An editor asked me an innocent question, "How does a character like Eddie have a friend like Jim Bob Calhoun? I don't see them together." As I have written previously, I carefully create every character and each has a specific purpose. If you read Fishing for Light, you might cast off Jim Bob as the cliché bumbling friend that shoves Eddie back into Professor Quan's world. But that would be incorrect, if you think about your own life, and the friends you have and have had, what is the one Continue Reading
“Raw is a good place to be as an artist … it’s where the truth comes out.”
"Raw is a good place to be as an artist … it's where the truth comes out." Keith Urban, American Idol. (last episode) The truth? I love watching American Idol, I love the new cast, and in particular the honest encouragement the young artists get from these judges. Because these judges know what it is like to stand in front of a stranger and perform. And then accept their fate. It is a 'thang' to put on someone else's socks, and walk around in their world, I think it also can be humbling, Continue Reading
Bertrand Screwtop
I get asked on a regular basis, "where do you come up with these characters, and their names?" I'll answer that question with Chapter 4 from Fishing for Light, which I have pasted below, or you can read it off Amazon.com in the 'look inside' option. It is a short chapter, but it might be more interesting if you know the background influences. I create my character names, based on what the character represents. As in Bertrand Screwtop. In Fishing for Light, Bertrand is a commercial litigation Continue Reading
Thank you, USA Today!
I thought I would draw a little attention to an innocent article from the USA Today. I think the article, and some additional information, and a brief excerpt from Fishing for Light are a perfect opportunity to focus on the satires themes. I know some of the reviewers have found the satire a bit 'wacky' for their tastes, which I think is fair enough. But if you take a journey with me down this blog post, I think you'll find the information useful for your everyday life, and I think you'll begin Continue Reading
Father Figures
Life is complicated. We are born into an uncertain world, and then as the cliché goes, life happens. I hope before I can no longer communicate via the written word, I can share a few useful thoughts and observations. I wrote Fishing for Light as a satire because to write the story as pure literary fiction would be to painful for me. I learned a lot from Bobby's Socks. I prefer to encourage the reader to laugh, rather than cry. I'll explain an underlying theme to watch for from within the Continue Reading
Nom de plume
I had an old friend ask me, "Dude, what's up with the pen name?" I have several reasons I write using the pen name, Nathaniel Sewell. First off, after I wrote Bobby's Socks, my wife wondered if I'd want my young nephews and nieces to read the novel, and know it was my creation. Since the story is about the epi genetic link from child sexual abuse and suicide, the answer was - NO! For the most part, Nathaniel was chosen because we like the name. We are not parents by choice, not from any Continue Reading
The IRS – Updated 6/25/2014
My second novel, Fishing for Light was written several years ago, because it takes a long time to work through the editing and publishing process. At the time, I had not a clue we would end up living in Texas, and we would be watching the continuing border crisis on the evening news, and in particular watch the IRS mess continue to unfold. By the way, I did write this novel over three years ago, right? And no, I don't consider myself another second coming of Nostradamus, but keep reading ... it Continue Reading
Plastic Faces – What’s behind the mask?
The next time you are at the grocery store, and just before you get to the cashier, take a look around, and think about what you see? In part, the idea behind Fishing for Light was spawned from all those 'plastic, dead-eyed faces' - pasted to the colorful wall of glossy gossip magazines. I wonder at what point did 'those people' give up their souls and become human avatars? By the way, the noun, AVATAR, comes from Hinduism. There are several definitions, I'll use this one: "a manifestation Continue Reading
The Millennial’s!
The Millennials! No wait, it's - The Gen-Xers! No wait, it's - The Generation Y's! Or maybe, The Baby Boomers! Hmm, and who are those, The Silent Generation? And if they are SILENT, then how do we know they exist? I can go on, and on ... and yes, Eddie Wilcox, the main character from Fishing for Light, represents, The Millennials. To me, these Advertising/Political labels are used to divide and conquer us. They read like a new major motion picture action adventure 'cartoon series' with the Continue Reading
Erectile Dysfunction – Solved!
It occurred to me last night, I should share part of Chapter 13, the reason, you might not realize that from the novel, Fishing for Light, I wrote about the moment Professor Quan solved, erectile dysfunction. I know, I know, sex sells! And there are a zillion 'boner-pill' television commercials. Sorry, the fact they are on the flat screen every 3 minutes, and the voice over actors calming voice with actors that appear to longingly grin at each other with plastic faces, simply stated, they give Continue Reading