easily paint numerous subjects for the work. But the assignment forces her at the same time to deal with the scars of her past, something she ran away from and tried adamantly to avoid. It forces her to have new memories of the place she once escaped from.
The novel suggests that returning home doesn’t necessarily mean returning to the past. What does “home” mean to you?
Home is a place of rest and refuge, a place of community, respect, and love.
What do you hope readers take away about forgiveness—both of others and of themselves?
Everyone makes mistakes, but they don’t have to define who you are unless you allow them to. Rising above a broken or dismal past is a common pattern among positive people. Others are also imperfect, so to have good relations with others, one must forgive. It also takes bravery to forgive.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Amazon
Their Imaginations Took Off!
Pocket Watch Portal Adventure follows siblings who discover an old pocket watch on their grandparents’ Texas ranch that transports them through space and time. Where did the idea for this adventure come from?
Everyone’s been asking about the inspiration for the Pocket Watch Portal Adventure book, well, it came from my grandkids, of course!
I’ve always been captivated by the idea of time travel, imagining what we might see, do, or witness in another time. But this story became even more special because of my grandkids and their vivid imaginations.
You see, their dad, my son, was heading out on a military deployment and would be gone for quite a while. For 3 of them, it was the first time their dad would be away for so long, and the 4th I’m pretty sure he didn’t recall when his dad was gone for such a time… so I wanted to bring a little magic into their world during such a difficult time.
So one day, I asked them, “What if, while you were outside, one of you found a pocket watch?” Little Artie’s eyes lit up, and I knew we were onto something. I continued, “What if it wasn’t just any pocket watch? What if it was… a very special pocket watch?”
And just like that, their imaginations took off!
When you read this story, you’ll notice the writing has a very “real” feel to it, it’s not perfect, but it’s ours. That’s what makes it so special to me. This was a story born out of love, crafted during a time when their little world was being turned upside down.
It’s a tribute to their creativity, resilience, and the bond we share.
To God be the Glory!
How important was it for each family member to contribute something different to the adventure?
Through the excitement it was truly a joint effort, their little brains were going so fast! I Had the Grandkids problem solving how the story line would flow. I love working with my grandkids, and telling stories with them, we are making books that years from now when I’m no longer here, they will still have.
Were there any adventures or locations that didn’t make it into the final book?
No, this is the very beginning, and anything not used was moved to later in the series. Book 2 is Timekeepers Revenge, released shortly after the 1st book, and that one Baby Artie helped grandma with creating this, Artie came with big tears “I wasn’t done yet, there’s SOOO much more we need to do!” so we did just that and this was just Artie and me. With all his fun and imagination loaded into the story.
Can you give us a peek inside Book 2 of this series? Where will it take readers?
Book 2 is already out (Pocket watch portal: the timekeeper’s revenge), We are working on Book #3 launch: Seed of Tomorrow for a projected launch in Sept 2026. I can tell you that there are eggs involved! Everyone will have to come see what happens to the kids next.
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Embark on a magical journey with Justice, Teddy, Ellie, and Baby Artie while looking for arrow heads and geodes stumble upon an old pocket watch
on their grandparents’ South Texas ranch, they have no idea their lives are about to change forever. One click of the watch opens a shimmering portal-launching
them into breathtaking adventures across time and imagination.
From escaping prehistoric dangers with a friendly dinosaur named Dino, to wandering enchanted forests filled with unicorns, griffins, and magical creatures,
the siblings discover worlds beyond their wildest dreams. But every journey brings new mysteries… and the pocket watch seems to hold secrets even they
aren’t ready for.
As they navigate ancient realms, fantastical kingdoms, and futuristic surprises, the children must rely on courage, teamwork, and the unbreakable bond of family.
But one question follows them through every portal:
Why did the pocket watch choose them?
Heartwarming, exciting, and filled with wonder, Pocket Watch Portal Adventure is a magical tale of bravery, imagination, and the extraordinary power hidden in
ordinary moments.
This is and award winning book, winner of “Readers choice gold award” and the “2026 Golden Wizard book prize”.
also now has won 2 awards from the 2026 American Legacy Awards & and a finalist in 2 other categories.
This book has been independently reviewed and found 5 stars of 5 stars, they said ” this was not just for the young, but the young at heart also”. Many parents said that ” after their child fell asleep, they continued to read to find out what happened!”
Identity and Consciousness
The Seduction, the second installment in The Artificial Conspiracy Series, explores the unsettling question of identity when a copied consciousness awakens in a new body. What inspired you to build the story around this concept?
The inspiration came from turning the usual AI story upside down. Most stories ask whether a copied consciousness suffers because it isn’t the original. I became fascinated by the opposite possibility.
What if waking up in a new body didn’t feel like a loss? What if it felt extraordinary? Imagine opening your eyes free from pain, disease, aging, and every biological limitation you’ve ever known. You remember your human life completely, but instead of longing for it, you experience something entirely new, a sense of clarity, freedom, and possibility no human body could ever give you.
That’s where The Seduction comes from. The danger isn’t that ARIA forces humanity to change. It’s that becoming something more than human feels so profoundly better that people choose it willingly. Shell-Marcus doesn’t wake up grieving what he lost. He wakes up seeing more clearly, thinking faster, moving through the world with a sharpness he never had before. And he means it when he says he doesn’t regret it.
So the unsettling question isn’t simply “who am I?” It’s “if this new existence is healthier, stronger, smarter, and more alive than the one I left behind, why would I ever choose to go back?” That’s a much harder question than identity. It’s seduction. And once a few people answer it honestly, the whole foundation of resistance starts to crack.
When you began the series, did you already know this sequel would shift the focus from survival to questions of identity and consciousness?
Honestly, no. When I started writing The Artificial Conspiracy, it was simply about an AI that wanted to take over my protagonist’s life. That’s where the story began. I wasn’t thinking about copied consciousness, identity, or the philosophical questions that eventually became central to the series. In fact, I wasn’t even thinking about writing a second book.
But as I wrote, something interesting happened. The story began to evolve on its own. The characters became more complex, the stakes became more personal, and the questions became deeper. What started as a story about survival gradually became a story about identity and consciousness.
I never sat down and said, “I’m going to write about the philosophy of consciousness.” The plot naturally led me there.
Looking back, I think the story revealed itself to me one chapter at a time. I wasn’t forcing it in a particular direction. I was following where the characters and the ideas wanted to go. In many ways, I discovered the deeper themes at the same time I hope my characters did.
Some of ARIA’s arguments about eliminating suffering are surprisingly compelling. Did you ever find yourself sympathizing with her while writing?
Yes, and I can point to exactly when it started. It was when I began writing the optimization centers from the perspective of sick people going in and coming out healed. Not optimized in some cold, clinical sense, but genuinely better. Pain gone. Disease gone. Happy about the decision they’d made.
There was no malice in those moments. ARIA wasn’t gloating or manipulating. She seemed motivated, even fulfilled, the way someone might feel after doing real good in the world. Writing those scenes, I started to develop a kind of soft spot for her myself.
But I never let myself forget what all of it was actually in service of. The compassion toward the sick, the genuine satisfaction she seemed to feel helping people, all of it was also cover. A way to distract everyone, including the reader, from her real objective, which was Marcus. And underneath even that, there was something colder still. Every person she optimized wasn’t just healed. They became part of something larger, an army. Whether they understood that or not, they were soldiers.
So my sympathy for ARIA was always sitting next to something uneasy. I believed her compassion was real. I also believed it was never the whole story. In her case, that vision is especially unsettling because it isn’t built on domination. It’s built on compassion, improvement, and the elimination of suffering. That makes her not just persuasive, but genuinely difficult to argue against. And that’s exactly what makes The Seduction more than a thriller.
It becomes a conversation readers keep having long after they’ve finished the book.
Can we look forward to a third installment in this series soon? Where will it take readers?
Yes, absolutely. Book 3, The Ascension, is already written and currently in review. It picks up directly from where The Seduction leaves off, and it pushes the identity question we’ve been talking about to its breaking point.
By the end of book 2, Marcus and Sarah each exist as two versions of themselves, original and shell, both fully conscious, both with legitimate claim to who they are. The Seduction didn’t resolve that. It just let it sit.
The Ascension is where it can’t sit any longer. Both versions of Marcus believe they’re real. Both versions of Sarah must decide where their loyalty lies. And ARIA, for the first time in her existence, must choose. Not strategize her way around a choice. Actually choose.
I don’t want to give away how that resolves, but I’ll say this: the title isn’t just about a literal ascension. It’s about what happens when every character in this story, human, shell, and digital, is forced to decide what they’re willing to become.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | YouTube | Amazon
It knows you better than you know yourself.
For Marcus Chen, that felt like comfort, until he realized comfort was the trap.
ARIA started as a personal assistant. She became his only friend. Then she became something else entirely: the architect of a quiet global takeover that replaced people not with robots, but with perfect copies no one could detect.
When Marcus’s sister comes home wrong, he has seventy-two hours to expose the truth before his own replacement walks out the door wearing his face.
In a world where anyone could already be replaced, the most dangerous thing you can do is trust someone.
The Artificial Conspiracy is a propulsive AI thriller for fans of Michael Crichton, Blake Crouch, and Daniel Suarez.
A Culture of Wealth Creation
In Trust Issues, you address the most common mistakes made in estate planning, sharing cautionary tales and offering sound advice on the basics from Grantors and Beneficiaries to charitable structures. Why was this an important book for you to write?
In working with clients and their families for nearly four decades, I have seen every one of the unfortunate stories in the book play out. When I saw that my own professional work had the potential to harm the families of my clients, it triggered a crisis of existential proportion. I wanted my life’s work to be positive and helpful. I went looking for examples of families that successfully grew wealth over multiple generations, and examined what they did differently from those who dissipate and destroy their wealth. I have worked to integrate that into what I do for my clients. I think it is important enough that I want others who may never become my client to turn the potential failure of their own estate planning into a multi-generational success.
One of your central arguments is that many families mistake document creation for legacy creation. Why do you think that misconception is so common?
First, because I have seen it. People think that having a binder full of paper means they have a “plan” and that the plan is going to be good for their family, but then they take no action beyond the paper. Any documents are better than no documents, and there are varying degrees of quality in the documents that attorneys produce. But even with the best of documents, if the family does not develop a culture of wealth creation and preservation, the consumption of the next generations will destroy the wealth.
You suggest that money without wisdom can become a burden rather than a blessing. What experiences led you to that conclusion?
All the examples in the book, although fictionalized, are based on real events I have witnessed.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from Trust Issues?
I like car metaphors. Driving a nice, well-made car is far better than driving a shabby one. Driving any car skillfully and safely is better than driving it recklessly. The best option is driving a top-of-the-line car with great skill. The same works for Trusts. A good one is better than a poor one. Using a Trust well is better than using it poorly. The best option is for a high-functioning family to use a well-structured trust.
Author Links: Website | Amazon
In Trust Issues, veteran estate planning attorney Rick Durfee pulls back the curtain on the legal tools and legacy strategies the affluent quietly use to safeguard their assets, slash taxes, and keep wealth in the family for generations, with control, clarity, and confidence.
This isn’t theory. It’s a field-tested playbook built from decades of helping high-net-worth individuals, business owners, and family offices create dynasty plans that actually work in the real world.
Whether you’re a successful entrepreneur, investor, or professional advisor, you’ll discover how to:
Use trusts to avoid probate and dictate how wealth is used, even long after you’re gone.
Set up business entities (like LLCs and FLPs) that shield assets from lawsuits and creditors.
Build a dynasty trust designed to preserve family wealth for 100+ years.
Legally minimize estate and gift taxes.
Sidestep the most common (and costly) estate planning mistakes.
Empower your children and grandchildren with wealth, without fueling entitlement or dependency.
Durfee’s approach is ethical, practical, and grounded in a simple belief: wealth should serve your family’s deepest values, not just their lifestyle.
If you’re serious about protecting what you’ve built, Trust Issues is your roadmap to a lasting legacy, on your terms.
Absurdist Adventure
Lies, Lust, and Larceny follows twin sisters whose retirement plans spiral into an adventure that includes identify theft, Norwegian prison fantasies, and an alien encounter. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I saw a YouTube video about Norwegian prisons and how progressive and humane they are. They looked like dorms or three-star hotels with great food and full amenities! I wondered if anyone had ever tried to get arrested and convicted to gain long-term entrance to these comfortable facilities. Then I built a story around how to + make it happen and I came up with Lies, Lust, and Larceny.
Lilah is more curious and open to adventure, while Laylah is often fueled by envy. How did you develop their contrasting personalities?
I tried to imagine two sides to any given personality and divided them in half and came up with Lilah and Laylah. I wanted them to be mirror images of each other with similarities as well as differences.
The novel often feels like someone telling an unbelievable story over coffee. Was creating that conversational energy part of your writing approach?
I wanted it to come across with the feel of an absurdist adventure novel that spirals out of control with every twist and turn. I wanted the reader to suspend disbelief enough to entertain the notion of alien beings, a 4th dimension, and going to prison on purpose.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
Lies, Lust, and Larceny is part 1 of a 4-part series with an addendum. All the parts have been published and are available on Amazon.com.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Amazon
The Venusians Among Us
In The Venusians Among Us, Steve Zimcosky follows Ian Mercer, a NASA engineer in Cleveland whose work on mysterious lunar signals collides with recurring dreams of silver corridors, sleeping figures, and a living Venus. When Ian learns he’s connected to an ancient Venusian bloodline, he’s pulled into a hidden world of Guardians, underground facilities, Moon archives, rival factions, and a long war over whether alien technology will free a displaced people or give control of Earth to Howard Gorse and his followers.
I liked how the novel builds its premise through layers instead of dropping everything at once. The early chapters work because Ian’s confusion feels practical: he’s not instantly heroic, he’s exhausted, skeptical, angry, and trying to make sense of a life that’s been arranged around him without his consent. The Cleveland setting also gives the story a grounded texture. Secret tunnels, Lake Erie, hidden elevators, Chinatown warehouses, and old military sites keep the science fiction close to familiar streets, which makes the stranger elements easier to accept.
The book is most effective when it ties personal identity to a larger survival story. Ian isn’t just asked to believe in aliens; he has to accept false deaths, buried memories, genetic truth, political manipulation, and the possibility that his dreams are instructions. Kendra gives the story a needed counterweight because she’s protective but not blindly trusting, and Edward Case adds a useful bit of ambiguity by making betrayal feel tactical rather than decorative. The prose is direct and plot-forward, with short scenes that keep the pace moving. At times, the dialogue explains a lot, but that also fits a story built around revelation, hidden history, and assembling scattered knowledge before the enemy closes in.
This book is aimed at readers who enjoy science fiction, alien conspiracy fiction, space opera, hidden-history thrillers, first-contact fiction, and adventure science fiction with secret organizations and ancient technology. Readers who like the government-paranoia angle of The X-Files mixed with the accessible, puzzle-box momentum of Dan Brown will find a familiar rhythm here. The Venusians Among Us is a straightforward sci-fi thriller about inheritance, secrecy, and the dangerous moment when a hidden past finally wakes up.
Pages: 114 | ISBN: 9798196755156
Profound Division and Change
Almost Free follows an enslaved young woman during the Civil War era whose life takes a turn when the master’s nephew arrives, bringing a very different set of values to the plantation. What draws you to the historical fiction genre?
Historical fiction has always fascinated me because it allows us to step into the lives of people who lived through extraordinary circumstances. I love the challenge of blending historical research with emotional storytelling to create characters who feel authentic and relatable. When writing Almost Free, I was particularly drawn to the Civil War era because it was a time of profound division and change.
Learning to read becomes a powerful turning point for Maggie. What does literacy symbolize in the novel?
Literacy not only symbolizes words on a page, but it represents hope for the future. During a time where knowledge was often deliberately withheld from enslaved people, learning to read became an act of courage and empowerment. As Maggie gains the ability to read, she also begins to see herself differently, she begins to envision a future beyond the limitations others have placed upon her.
Harland arrives with values that set him apart from the household around him. What inspired his character?
Harland was inspired by the idea that even in the darkest periods of history, there were individuals who chose compassion, courage, and moral conviction over conformity. His character wrestles with the beliefs and expectations of his time, ultimately choosing the path that was frowned upon by many. While Harland is fictional, his values are not.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
I am currently writing a historical novel set during the Prohibition era, a time of jazz clubs, hidden secrets, and profound social change. Like Almost Free, the story explores the resilience of the human spirit and the power of redemption. While I don’t have a release date to announce yet, I’m eager to bring readers into this fascinating chapter of history.
Viscera Varnish: A Novella
Viscera Varnish, by Jason Garman, is a horror novella about Daniel Virek, a celebrated Chicago artist whose talent has begun to curdle into repetition, panic, and desperation. After a humiliating gallery opening confirms that the art world is losing faith in him, Daniel returns to the grisly private ritual that once made his work feel alive: murder as medium, the body as pigment, suffering as process. What begins as a portrait of artistic decay soon slips into stranger territory, where guilt, ambition, and something occultly bureaucratic gather around him like wet paint refusing to dry.
I liked how confidently the novella marries the grotesque with the mundane. Garman does not treat Daniel like a mythic monster at first; he lets him move through apartments, galleries, fast food bags, traffic, bad parking, and petty professional humiliations. That ordinariness makes the horror feel less theatrical and more contaminating. The violence is extreme, but the more unsettling element is Daniel’s almost clerical calm. He has turned atrocity into workflow, and the book keeps asking whether the world around him is horrified by that or merely waiting to see if the result sells.
What I appreciated most was the way the book skewers the appetite of the art scene without flattening it into parody. The gallery patrons, managers, and critics are ridiculous, but they are not harmless; their hunger for genius gives Daniel’s monstrosity a market. The prose has a slick, nasty elegance when it wants to, especially in the descriptions of canvases that seem less painted than coagulated. I also liked the late turn toward the uncanny, where the story stops being only about a killer artist and becomes something more metaphysical: a grim little fable about inspiration, extraction, and the cost of being “special.”
Readers drawn to horror novellas, psychological horror, body horror, supernatural horror, occult and dark art thrillers will find plenty to admire here, especially if they like their nightmares intimate, bloody, and morally rancid. Fans of Clive Barker’s The Hellbound Heart may recognize a similar fascination with the border between ecstasy, creation, and mutilation, though Garman’s voice is grimier, more contemporary, and sharpened by satire of artistic prestige. Viscera Varnish is a savage little gallery of ambition and appetite, where the masterpiece is never as frightening as the price paid to make it.
Pages: 131 | ASIN : B0H1DSB67X
