After reading Craig’s post on “Grave Encounters” I began to think a bit.  Are the supernatural thrillers any good or are they a cut-out copy of the latest fad.

For those that do not know the story, Craig’s comment about being banned from picking a movie are correct.  In 2006, we traveled to Scotland with a group of high school students.  One night, when figuring out what to do, Craig mentioned going see a movie.  He said that “An American Haunting” looked good so it was agreed that we would spend roughly 20 dollars per ticket to view the movie.  End result?   It sucked big time.  While I tease Craig about this a lot, it wasn’t his fault.  Movies concerning the paranormal are so hit and miss.  The scares throughout the film are important but it is the final chapters that explain the film.  If the hidden theme is lame, the movie becomes lame.

The latest “strike-out” movie is “The Last Exorcism”.  It started out so well and I honestly thought the concept was good.  A priest who has lost his faith sets up fake exorcisms in order to help families.  He does not believe in them and refuses to accept the fact that God and the Devil exist.  Unfortunately, things are turned upside down when the girl is “seemingly” possessed.  The first hour and seventeen minutes rock out with your….well you know what I mean.  If you decide to watch it, turn it off at that point.  Accept the fact that you won’t know if the girl is really possessed or not.  Because if you watch on, and I am expecting you will, it will turn crappy fast.  The ending makes no sense and the director clearly wanted to make an ending which left the viewer thinking.  And he got me thinking that his movie turned in to a steaming pile of crap.

The “Paranormal Activity” series were decent in the way they clearly drag you in to viewing the camera scenes as they happen.  The stories make no sense and my worry is one day they will attempt to describe why the house is haunted.  When they do, we will all think it sucks and another series is down the drain.

The “Blair Witch Project” was very good in its individualism, using the view of the main character as he/she goes through the motions.  It allows the viewer to be scared along with the protagonist.  But this is played…so played.

Craig is right to think I want to see this newest survival paranormal movie.  It looks very good but random girls in white robes has been done before.  Once I find out more about my Daddy and Baby Monster Hunters series, I plan on writing a story dealing with the paranormal.  The reason I think it will be different is the stories are real.  Whether you believe in spirits or not, my brother and I lived in a haunted house in the early 2000′s.  While the backstory will be fictional, the events and hauntings will be real.

UPDATE:  Saturday April 30th

One thing I was pondering as I was watching “A Haunting in Connecticut” was the fact that if a person has been a part of a haunting, he/she doesn’t experience what we see on the movies.  Creaks, voices, shadows, footsteps:  those are all part and parcel of living in a haunted house.  But some of the movies seems to build off of unnecessary scares without realizing that a real person who might not believe in the paranormal might be afraid of small things.

Hey all,

I thought I would update you on the pursuit of selling a novel.  A month ago, I put my young adult novel Purgatory in the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards.  The winner gets a deal with Penguin Publishing and a $15,000 advance.  The first round was made up of 10,000 entrants.  Today, the list of second rounders were announced, and yours truly made it past the first round.  Now out of 10,000, they accepted 1000 novels for regular fiction and 1000 for young adult fiction.  The next round will be made up of 250 of each and will be chosen at the end of March.
I was very worried about the first round because you had to write a pitch to try and sell your novel to the group.  I am not worried about my novel itself and think it will go far but that is just me being biased.  The pitch is different from a normal query and it took a bit of work.  The next round will be judged on the novel itself and even if it is turned down, I will be given some good comments, instead of agents that send a basic rejection letter.

Here is the website if you want to see my name in lights.  Go to the blue words 1000 Young Adult Fiction and click on it.  You will find my name there.

http://www.amazon.com/b?node=332264011

Keep your fingers crossed and I will let you know about the following round as soon as I find out.

I would like to start out this post by thanking all who support the amazing work we do on Derosby Brothers.com.  I hope that my comments do not anger you enough to avoid the work we do here on this site.

This morning I woke up to hear the news that Cliff Lee, the top free agent of this year’s baseball class, had signed a five year 120 dollar deal with the hated Philadelphia Philles.  Of all the teams out there, I despise them them most, for their obnoxious attitude and their winning of the NL East year after year.  They are successful and the results of their winning allow them to spend.  It is a current situation of spending money to make money.  They have built up a solid fan base and with each successful year, they bring in more money due to games, clothing, etc…  That is why it is sometimes important to step up to the plate and spend the money when it is called for.

That being said, I must admit that this rotation is downright nasty, but only for the 2011 season.  First of all, for those that know little about baseball, their rotation stands as

1.  Roy Halladay

2  Cliff Lee

3.  Cole Hammels

4.  Roy Oswalt

5.  Joe Blanton

That is a scary rotation as the top four can be an ace on almost all teams.  However there is reason to worry at 2012 and beyond.  First of all, the Phils rotation is expensive; very much so.  They have two starters in their rotation making over 20 million dollars.  And while Roy Halladay is a beast, he is still in his 30′s.  Lee will be 33 when his contract begins, and with his contract having a 6 year in there or a 13 million dollar pay out, he will be 39 when it ends.  Lee was ok this year, better in the postseason, He also struggled with back issues all year so I would be worried he would break down.  Does that mean I would not sign him?  Hell no, they were smart to do so.

The Phillies have an opportunity to have a rotation that rivals the 1990s Braves rotation of Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, Avery, and Leibrandt.  They were downright dominant and have three Hall of Famers in the rotation.  Currently I would just say that Roy Halladay is a HOF, maybe Oswalt but I think the Astros team he was on will hurt his numbers.  Cliff Lee, while good, is not HOF worthy, especially if Jack Morris isn’t in.

The Phillies farm system is in tatters.  They have traded everyone away and have little left in the minors to bring up.  The current starting 9, while good, is getting older.  Utley has been dealing with injuries for the past year, Ibanez fought in the First World War, Rollins has slipped since is MVP season, and Ryan Howard will slowly make the Phils regret that contract.

Again, would I have signed Lee?  Yes.  Will they be hampered by huge contracts and an aging team in two or three years?  Definitely.  But they are built to win now.  The only thing I could give for advice is that one day you will be like the Mets, tearing down a team that was built purely on money.  The Mets are now having to stand pat as everyone, including the Phils get better.  They have set aside a 5 million dollar spending limit; though Sandy Alderson says there is no limit.  But after this year, they will drop almost $60 million dollars from their budget.  Maybe they will spend smarter than before.

Now on to the Boston Red Sox.  This winter they started by trading three prospects for Adrian Gonzalez.  I think this is a good move, except his surgery, he should be a monster in Fenway.  He is a great defensive infielder and a heavy hitter.  He will give the Sox the hitter they have missed since Manny Ramirez.  The major issue will be the length of the contract.  Rumors are that it will be 160 for 7 years.  That is a long contract and if he gets hurt or hits a downslide, like Vernon Wells, Alex Rios, and Carlos Beltran.  That is a large hit it he fails or does not respond how Red Sox nation demands.  But overall, this is a smart move.  They are a big market club and they showed it.

The other contract worries me more.  I like Carl Crawford and think he is a good player but is he worthy of being one of the highest paid players in the game?  I am not so sure.  He will make 142 over 6 years and play OF for the Sox.  Crawford is very athletic and young.  Those are two good components to have and  a major reason they were willing to give both Gonzalez and Crawford contracts like that.  However, Crawford is all about speed.  He has stated that he is moving away from that.  What happens if he has hamstring issues?  Jose Reyes has been plagued by it and has become a major issue.  I would be more concerned by this.

So in the end, I think they are all very smart moves, Crawford being the only suspect one.  I like the Lee move but hope his back doesn’t go out in the first few years of the deal.  In the fifth and six year, it does not matter.  I think they will be an old club by then looking to rebuild.  Sure they will have to sit on those deals until they run out, like Beltran, Perez, Castillo, but they will have a few more playoff appearances by then.  The Sox made some great moves and have a strong lineup, but how will the pitching staff support them.  Will Lackey, Beckett, and Dice-K make it back to form?  Will the Phillies have enough bullpen help to keep those wins.  The only thing I do not want to hear is that the Yankees only win championships by buying them.  The Red Sox and Phillies just did the same thing.  The Sox have bought or traded and paid for the following players:  Gonzalez, Scutaro, Saltamacchia, Beckett, Lackey, Dice-K, Cameron, Crawford, JD Drew.  Their homegrown talent is good but they have definitely used their Red Sox money to trade then pay for guys.  The Phils whole rotation except Hammels is bought and paid for, including two 20 million dollar pitchers there.  They have a homegrown infield, counting Pollanco for second run as a Phil, but that rotation is the key.

The key to success is to build talent, then trade it for major league players.  Keeping minor leaguers, like the Royals, only equal to having great minor league teams.  All the while, their major league club sucks, big time.  So the Sox and Phils made some great moves, however no more crying when the Yankees sign the latest free agent by throwing money around.  There is more than one guilty party there.

Now what do the New York Yankees do considering they planned on signing Lee, and maybe even Crawford.  Crawford is an excellent Plan B, but his early signing hurt Brian Cashman’s chances of picking his second choice, if for some reason, Lee signed somewhere else.  I think this will truly show if the Yankees just buy their talent or if Brian Cashman really is a good general manager.  For years, I have said that one major attribute that few clubs had, except teams like the Yankees and Red Sox, was an ability to make their farm system look like the Garden of Eden.  Every minor league player in each organization is a future HOF player.  Teams are willing to trade with both clubs because they feel their lower, cheaper talent is better than in other organizations.  However, teams like the Royals have major talent at the low levels but are never buyers, always sellers in the market.

Some of the steps taken by the Yankees are interesting, yet necessary.  First of all, they signed Russel Martin to a one year deal. This ensures that Jorge Posada has likely seen his final days behind the plate, providing them with a power DH.  The problem the Yanks have is that they have several of those exact players, as age is catching up to them.

The next player they signed is the oft injured, arm of a God-body of an old woman, pitcher Mark Prior.

This exact scene has been witnessed multiple times throughout his career.  Just one look at the picture and  I already know that we have a Prior and a trainer.

This is a low risk, high reward signing if he even comes close to reaching the potential he had out of college.  Will he?  I would not draft him in any fantasy league but one never knows.

So what do they do?  I have heard the names Zack Greinke or Carlos Zambrano.  Can they really handle the NY spotlight?  I wouldn’t think so, quickly reviewing their past issues.

In the end, who really won here.  Well in the short term both the Phils and Red Sox won.  Teams like the Mets, while unhappy, are not as affected as one might think.  They were not going to contend this year, as they do not currently have one ace, much less four.  It hurts teams like the Tampa Bay Rays, who were torn apart by free agency and the lack of finances.  It hurts teams like the Yankees and Blue Jays, who watched the Red Sox virtually take the AL Title.  It hurts the Rangers, who now need a plan B in finding someone to replace the loss of Cliff Lee.  It will be an interesting year, seeing how these contracts play out.  But more importantly, it will be fun to look back, say four years from now, to see who really was most affected by these moves.

“THANK YOU JESUS”

That is what Carl Crawford is saying at this moment.  Just yesterday, Jayson “Jesus” Werth signed a 7 year 126 million dollar contract with the Washington Nationals.  He will be 32 when the season begins and goes from a bandbox known as CBP to a cavernous stadium in Washington.  In total, he has had only one and a half good season.  Seems like a lot of money .  This will soon be on the worst MLB contracts of all time list, if it isn’t already.

If Werth got that contract, what will Crawford get?  8-10 years, 180 million?  Stay tuned true believers.  The Nationals just screwed up the market…Big Time.

Well it looks like we’re going to start unveiling content from Alan’s book D&B so I suppose I should get used to releasing some artwork on here.  So I’ve got two to offer up.

The first is my daughter Izzy’s super alter ego, SunCrystal (why do I have this feeling she’s going to end up in one of Shag’s ComicCon Cosplay picture albums about 10 years from now?).  She made this character up as a member of the Teen Titans, presumably to get StarFire out of the way and get closer to Robin.  I don’t even want to talk about that.

SunCrystal’s costume is designed based upon her input:  The color scheme, the “fancy” mask, the crystal, all her ideas.  I added the glowing highlights and the underarm cape flaps and they were approved by the creative genius.

Her power:  Holding the power of the sun and crystals in her hands.  Okay so we need to work on a few things.  She’s 4, give her a break.

 The other pic I’m going to post is just a sketch I did to get in the mood for D&B’s artwork.  I drew this before I saw the promo pic for The Walking Dead.  I think I ruined this one with the crap ink job so this one’s going to get a facelift pretty quickly.

For the past few years, I have been working on my first novel, Purgatory.  It was indeed a process of writing and rewriting, editing and then editing it once again.  A storyboard was created, used, scrapped, redone, then finally used to create a strong finished product.

I finally completed the product in the end of July, after having both Craig and Keith read and edit it.  I then fixed all my mistakes, which were many, and placed the final period on the story Purgatory.  It was one of my greatest accomplishments as most people talk of writing a book but few get around to it.

So I sat down and wrote, what is called, a query letter.  It was a one page letter which covered several topics.  I had to give a brief, and I mean brief, synopsis of my novel.  My 255 page book was reduced to one paragraph.  This was tougher than I thought.  I had trouble because my novel is really original and has many moving parts.  After that, I had to inform the reader of who I was, in a brief biography.  Who am I?  Well this was my first novel.  After that?  Hmmm, married, child, history, video games, Mets.  These aren’t exactly selling points; especially my love of the Mets.  Basically I spent one page selling my book.  And again, this is a tough tough process.  Everything has to be perfect.

Next came the process of finding a literary agent.  Once I finished my book, I thought, “no problem with this one.  I will just send it to the agent that interests me most and wait for the request to read my manuscript”.  Unfortunately, that was my first rejection.  I re-read the agent’s website and decided that maybe my genre just wasn’t “for him”.  So I found several more agents that specialized in both young adult lit, as well as historical fiction.  I knew, just knew, they would all say yes.  However, more rejections.

So here I am 14 rejections later.  I am a bit closer as an agent did ask to read my manuscript.  14:  No/ 1: Yes.  While that is considered a minor slump in baseball if a batter went 1 out of the last 14, it is considered a minor victory in the writing world.  Sure my hit was a bloop single.  If she shows more interest, then we can make it ground rule double.

The reason I write this is because it was an eye opening and humble experience; one which I am still stuck in.  I currently have 50 query letters out, with only one yes.  I am sure a lot of the agents haven’t got around to reading my letter, some never will.  One agent sent me a rejection letter just minutes after I sent my query.  In his rejection response, he apologized for it taking so long to get back to me and said this project may not be for him.  Hmmm, a long time in responding?  It was minutes.  It MAY NOT be for him?  It either is or isn’t.

I am not worried that eventually someone will pick up on my novel and they will be happy they did.  It is original and not the typical vampire/wizard book that young adults normally read.  I have had four people read it and heard great responses from them.

So I won’t give up and I will keep plugging away.  Maybe this agent that asked to read my book will be excited enough to want to work with me.  Maybe she won’t and I will move on.  I might be surprised and have several of those 50 agents ask for my manuscript.  They could also all turn it down and I will continue my search.  Either way, I have to be patience.  I don’t really have a choice.

PURGATORY: coming soon

Brett Favre does two things about as often as my daughter’ has bowel movements, throw interceptions and retire.  First of all, I am not a big football fan.  I know a lot about it but not a fan of any one team.  But to see Brett Favre play this immature game to build his ego is ridiculous.  He retires from the Packers and force them to move on.  Then he wants to come back and gets angry when they tell him they have moved on.  So he tries to get traded within his own division but that fails.  Instead he goes to the Jets where he breaks down in the second half.  He asks and gets his release, retiring yet again, only to cheat the Jets and leave to play for the V ikings.  While I feel bad for the Vikings and all those who bleed purple and gold, I will never cheer for a man who uses the media to stroke his ego.  As a teacher, I don’t announce my retirement after getting a bad crop of kids.  I move forward and do my job.  Favre has a right to retire, even come out of retirement, but stop playing this game.  Just look in Arizona, Brett.  Kurt Warner has done it the right way.  You, on the other hand, will never win the Super Bowl again, and hurt any teams chances with your selfish behavior. -ALAN

Here it is, in its entirety.  Please read  and post your congratulations to the newest Derosby couple, Keith and Elaine Derosby

I would like to congratulate Keith and Elaine Derosby on this wonderful day.  As Keith’s brother and friend, I am honored to be speaking on his behalf.  I thank you both for having the ceremony at the church.  I have to check with my mom, but I think this means that was my mass for the week.

Elaine, you look amazing.  I am sure your parents, family, and friends are all very proud of you.  Keith, I always wondered what that giant nose on the Afrin commercials would look like in a tux, now I know. 

 After the wedding Keith will be moving down to LA, the city of lights, Lewiston Auburn.  As Elaine always says when talking about Lewiston Auburn “It’s happening here”.  I wonder how Little Canada will accept the olive skinned, camel riding, turban wearing Lebanese boy from Waterville.  It seems like LA is slowly turning into the “Its’ a small world” ride at Disney.  Just another group to add to the diverse mix of Lewiston Auburn. 

I would also like to thank you for moving for another reason.  Maquel and I  have been looking to bring Sofie to an animal park like Yorks but since you seem to have one in your apartment now with all your pets, we will just bring her there.  By any chance, do you have those pellet dispensers at your place so Sofie can feed your animals?

Elaine, I still remember how giddy Keith was when he first met you.  Always giggling, laughing like a little schoolgirl.  The first day we found out about you was when we went for a ride and every two minutes he was getting messages on his phone.  He would go into a corner and whisper, not wanting us to find out.  When I finally called him on it, he confessed that he met this girl named Elaine and she was updating him on the Phillies score.  Of course I wanted to know more about this “Elaine”.  What did she look like, what did she do for a living?  I found out she was a special education teacher, perfect for dealing with Keith.  She coached, which was good for Keith because maybe she could teach him how to…actually coach.  He described her appearance, brown hair and eyes, short, very attractive.  Now Keith has always been drawn to girls named Elaine.  He liked Elaine Bennes on Seinfeld but his biggest crush has always been that sassy, radiant, funny, brownish/red haired beauty from Mr. Rogers, Lady Elaine Fairchild.  I know for those of you who know who I am speaking of, yes she was a puppet. That is whole other issue Elaine will have to deal with.  When we were younger, Keith and I were made to share a room.  While I had a poster of Rachael Hunter from the SI Swimsuit Edition on my side of the room, Keith had a picture of Lady Elaine in a swimsuit on his. But knowing Keith’s forbidden passion for Lady Elaine Fairchild, I didn’t know what to expect when meeting Elaine.

Well, needless to say, Elaine is not a hand puppet, even though she is only a few inches taller than one.

But Keith was happy and even after two years, he still has that glow.  I am very happy for the both of you and glad you found one another. 

I thought, as newlyweds, you would want some advice from married couples in order to help yourselves out.  I asked my wife and Craig for some advice. 

 1.  Don’t’ go to bed angry.  While this seems fairly obvious to most, this might be a challenge for Elaine at times.  Keith sometimes likes to argue.  He can argue about anything; sports, history, relationships, education, and politics. He will argue why a 45-year-old pitcher is worth a 3 year 15 million dollar contract.  He will argue about history, saying the Germans won the D-Day invasion.  He will argue about arguing, saying that you have a weak relationship if you don’t argue with your partner.  Now does he believe all this? I hope not. But when he argues, he is the ultimate Devil’s Advocate.  So Elaine here is how you handle it.  Turn to him, look deeply and lovingly into his eyes, place your hands on top of his and say these words “Keith you are right”.  Then get up and walk away.  Will this solve anything?  No, this actually gets him angrier but it is funny to see.  If you are going to bed angry at least get the most out of it.

2.     Don’t take each other for granted.  You are both great people and have great qualities to offer one another.  Through time, you will become friends, perhaps best friends.  (not Bert and Ernie sort of best friends).

Don’t become complacent with one another and always appreciate each other for what you have to offer.  Elaine is an extremely nice person with a great sense of humor.  She not only loves Keith but also respects him immensely, so much so that Keith holds himself to her standard.  On his bachelor party he was offered 75 dollars, the money that came from a poker game, if he were to take a few shots of Tequila.  Now most of us would have done that.  My wife would have wanted me to do that.  I mean that could have paid a bill got a babysitter and went to dinner, maybe even get me a video game.  But Keith said no, Elaine would respect him more if he didn’t do it and that she would want him to refuse it.  Now Elaine, do you respect him more with or without the money?

Also make sure you go out of your way to make each other happy.  Elaine will not hesitate to watch Keith’s piece of crap baseball team whenever they are on.  And Keith will always, and I mean always, go to the movies to see anything she wants.  He wants to impress Elaine so much so that he went to the theater to see Mama Mia.  That was nice enough but he didn’t have to buy the DVD and the CD for his own car.

 3.     Discuss all major decisions before making them.  This is an extremely important one in my opinion.  As a new couple, you now both have to answer for any decisions you decide to make.  It is always good to pass it by the other person to avoid any issues or arguments later on.  If Elaine decides to trade in her car and get something a little more fuel efficient, then Keith should know about it.  If Keith decides to buy a new video game, he should tell Elaine about it.  This is a team effort and you can’t make decisions on your own like you used to.  The reason I decided to use this piece of advice is because I see that they have already made a deal and it is something that Elaine knows won’t come to fruition.  However Keith is in denial so I am going to clear this up.  A few weeks ago, some of Keith’s friends and I helped him clear his apartment of some old furniture.  I brought up the idea of bringing it all to the dump because Elaine wouldn’t want that disgusting stuff in her house.  Keith shot down my idea and stated that yes she would, they agreed that it would be put in his “Man Town”.  Needless to say there were a lot of rolled eyes as us married men glanced at each other. 

 Now for those who don’t know what a Man Town is, it is a room, or rooms, specifically to house the man’s objects of affection:  video game machines, large flat-screen televisions, sports memorabilia, collectible figurines, books, and maybe a mini-fridge filled with his favorite cold beverage(Keith’s would be filled with either John Smith’s Extra Smooth or Schlitz) .  A Man Room is basically a sanctuary for the man of the house.   Sometimes there might even be a sign over the door that says “No Girls Allowed”. When the guys come over, Man Town is used to play poker, drink beer, pass gas, and watch the game.  My man town was going to be a library, filled with all types of books, maybe one of those ladders so I could move from one side of the room to the other, picking the book that interested me at the time. In the corner would be my 60 inch flat screen HD TV and the PS3 connected to it. I would have an espresso machine, with Café Lattes ready at a moments notice.  My wife would bring me a Guinness in a sexy French Maid’s outfit. 

 Keith, I am going to tell you something, which might come as a shock; Man Town does not exist, and Elaine knows this.  Instead of these vast rooms filled with all kinds of neat and wonderful things, it is a basement, a small extra bedroom, or an area above the garage.  We are hidden like dirty little secrets in areas the woman cares nothing about.  Do you know what is in my man room besides my stuff?  Disney movies and a card-making machine.  Was that my dream?  To be sharing Man Town with my two favorite ladies?  I am soon going to move mine down to the family room downstairs in hopes of creating my utopia.  But alas, I will be sharing it with the cat and her cat box.  Jon Moody has a man town, in the basement, filled with boxes of stuff that shouldn’t be placed in there.  Should Man Town be housing Christmas ornaments?  Was this Jon’s dream?  I think not. 

 Keith, when making major decisions, you need to read the fine print.  Elaine agreed to this because she knows it won’t happen.  Please make sure you don’t get sucked into traps like this in the future.  As a former believer of a Man Town, I don’t want you to suffer the pain and anguish we all go through when we finally see that we were taken advantage of.  It hurts here (head) and more importantly here (heart). 

 4.  Learn to compromise:  You must learn to compromise as this is a main component of a relationship.  This is important because you both love baseball but will have to decide which team to watch, the Phils or the Sox.  Keith and Elaine will both argue who has the better 2nd baseman, Dustin Pedroia or Chase Utley, who is the better closer Jon Papalbon or Brad Lidge, better 1-2 punch in Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels or Josh Beckett and Jon Lester.  Don’t fight about this.  You both have good teams.  Reach that conclusion and you will be better off.  Combined your teams have won 3 WS since 2004, 3 Pennants, 3 Eastern division titles, and 3 Wild Card berths.  Since 2006, both teams have had 2 MVPs apiece, the Phils with Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins, the Sox with Manny and Pedroia.  Both have had a ROY with Howard and Pedrioa.  Now of course you both have steroid users that affected the playoffs and WS of 2004, 2007, and 2008.  The Phils had a reliever named JC Romero who was suspended 50 games for abusing steroids.  And of course we have Manny, Arroyo, and Ortiz.  Compromise is key in a relationship so make sure you don’t’ sit there arguing about whose World Series title is tainted more; all three of them are.

 In closing, I am again honored to be able to speak and give you some sound and needed advice.  To all those here today, I am posting this speech on the website www.derosbybrothers.com.  There you can not only read it but post comments, giving some honest opinions and advice to the newlyweds. 

If you could please raise your glasses to toast the bride and groom.

Keith and Elaine, all that left to say is well done, congratulations and I really do wish you all the very best for your future together. To the bride and groom.

After discussing the situation with my artist, who happens to be my brother Craig, we decided not to go with a graphic novel. If you wonder why, read Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. While it is a truly amazing story, it is long and probably took a long time to complete. With both myself and Craig working full time, it would be difficult to create this and then have just my family read it.
However, don’t worry, I do have a plan. Anyone ever read “Cycle of the Werewolf” by Stephen King? It is a fairly short story with several great illustrations. That is how D & B: Zombie Hunters will be. And as we come out with illustrations, this site will have exclusive rights on releasing them. Now only a few will be released here, but I am hoping to give readers an exclusive look at both Daddy and Baby, as well as a symbol for the cover of the book.

Now will anyone read this book? Probably as many as who read this site. But you never know.

PS…I am actually writing the historical fiction novel as well. But this will be easy to do both since my wife has agreed, I need a hobby.

For years, I have kept saying I was going to write short stories or a book.  I seem to have a few ideas but, for one reason or another, they float away and I regret it.  I am going to throw out three ideas.  Let me know which one wets your proverbial whistle.  I don’t think anyone reads this except myself and my two brothers but you never know.

1.  18 year old travels through time to look for family that has been stashed away in various historical time periods.  This would be for a younger crowd and teach kids about history.

2.  A ghost story using past experiences to create a story.

3.  Daddy and Baby:  Zombie Hunters….the title says it all.

So let me know what you think.