Blog Archives
Journey Through History
The Green Wave is a blueprint for a sustainable maritime industry by reducing environmental impact while maximizing economic benefits. Why was this an important book for you to write, and who do you think can benefit from the information in it?
Shipping is the hidden artery of the global economy, quiet, powerful, and essential. I began my journey at sea as a sailor, earned my Master Mariner’s license, and later served as an operations and management director in two shipping companies in Greece. That path, combined with my work as a researcher, writer, and thought leader with over 60 published books, gave me a full-circle perspective: from the bridge of a ship to the boardroom of strategy.
I wrote The Green Wave to move the conversation from what must be done to how it can be done. The book is both compass and call to action, unfolding as a journey through history, technology, economics, and ports, before ending with a clear invitation to act. It speaks to shipowners, port leaders, engineers, policymakers, students, and any curious reader who wants to see the road ahead not in theory, but through real examples and human stories.
How much research did you undertake for this book, and how much time did it take to put it all together?
The book is the product of years at sea and years of study. My three master’s degrees gave me the academic tools, while my maritime career gave me the lived experience. I read widely, observed closely, and most importantly, listened, to crews, shipbuilders, port managers, and industry leaders.
The writing itself was like a voyage: long, challenging, but deeply rewarding. Each chapter was designed to feel like a leg of a journey, so the reader could travel from the origins of shipping to the possibilities of its future. My goal was clarity, making complex choices feel navigable.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
That the future of shipping will not be shaped by a single tide, but by many waves moving together.
That we must begin today with small, practical steps while designing ships that can embrace tomorrow’s innovations.
That digitalization is not just about technology, but a hidden source of energy, turning information into real efficiency.
That ports are more than entry points; they are the spark that ignites wider transformation.
That sustainability must stand on solid economics, proving that green choices can also be smart business.
And above all, that people remain at the heart of this journey. Knowledge, training, and leadership are the wind that fills the sails of change.
What is one thing that you hope readers take away from The Green Wave?
Hope and confidence. Decarbonizing shipping is not a dream for tomorrow; it is a course we can set today. Begin with a pilot, measure honestly, scale what works, and keep the vision alive. If The Green Wave leaves readers ready to take that first step, whether they are a policymaker, a student, or a shipowner, then the book has done its work.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
Fast-Paced Storytelling
Lord of the Crimson Dawn follows a hitman on assignment in Mexico who winds up being turned into a vampire, but not like others; he can walk in the sunlight and has unmatched powers that have never been seen before. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I had a lot of inspiration. Growing up, I had my favorite vampires, like Christopher Lee, Frank Langella, and Gary Oldman. But I was heavily inspired by a mixture of Underworld and The Blade movies and comics. I enjoyed writing this genre. I’ve always loved the fast-paced storytelling, like Indiana Jones movies. I just added the blood and gore to the mix.
Jack is a fascinating character. What scene was the most interesting to write for that character?
Jack is one of my favorite characters I created. There were a few scenes I enjoyed, but what I really enjoyed writing was the scenes where he wasn’t sure what was a dream and what was reality, and then he discovers that it was all real while he was being transformed into a vampire.
What intrigues you about the horror and paranormal genres that led you to write this book?
Growing up, I enjoyed all types of horror films, from the old-time monsters to slasher films. I also enjoyed reading vampire novels along with other monster and demon novels.
Will this novel be the start of a series, or are you working on a different story?
Yes, this will be the start of a new series, and yes, I am working on a new story as well as a new story for my Demon Hunter series.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
Snapshots in Time
Random³ Musings is your candid collection of reflections, rants, and remembrances that blend humor, grief, and unfiltered commentary into a conversation both raw and relatable. Why was this an important book for you to write?
In some ways, it is a therapeutic effort; I look back periodically to review the reasoning and logical thinking, or in some cases, the emotional responses I had recorded. It is important, I think, to encourage readers to engage in their own thoughts and develop their own.
Which section or story was the most difficult for you to write, and why?
In Passing, as it was entirely personal, with some recently passing and the ongoing sorrow of an estranged son.
You admit your biases openly in the book. How do you hope readers with different viewpoints will respond to that honesty?
I don’t have any expectations of a warm reception to some of them, as our current culture is rather explosive and expressed in the worst ways possible. To those who read past the chapter titles and the first few paragraphs, I hope I convey genuine thought or opinion. There are a few chapters I openly poke fun at or poke the bear, as it might be received.
Looking back, do you see Random³ Musings more as a journal of personal growth or as a snapshot of your voice in a particular moment in time?
A little of both, it can be said that all three books in this series are snapshots in time. I do see movement in the three titles, and growth, more growth may come as I review again over time and compare where my thinking has led me to conclude. Thank you for the interview questions, as they most certainly cause me to ponder these things and gather my thoughts that are more current and timely.
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As we continue to review, rationalize, and tackle some of what gnaws at us, it is suspect it does to some extent for each of us. It is a worthy effort to go back and revisit these mental exercises in thought when something doesn’t seem to fit or conflicts with thoughts previously resolved. It is healthy and fuel for growth to give weight to questioning such matters of importance. Sometimes these matters evolve, mold, and change. Other times it is our depth of rationalizing and understanding that has changed.
Whimsical Tale
How Flowers Got Their Colors follows a young shepherd living in a quiet valley where the world is stuck in just three colors, who dreams of capturing the colors of the rainbow to brighten the meadow. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
This and 18 other stories I made up as nighttime tales for my younger daughter when she was 6 and 7 years old, and is now 36 and has been CEO of the Company! I began the publishing process when I began to have grandchildren!
What were some educational aspects that were important for you to include in this children’s book?
This whimsical tale is intended to convey the power of “sticking to it” or persistence when trying to accomplish something, and a willingness to listen and take a suggestion to heart and follow through to accomplish a goal.
The art in this book is fantastic. What was the art collaboration process like with the illustrator Alejandro Echavez?
When Amplify Publishing and I commenced working together, I was sent a list of 25 artists with samples of their styles. I was asked to pick five, and then those artists sent their interpretation or rendition of a frame or two from one of my stories. Once I had those frames, I was asked to pick two, and Alejandro was one of them. His work is rich and presents the storyline beautifully. He has completed my fifth book, The Lost Locket, and is working on my sixth, Way Up North, a coming-of-age story of a young Eskimo who lives near the North Pole. Alejandro is very accessible and revises and updates his artwork through dialogue and mutual collaboration.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
I have completed The Lost Locket, a tale about a little girl who loses an heirloom necklace on the Golden Gate Bridge, which is collected by a pigeon and returned 30 years later when the little girl, now a mother, returns to the Bridge with her daughter. This book will be shipped in several months. The next book, Way Up North, is a story about a coming of age for a young Eskimo who lives near the North Pole and learns how to hunt whales. Alejandro is currently working on the artwork frames for this story, and the book ought to be available sometime early next year.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Join the shepherd in How Flowers Got Their Colors, a heartfelt story about how dreams, persistence, and a touch of magic can change the world around us. This charming story reminds us that even the simplest wishes can bring remarkable change.
They Are An Odd Couple
The Case Files of GG Michaels follows Guenevere Michaels and her pragmatic partner as they unravel eerie mysteries with wit, suspense, and a razor-sharp blend of folklore and modern investigation. What inspired you to pair paranormal lore with modern investigative techniques in this collection?
I think it began early on beginning with Scooby-Doo before proceeding to other series like the X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stranger Things, and the TV show, Friday the 13th the Series.
But it also stems from something that has always perplexed me, that is how various paranormal investigative shows find something out of sorts but then largely do nothing about it. These investigators may document something and be even be frightened by it but they do nothing about it. By contrast, GG & her friends (depending on the story,) do something about the ghosts, monsters, and cults the run across. They leave a situation better than they found it.
Guen and Janet’s dynamic is both witty and heartfelt. How did you develop their contrasting voices and chemistry?
They are an odd couple, but they deal with odd scenarios, so it jibes. They’re both brave in their own ways. Their backgrounds influenced them with GG’s idealism contrasting with Janet’s pragmatism. Often the approach of one is better suited to the scenario than the other. I love writing dialogue and work hard at developing unique voices for my characters. Often, a reader may not remember a book’s plot but they will remember a character that they loved by what they said and did and how they said and did it.
I’m also developing a third member of GG Michaels Investigations, Izaak, whom we meet in the story, The Padded Cell.
Many of your settings feel like characters themselves. Do you draw inspiration from real locations or create them entirely from imagination?
As a kid I was pretty good at scaring myself. My imagination was, and continues to be, vibrant. My locations are a combination of real experience and researched with a lot of ideation as to how I could make them even spookier. To paraphrase Stephen King, I do my best to “be there.”
Some stories resolve quickly, leaving readers wanting more. Do you see yourself expanding any of these cases into longer novels?
I have so many ideas on the drawing board, most of which I think will pan out. In order to write them all, I will continue to write in the short story/novelette length, but one never knows how a story will develop and if it requires novella or novel length space to tell the tale adequately.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Ghosts
Vampires
Evil Cults
Monsters
Haunted Asylums
Or…you could go with GG Michaels and experience them all.
So…safe & boring?
Or Supernatural Adventure?
Choose adventure!
A Broader Canvas
Broken centers around a shapeshifter plagued by the chaos of living as a human and enduring her own lost sense of self. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I have to admit that my own experience has partly led to Alira’s story. While I don’t have dozens of voices in my head (other than the characters in my stories, that is), I always felt like an outsider among those around me. It took me many years to find my tribe, and to reach a place in my life where I felt I could be myself and not struggle to fit in.
I’ve known many others like this, and it’s hard. For all of us. Struggling to be the kind of person you think others expect of you can be soul-draining. That’s what started Alira’s tale for me. From there, it took off on its own.
What is it that draws you to the science fiction genre?
I like science fiction because it allows me to stretch reality in ways that drive home the point of the story. I feel like The Founder’s Seed books could also be called science fantasy, since there are elements of it (the harvesting of souls, for one) that can’t be supported by science. But these genres expand the boundaries of what is possible or probable, and allow the reader a greater leeway for suspension of disbelief.
My stories usually ask big questions; so far, science fiction and science fantasy have both offered a broader canvas for that work.
Do you have a favorite character in The Founder’s Seed series? One that his especially enjoyable to craft?
Of course, Alira is my favorite. She’s me in so many ways that count. She’s definitely the hardest to write, but also the most rewarding.
A very close second favorite is Botha; he’s a joy to write! Putting myself in his head, so that I can write him with authenticity, is always fun!
Where will the next book in the series take readers? When can we expect to see it released?
The next book, Driven, picks up where Broken left off; it gives a closer—and thoroughly raw—look at the new antagonist, Knøfa; follows Alira’s journey through her time with Botha, and what comes after (no spoilers!); settles Thrace/Galen in her/his role; and sets the threads for the follow-up trilogy that is already in the works.
Driven was released in late June and is now available for readers.
Author Links: GoodReads | BlueSky | Facebook | Website | Amazon
To make matters worse, the harvests of knowledge and memories she’s gathered from the dead aren’t adequate to fully understand her assumed role—unless she surrenders control to the one internal voice she thinks can make things right. But that harvest isn’t willing to share the space in her head, and soon Alira is no longer sure which voice is his, and which is her own.
Galen has vowed to help Alira succeed and follows her increasingly unbalanced directives, until he realizes that her harvests have corrupted her conscience, maybe even her sanity. Galen has never been a leader. But as the crisis screams toward them, he must make a choice: abandon their people to save Alira or sacrifice her to save them all.
Romantic Renderings
The Empathy of Rain is a lyrical collection of poems that uses rain, in all its moods and forms, as a mirror for human feeling. What inspired you to write this particular collection of poems?
When I finished my first book, Turbulent Waves, which explores the human condition under conditions of emotional turbulence (think of the global pandemic and the change in American politics), I wanted to move away from turbulent conditions to one more in step with nature, so I picked the various forms of rain as a conduit for the empathy that surrounds us.
How did you decide on the themes that run throughout your poetry book?
This was actually the easy part; as I used all of the various types of rain as the overall themes, and once I had my content, I matched each poem to the specific form of rain, including “coronal rain,” which is rain that falls onto the photosphere of the sun.
Do you have a favorite poem in the book, and if so, why does it hold special meaning for you?
“Melancholy’s Ghost”
January’s angel touched me with an afternoon kiss
As she spied Melancholy’s ghosts dining on my mind
Like lost desert rain that never finds the ground here
She weeps as they huddle together waiting in the sky.
We met one day as a lover’s glance bid me farewell
You will learn to sleep with me as my dreams are yours
And as the days fall in love with years, I will never leave
Let me fill the rooms of your mind with my children.
Her eyes implored, why do you love everyone, darling?
Desert sand covered a blue sky as lips prayed to answer
Yet only the sun could taste my desolate reply to her
Like the rain, my words stolen away by her sweet breath.
Most of my poetry is essentially enigmatic, melancholic, and romantic renderings. If there’s a common denominator that courses through our minds, it’s our emotional dialogue regarding love: lost and found. This poem considers such musings as a ghost of our electricity, which never quite fades away.
How has this poetry book changed you as a writer, or what did you learn about yourself through writing it?
I began writing poetry six years ago when the global pandemic began. It would take me over an hour to write a poem that would work in a Twitter “tweet” back then. Prior to that, I had written software technical documentation for thirty-five years, so I was completely comfortable using language as a tool to express difficult conditions or situations. Since then, I have written 2500 poems, self-published my first book, published #2 & #3 via two publishing houses, and I am well into finishing #4. As I look back over the evolution of my poetry, I can easily see how my thoughts have matured and deepened regarding how to express the enigmatic melancholy that comes to mind when my muse, Calliope, shares a thought. I write listening to music via vinyl records, and it’s the vibe rather than the lyrics that creates the river for my poetic meanderings, and now the entire process takes half the time to complete compared to my initial poems.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Amazon
The Dangers of Time Travel
Furniture Sliders follows a former intelligence officer who is pulled back in to discover what has happened to a classified project and the people working on it, which controls time, memory, and identity, and is now missing. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I have always been a fan of both film noir and espionage novels plus I have a tech background and a fascination with quantum mechanics. I wanted to write a story that felt like a 1940s Cold War spy thriller written in noir style—then break it wide open with the addition of speculative science fiction. I had a question: what if you take the characteristics of quantum mechanics such as superposition and entanglement and instead of applying them to atomic particles, you applied them to human beings? To spies? Can you be in two places at once or two timelines at the same time? Firstly, apply the ability to manipulate space and time and then take it even further by playing in panpsychism – the concept that every inanimate object can be sentient. Of course, you would have to have some form of technology to do all of this – the Mirror is exactly that inspired by the one in my hall at home. The title literally came from a box of plastic furniture sliders that were on the table at home with the box looking like a paperback book – Furniture Sliders on the spine! Sliders was a perfect description for agents moving through space and time and their organization is called the Bureau, along with the Mirror, giving the initial tongue-in-cheek furniture connection.
I found Max Calder to be an intriguing character. What was your inspiration for this character?
Max Calder is the kind of character I love; deeply broken but still pushing forward through the fog. It isn’t about a single character or character flaw but about weaving influences together. I guess Max carries echoes of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe and Graham Greene’s morally ambiguous operatives. He isn’t polished like Bond, but weary, suspicious, and prone to moral compromise – a man affected by the machine he serves. I tried to deliberately write against cliché by grounding him in history and psychology. His gaps, duplications, and doubts reflect not only the dangers of espionage but the fragility of identity itself. Unlike many spy archetypes, Calder isn’t defined by conquest or success, but by survival, mistrust, and fear of irrelevance — hopefully making him come across as human, flawed, and complex. In many espionage novels, agents and spies are unaffected by what they do and are amazing at executing their role. In the case of Max, I wanted him to be very affected. Remorse, regret, and inner demons.
What themes were particularly important for you to explore in this book?
Primarily the consequences of messing with time and how doing so can also mess with you physically, potentially drive you insane and affect your memory while creating echoes or even doppelgangers as time threads overlap. All caused by, or underpinned by, the human-applied characteristics of quantum mechanics. It was important to explore relationships especially between protagonists and antagonists and between espionage agents and technology pitching various spy agencies against each other – even if they are supposed to have great relationships. I also wanted to introduce fictionalized real-life characters to the storyline which in this book includes Alan Turing, Hugh Sinclair and William Stephenson.
Where does the story go in the next book, and where do you see it going in the future?
There are two more books coming in the series. Angus Sliders and Cuban Sliders. Angus Sliders is planned to publish on the 15th December. One of the challenges with quantum-based technology like the Mirror is that many want to get their hands on it in many cases for various nefarious reasons. In Furniture Sliders it was the Russians and ex Nazis. In Angus Sliders, Max Calder discovers that some major occurrences in Furniture Sliders didn’t really happen and that MI6 is very involved. Even a fictionalized Kim Philby is involved as is Charles Fraser-Smith who was the inspiration for James Bond’s Q. Max Calder is more and more affected by what the Mirror can do to you. In Cuban Sliders the Russians are back in the game and so is the CIA. Through all of this the Mirror becomes even more difficult to control or destroy. The big question is – can it be destroyed at all or even stopped and who gets to control it? Are there more storylines past the initial trilogy? Yes indeed!
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The Bureau is chasing a secret called the Mirror—a project so classified that even its architects have vanished or been silenced. It’s said to control time, memory, even identity itself. As Calder tracks the Mirror’s echoes across empty safehouses and wartime graveyards, the lines between hunter and hunted begin to blur.
Artemis may be an ally. Or she may be a weapon. And Calder? He may not even be who he thinks he is.
As bodies pile up and truths unravel, Calder must navigate a world where nothing stays still—where every room slides just a few inches sideways when you’re not looking. In the end, he’ll face one impossible choice:
Burn the truth… or become it.
LITERARY TITAN 