New Jidaan Book, Werewolf, and some Pro Wrestling

Well, it has been months since I've written, so I figure I'll post a brief update.  When last I posted here, I was working on a new urban fantasy called GrimFaerie, but I'm sad to say that the story has stalled.  As my son once said when he was only 4 years old, "Sometimes...that happens."

Thankfully, another story started pushing its way out of my brain, and I decided to go with it.  GrimFaerie will still be there when I'm ready to approach it again, and the scenes I was seeing were clamoring to be written, so I put GF aside and wrote just one scene.  That scene turned into a chapter, which was followed by another and yet another.  And now, I'm in familiar territory and having a blast writing a new book in the Jidaan series.

Set two decades after the events in the first trilogy, you'll find some old friends and make some new ones.  I'm loving it so far, and I hope y'all will too.  Here's an excerpt from the rough draft:

WIP - Current Title: "Reyanna's Destiny"

Through the red haze of agony, Reyanna saw a man. He was of midling height, lean and strong, not old but not young, wearing a battered old brown hat and a traveling cloak. Wind played with the folds of his cloak, whipping it about. He had something long strapped to his back, its wooden handle jutting over his right shoulder, a small leather bag tied on the end as though to cover it.

Odd, she thought absently, the pain in her head keeping her from examining it more thoroughly.

The stranger was standing on a grassy rise that overlooked a meadow. In the distance, Reyanna could see the stark bluffs and steep crags of an ancient mountain range. The man’s face was hidden in the shadows of the hat’s brim, but when he turned to look past her, his eyes caught the light, and they blazed a sapphire blue. She had seen those eyes before. But where? Through the pain in her head, she could not focus, could not think. She dimly realized that she was on her hands and knees in the grass, but that seemed less substantial than the vision in which she was immersed.

She heard a terrifying howl, an animal, and finally she saw a massive beast top the rise to stand next to the man in her vision. It was a mastiff, but bigger than any she had ever seen. Its muscular body was covered with scars, its face pulled into a permanent snarl that only widened as the dog barked and howled at something that approached. Reyann felt a rumbling deep in her bones, and saw the two figures stumble as they fought to keep their balance. The dog barked louder as the man’s eyes were drawn upward. An enormous shadow crawled over them as something blocked out the sun. Something approached. Something big. The intensifying wind ripped off the man’s hat, leaving it to dangle behind him by a thin leather thong that encircled his throat, and Reyann saw his shock of bright blond hair buffeted by the wind. The vicious scar tissue that covered the right side of his face was clearly visible, and the shock of recognition hit her again, followed by confusion. She knew him, but did not.

In her minds eye, the vision continued, and the man’s face took on a ferocious, determined glare. Whatever was coming, it was evil and he would fight it. In one smooth motion, he reached over his shoulder and pulled the unknown weapon from his back, revealing a long-bladed spear that gleamed in spite of the looming shadows. Reyanna felt the man’s power rise as he brought the weapon into a fighting stance, and saw the leather bag suddenly disintegrate as the emerald beneath it blazed brightly to life, burning the covering away. He bellowed in defiance as the huge dog beside him howled its own fury into the wind at the oncoming threat.

And just as suddenly as it had come upon her, the vision ended, leaving her slumped facefirst in the grass, her lungs heaving in relief.  -  Copyright Whit McClendon 2017

There's a werewolf in it.  And other stuff.  I'll keep you posted.

In other news, I've become the announcer for our local pro wrestling promotion, Domination Zone Wrestling, Inc.  Loving every minute of it!  Although it's not something I ever planned to do (I kind of fell into it.  Well, volunteered to be choke-slammed into it.) I'm having a total blast.  Local shows are just a few minutes from my house and my son loves going and cheering the wrestlers until he's hoarse.  Definitely Father-Son bonding time at its finest.

 

It's Easter today, and I'm going to get back to my annual watching of Ben Hur.  The official McClendon family tradition is that I watch it on Easter, eating chocolate cake, in my underwear.  Hey, it's just how we roll.  Happy Easter, folks, and I hope you have a great day! 

A New Book: Short Workouts for Beginners!

Hey, folks!  Honestly, I need to write here much more often.  So much is going on that I should write about, but I don't write about it because so much is going on!  Sheesh!  The holidays are upon us, so there's all of that rigamarole to be dealt with, plus all the usual day-to-day of running a martial arts school, plus writing as much as possible...yes, it's crazy busy up in here.

In November, I participated in NaNoWriMo for the first time, and although I didn't reach the goal of 50,000 words by the end of the month, I did manage to get around 32K words into a new fantasy, GrimFaerie.  It's an Urban Fantasy set here in the Houston area.  I'm having a lot of fun with it, though I decided to put it aside here for the last couple of weeks and work on something else.  What is that project, you ask?  It's a new book!!  Short Workouts for Beginners: Get Healthier and Stronger at Home (Book 1 of the Jade Mountain Workout Series).  It's available for Kindle right now at only $2.99 or FREE on Kindle Unlimited, and the paperback version will be out right after Christmas (just in time for the new year)!

​SMXLL

I've worked with adults for 13 years, teaching them how to exercise safely and properly, create a doable workout routine, and improve their health.  Although I'm a martial arts instructor, this is not a martial arts book; it's geared for beginners who need a place to start and need a clear plan they can follow at home.  In it, I demonstrate some basic exercises (links to videos included) and outline some simple workouts that have worked for my students over the years.    Click HERE to check it out on Amazon!

Now that I've got that out of the way, I can get back to GrimFaerie...or maybe a book on Kettlebell Training, I'm still deciding.  ;-)  In any event, here's a blurb and a teaser for GrimFaerie:

"Not all of the Faerie are sweet little Pixies.  There are a few who do the dirty work on the side of the Light, those of fang and claw and abilities far beyond those of the mere mortals they walk alongside.  They are known as GrimFaeries.  If you are evil enough to try to tip the balance towards the Dark side, you might just get a visit from one.  And they won't be leaving a coin under your pillow."

GrimFaerie

Chapter 1

“Great power brings great responsibility.” That’s a little something that I read from a character called Spider-Man some years ago. It seems that every so often, somebody remembers something obvious and puts it in print for everyone to ooh and ah over. As for me, I’d known this little fact of life for a particularly long time, and my belief in its truth often had me skulking through the darkest, most dangerous parts of the city in the wee hours of the morning, usually in search of a very evil son of a bitch.

This time was no different. It had been brought to my attention that another killer was loose in our city, and it was time for me to do something about it. Oh, I can hear you now, “But there are killings all the time!”

Well, you are right. People die or get killed quite often around here. People kill each other right and left, and I don’t lift a finger. Innocents are murdered for their sneakers, and street thugs kill each other by the dozens. People die of neglect, disease, car wrecks, and though I admit that it occasionally pains me to hear of such things, I don’t walk the streets at night in an attempt to avert those deaths.

But this particular killer was different. These recent deaths were the work of a single man, one very sick, twisted, and evil individual who brutalized and murdered young women. Now THIS I can do something about. And I would be only too glad to take care of the bastard. Sometimes, humans need a few bad genes removed from the old pool. That’s what I do sometimes. My unique talents assist me pretty well in such removals.

Hearing all this, some might ask if I think I’m God. ‘What right do you have to choose who dies and who lives? What makes you so special?’ Well, I certainly do not think of myself as God, though I have a lot of his/her power within me. And I actually have far more right to kill than psychos like this one, considering the evil nature of my targets. What goes around comes around. That’s a universal law, baby. Most folks would just depend on fate to take care of such karmic debts. Well, just who do you think that ‘fate’ calls on to tend to business? I’m a bit special, you could say.

I am of the Faerie, and though I usually look, walk, talk, and even occasionally think like a man, I am actually far from being human. And don’t ever mistake me for one of those cute little winged pixies that flit about and sprinkle shiny dust all over the place. I’m just not that kind of Faerie.

I’m the kind that had your ancestors bolting their doors and cowering in their homes at night. I’m the kind that caused unwary travelers to disappear in the deepest of our forests without a trace. Seeing me at work is usually enough to send people to years of therapy, and I’ve heard that their nightmares never go away.....

Red River Radio Presents....me!

The radio show is today! I'll be talking about my books with the amazing Dellani Oakes at 3pm Texas time. Right after me, my lifelong friend Brian D. Briscoe will be talking about his own books, "Juke," and "The Conflict Etiquette Handbook," and then author, Gary D Henry, who's written a ton of stuff. It's always fun, and you can ask questions on the chat function while we jabber away! 

I'll be reading from my latest release, A Mage Awakens: Book 3 of the Jidaan Trilogy.  Brian is supposed to as well, but he went and got laryngitis, so keep your fingers crossed that he'll not sound like a stepped-on frog this afternoon.

Just click the link below and you'll go to the proper page. 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rrradio/2016/11/23/red-river-radio-presents-whats-write-for-me-with-brian-gary-and-whit

Book 3!! Radio Show!! Woo Hooo!

Wow, so much is going on!!  It's been so long since I've posted here, and so much has happened, I don't know that I can effectively summarize it all.  I'll try and cover a few major points, and that will have to do.

Book 3, A Mage Awakens, is finally ready.  Like seriously ready.  It could drop at any moment (though I'm thinking next Monday).  This book took the least time to write of any of the three in the series, but still took longer than Book 2, Gart's Road, because I had a lot of trouble deciding on the cover scene.  I'm pretty happy with the story, though.  I hope my readers enjoy it!

I'll keep everyone posted.  See me on Facebook or you can check out my website. for the final details on the release of A Mage Awakens: Book 3 of the Fire of the Jidaan Trilogy. 

Also, I'll be on Red River Radio next week, on Wednesday, November 23rd!  Here's the info:

Red River Radio What’s Write for Me with Dellani Oakes Presents, Whit McClendon, author of “The Fire of the Jidaan Trilogy” Join us for a fun filled afternoon starting at 3 PM/CT.  Whit will be on from 3:00p to 3:40p. Brian Briscoe, author of “The Conflict Etiquette Handbook” The Art of Behaving Well in the Midst of Conflict will be on from 3:40p to 4:20p.  And Gary D. Henry, author of "In the Manor of Heather Black", "Falling Waters", "Witchwoods" and many more will be on from 4:20p to 5:00p.  As always, dust off your speakers, kick back with your favorite beverage and enjoy the show!  Have a great day!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rrradio/2016/11/23/red-river-radio-presents-whats-write-for-me-with-brian-gary-and-whit

I'll be reading from Book 3, and I'll be available on the RRR chat box during the show as well.  Stop on by!

Sock Hop

I just dropped my son, Connor, off at his new high school for a Sock Hop.  He's dressed up in as close to a 50's outfit as we could come up with, and thankfully, guys didn't have to be quite so decked out back then.  A white shirt with rolled up sleeves, jeans with rolled up cuffs, sunglasses, sneakers...that was it.  I played some Elvis Presley music in the car on the way, along with some of the Grease soundtrack (yes, I have that on my phone, why do you even bother to ask?), and Connor seemed excited, nervous, amused, and nervous again.  Pretty much what I expected.

What I didn't expect was the huge rush of emotions that hit me when I let him out of the car at St John.  The principal was there, greeting students with a hearty thumbs up and handshake, and Connor seemed pleased to see him.  I watched Connor head towards the student center without so much as a backwards glance, and everything hit me all at once.

My boy is in high school.  He's going to his first high school dance.  He's growing up.

I took the long way home, driving through a nearby park, still listening to 50's music and gathering my thoughts.  So clear in my mind and heart were my own memories of being a freshman entering Angleton High School waaay back in 1984.  The awkward was strong in that kid, the young me.  My mom had actually sent me to my first day of summer band in a matching shorts and shirt set.  Seriously.  I know now that she just wanted me to match so I'd look nice. 

I remember all of the excitement I felt, right alongside all of the terror and nervousness.  It was all so big, so new, and there was so much energy everywhere, it was hard to take in.  I loved seeing all the other kids around, even though I was often horrified at the idea of talking to someone I didn't know.  Fortunately, I had already been in band, so I knew lots of upperclassmen already.  That helped a lot.  I had also passed out at attention during summer band, so all the upperclassmen knew me as well.  Win some, lose some.

Now Connor is going through it all.  He was lucky enough to have a Fish Camp, where they played tons of 'get to know you' games, and it's a small school, but the newness, the excitement, and the nerves are all there.  I know the signs.  And I swear, I thought my heart would just burst with love for that boy as I saw him stroll away, following the steady stream of other kids in their 50's outfits.  He was smiling, last I saw.  I hope he has fun tonight, I truly do.  It seems like just yesterday that I was leaning over him, putting an outfit on his tiny body that would have fit a small-sized teddy bear.  Tonight, I had to tell him to sit down while I fixed his hair because he's so much taller than me that I couldn't reach it well enough.

Time flies.  Life is good.  And tonight, Grease is the word.

Book 3...the First Draft is DONE!!

In 1993, I saw an interesting weapon in a Museum Replicas LTD catalog.  I'd been working with long-handled Chinese weapons at that point and I thought the blade in the catalog looked like something I would LOVE to use as a personal weapon.  I idly drew some sketches of what I thought it would look like, and even created an RPG character that carried it for use in a D&D game I was playing with my dear, departed friend, Jason Blankenship.  The character was a jester.  I know that probably surprises you.  Stop that laughing.

Not long after that, had my "I can write better than THAT guy!" episode and began work on what would become Mage's Burden, using the weapon I had envisioned as a focal point.  It took 21 years for that story to make it to print, but not long after I held that first copy in my hands, I quickly started on Gart's Road to continue the tale.  16 months later, GR was complete and on the shelves.  I took a break for about 2 weeks (during which I struggled to not write, telling myself that I neeeeeded a break), and then started on Book 3, A Mage Awakens.  That was back in December, 2015.

On Tuesday, July 12, around 2:30pm, I finished the first draft of AMA, and with it, the story that had been rattling around in my head for well over two decades.  It was finally all there in black and white.  All the pieces had come together, the dust had settled, and I definitely had the feels going on.  Yes, yes, there is still a lot of editing to do, and some things might yet change here and there, but all in all, it felt finished.  Done.  Fini.

It has been such a crazy ride for me.  I've known these characters, both heroic and evil, for nearly half my life, and now, their tale is pretty much done.  Sitting there at my desk, I felt such a wonderful sense of completion, relief, and yes, some sadness.  I've always had their story pressing in my head, wanting to get out, and I miss it already.  I feel so strange right now, even though I've done this before with my previous books, going through the editing process to tune it all up feels a little different than it did the last two times because of its finality.  The trilogy as I had envisioned it is complete.  Now, there is an emptiness that is hard to describe.

The good news is that there is already a new story taking shape.  It's unformed, just flashes and images, really, but I can feel it in there.  I can already see the return of some old friends and the approach of new ones, as well as the presence of some very nasty bad guys.  Even at this ridiculously early stage, I'm comforted by its presence.  I've apparently got a lot more writing to do once this last book in the trilogy is polished and published.  And that makes me happy.  Have a great week, folks.

Gart's Road...it's available!

 

Here it is...the next chapter in the tale of Brunar the Mage and the Guardians as they oppose the evil sorcerer Mordak...


After the brutal murder of his family, Gart’s voyage continues as he searches for the weapon that was promised him by the Mage, Brunar. Once a peaceful farmer, who only wanted to be left alone, Gart must now become something more. Struggling with the powerful magick that grows within him, Gart follows a dangerous path. Only with the fabled Jidaan of Storms would he have a chance against Mordak’s Champion, the demon-bred Jor Dayne.

Guided by the noble Brunar, the other five Guardians make their way to Laro, hurrying to reach the walled city before Mordak’s army. Brunar and the elf-like Weya guide the Duke and his fierce warriors as they face an enormous, bloodthirsty horde of nightmarish creatures. The dead will rise and evil will walk the walls of Laro if Mordak has his way.

As the time for battle draws near, Gart fights his own monsters…alone.


http://www.amazon.com/Garts-Road-Jidaan-Trilogy-Volume/dp/0692573054

FINALLY! Book 2 is done!!

After 16 months of rough draft, proofreaders marks, read aloud draft, final tweaks, artwork, and cover production, BAM!!  Gart's Road is finally done!  A couple of days ago, I rolled up to the house and found the box with my first preview copies on my doorstep.   GR is 30,000 words longer than the first book, Mage's Burden, and after some feedback from several folks, I decided to increase the font size just a tiny bit to make it easier to read.  The end result is that GR is nearly twice the size of MB.  It's a hefty piece of work, yes it is!

It's going up on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Ibooks, Smashwords, and several other sites, both in e-book and paperback, tomorrow.  That's Friday, November 13th, and yes, that's always been a lucky day for me.  I really feel like this book is better than the first one in many ways, so I hope that folks enjoy it.

There's a lot of other stuff going on these days as well, but the book thing has been the biggest priority in many ways, so I figured I'd post an update here.  Book 3 is still just a twinkle in my eye at this point, although I do have my trusty old outline and a handful of notes.  I look forward to eventually seeing how the story ends!

It's October, and things are great!

October is finally here!  It's my favorite month, you see.  As a kid growing up in Angleton, Texas, in the 70's and 80's, October always brought the Brazoria County Fair and Parade, the Renaissance Festival, and Halloween (which happens to be my birthday), and nowadays, there's a wedding anniversary thrown in.  The weather turns cooler, the sky turns bluer, and I generally feel thrilled to be alive.

Things are going pretty well for me right now.  A recent burst of enrollments at JMMA has finally allowed me to relax just a tiny bit and think that we're going to be able to pay our rent, and the energy of the student body is absolutely wonderful.  I've been doggedly training to improve my breathing and cardio capacity after spending most of the year struggling with a vicious asthma flare up.  Although I'm still far from where I'd like to be in regards to my athleticism, I'm improving all the time.  My Jiu Jitsu is getting better, I think.  And I've finally finished my second book, Gart's Road.  Family life at home has improved in many ways, so I'm feeling a general sense of delight.

At times like this, I finally feel like I can relax for a moment and just take it all in.  It's all a journey, and I'm sure there are many more ups as well as downs to come.  For this moment, at least, I feel deeply, truly happy.  There have been many times in my life where things were not going my way.  There have been some major challenges, to say the least.  In the face of those obstacles, I have always chosen to simply take a deep breath and then press forward with everything I could muster.  This has generally worked for me.  Of course, there have often been changes of plans, adjustments of routes, and I occasionally discovered that the process of meeting one goal ended up changing the goal altogether.  That said, I think it's important to just keep moving forward, one foot in front of the other, until you end up getting somewhere.  I've done that, and done it often.  It's hard work, yes it is.

However, at times like this, where I can feel a cool breeze on my face and the warm sun on my skin and everything in my world is more or less at peace, I'm grateful for all the challenges.  They led me to this moment, this particularly wonderful and happy moment.  Life is good.

I am trying to get into the habit of writing here more often.  I have another blog where I talk more about my books, and you can visit it here.  Feel free to leave a comment, drop me a line, or just say 'hey.'  And have a fabulous day.

Space City Comic Con, and more

This is reposted from my other blog, which can be found here.

July 27, 2015

WOW!  Why in the world have I not been to a Comic Con until now?  I had no idea what I was missing!  I talked to celebrities, met a ton of great people, saw some waaaay cool stuff, and sold a ton of books.  It was super-duper fun, and I'm already making plans to hit another convention on Labor Day weekend. 

It started like this...

 That was Thursday.  It was pretty bare-bones since the banner hadn't arrived and we were just getting things set up.  Friday was sooo much more fun!  For one thing, we found the Ultrasaber shop

.

I want one.  Oh yes, I surely do.  Anyway, we sold 7 books that day, I met Cynthia Rothrock, caught a glimpse of William Shatner, and tried to get a feel for how things went.  The next day was a bit better...more like this:

 We sold all but 9 books on Saturday, met a ton more people, had a ridiculous amount of fun.  Case en pointe, this happened...

We also met Gil Gerard (Buck Rogers), Bridget Regan (Kahlan from Legend of the Seeker) and Naomi Grossman (American Horror Story, Freak Show).  There were soooo many folks in costume, it was great!!  If you want to see all of the pics, feel free to go to my Facebook page and check them out here:  Whit's Space City Comic Con 2015 Album

Sunday saw more of the same, and ultimately, it ended up like this:

 Over 30 books sold!  All in all, it was an absolutely amazing weekend!  Special thanks to Larry Escher for getting me there in the first place.  I'm already making plans to attend another convention, so I'll keep you posted.  In the meantime, come see me on Facebook, or send me a note from here.

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Yeah, that was a pretty amazing weekend.  As I said, I'm looking forward to doing another Con as soon as I can manage it.  

In other news, I'm really just having a ball lately.  I've made some changes in how I run my day that have brought really great results.  I have a breathing exercise that leads me into a short meditation each morning.  There is now a notepad on my desk upon which I write tasks, thoughts, and stuff that happens throughout the day.  This has really spiked my productivity like crazy, I've gotten SO much more done without feeling frantic about it.  Training is going well, and I feel like I'm finally making some progress with my breathing and stamina.  Lately, I've been working on the 2-handed straight sword form, and I'm almost finished with it.  That form is perfect for the lightsaber that I'll be getting for my birthday!  

That's about it for the time being.  Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go back to the laundry and working on Gart's Road.  Have a great week!  

 

Touching Base

Well, there's been a lot going on, most of it good!  It's been a month and a half since I reminded myself that I have this blog, and I've been so darned busy that I didn't put it on the to do list.  To be honest, I've been spending much of my time working on my second book, Gart's Road.  Yes, I've posted about it all over the place here.  In fact, I have a new website, strictly for the book series!

www.jidaan.com

Go have a look!  Maybe you'll like it.  I have a blog over there too, strictly about my writing projects, so my intention is to save this blog for other stuff. 

One little thing happened last night that made me smile.  I was talking to my son, Connor, about my childhood.  Just a fun little conversation.  We got on the subject of CB radios.  My dad used to always have one in his truck, which he used on long trips to talk to the truckers.  We had a base CB in their bedroom, with a ginormous antennae in the back yard.  For a while, I had a CB in my cars as well.  This was well before cellphones came about, and they were pretty fun and handy.

When I went to bed, leaving him in charge of the dogs (already asleep, the lazy buggers) and surfing around on his computer, I noticed that he was researching CB jargon.  He wants a CB.  I'm thinking I'm going to get him one.  Why?  I don't know...he really doesn't need one.  He's got a phone, I've got a phone, everyone's got a phone.  Even so, I think I'll get him one.  10-4, good buddy!

My best to you all, go do something fun and exciting today.  Or tomorrow at the latest.  Or at least do some burpees, they're good for you.

Gart's Road, coming this month!

I'm reasonably certain that Gart's Road (book 2 of my trilogy) will be completed this month.  I'm pretty excited about it (in case I forgot to mention it), and I'm currently hard at work on the last few chapters. 

In the event that you're just DYING to read the first book, Mage's Burden, I figured I'd toss a link up here.  You know...so you could pick it up.  If the mood strikes you.  Or you need a birthday present for an avid fantasy reader.  Maybe you just need a purple book cover to balance out the colors in your bookshelf, in any event, here's the link.  It's available in both Kindle and paperback.  Have a great day!

I'm on a Radio Show Today!

It's not exactly radio since it's online, but it FEELS like I'm on the radio!  I'll be talking with Barbara Ehrentreu on Red River Radio Tales this afternoon at 3pm CST.    This is the second show like this I've done, and I'm looking forward to it!  There's a chat room attached, so you can get on there and ask questions or just heckle me in general.

After the Play

A brief word about my son, Connor.

He's 13 now, and in 7th grade.  All year, we've struggled with him as he worked to find a way to juggle his homework and activities and put proper priorities on what needed to be done.  Fortunately, he's a smart, sweet kid, and truly wants to do the right things.  After an awful lot of hair-pulling and teeth-gnashing, he found his groove and got all A's and B's on his last report card, and is on track to making similar grades this time around.

Last night, I finally got to watch him in Schoolhouse Rock, Jr., the school play.  He had initially been somewhat indifferent to theater, actually making a c at some point in there previously.  I mean seriously...if you know him, you'd think that he'd be teaching the class, not bombing it.  We tried and tried to tell him that if he just tried to put some effort into it, really worked for a part on the stage rather than the behind-the-scenes crew, that he might really have some fun out there.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know how kids are, and he just scraped along.  At least, until this play came up.

He put a little more stink on things and tried harder at auditions.  He made it into the ensemble, which is basically a whole bunch of kids running around and singing together.  For the past several weeks, he's been dutifully going to rehearsals, working hard, AND keeping his grades up.  Showtime finally arrived, and he performed for the first time on Thursday.  I was teaching, so I had to wait until Friday to see him.  It was absolutely wonderful.

Connor committed 100% on stage, pulling all the right faces, throwing all the right moves, and singing his guts out.  No longer was he worried about looking silly, he got up there and owned his performance.  I laughed and laughed, I was absolutely delighted to see him in the show.  It made my heart swell up, truly.

Later, we all ate at the Chinese buffet and had a chance to talk about theater, school, girls, friend-zones and relationships, and all kinds of fun things.  We hadn't been to the buffet in awhile and I was pleasantly stuffed.  Christina went to find more salad or something and I had a chance to sit alone with Connor for a few minutes.  We were chatting happily and I took a moment to watch him eat.  There, sitting across from me, eating a giant pile of rice, was my son.  Only 3lbs or so at birth, he's now taller than I am.  I suddenly saw his newborn body in the NICU, tiny, but strong.  I saw him taking his first steps.  I remembered running behind him, my hand twisted up in his shirt to hold him up as he learned to ride a bike.  Then there he was, bravely going down the tallest waterslide in Branson only to refuse to go down it the next day.  I saw him playing lacrosse and hating it, but having a blast in swim team and bumping fists with all the other swimmers to wish them luck.  I saw him taking the ice bucket challenge with me and howling about how the ice water was reaching his crotch.  And I saw him sitting there, behind his new glasses, reading something on his phone, and shoveling Chinese food into his mouth as if it were a race.

With tears in my eyes, I told him that I although I may miss the 9 year old kid that he used to be...I am thrilled to my core to see the young man that he has become.  I sure love that kid.

Lacrosse is Over, Bring on Tough Mudder!

I was quite sad a couple of weeks back when I was told that the final game on the Bayou City Lacrosse Club's schedule was cancelled due to the other team's forfeiting for lack of players.  I had really been looking forward to that last game, and then it was yanked away and my season was suddenly over.  Sure, we still had the playoffs coming up, but I will be at the Tough Mudder that weekend, so my season was done.  (Sad music plays here)

Fortunately, San Antonio pulled out of a GCLA tournament, and we were asked to play in their place!  Woo hooooo!!!  Not just one, but THREE games!!!  That had me dancing for joy!  The games were big fun!  We lost vs Metro (imagine that), won vs TAMU Corps of Cadets, and then lost to the Bay Area Barnacles.  We didn't get to play the Swamp Donkeys.  That disappointed me.  I just wanted to play them because of their awesome team name.  I battled with a left ankle issue all weekend, so I ran with a rather nasty limp, but fortunately, my right foot held up just fine.  I'm thankful that the rest of me was decently healthy, and I had an absolute blast out there.  I hit a few folks, scored a couple of goals, won a few faceoffs, and even had fun in the final game brawl.  No one got hurt, just a couple of tempers flaring due to roughness and then the ensuing scuffle to pull them apart.  It is a full-contact sport, after all.

All in all, the season ended for me on a high note.  Of course, I'm already looking forward to next year, planning to train hard and come back as a wrecking, scoring, dodging machine!  I've said it before, and I'll say it until the day I die...I love this game!

Thumbs up at the GCLA Lacrosse Tournament, April 25, '15

As I mentioned, I'll be leading a team through the Tough Mudder this weekend.  It's a small, but enthusiastic group, and I'm looking forward to it with great anticipation!  There are new obstacles on the course, and my old favorites should be there as well.  I plan to take as many pictures as possible, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather holds...it's gorgeous out there right now!

In other news, I'm at around 60K words on Gart's Road.  My original goal was to have it finished by May, which shifted to having it done by the END of May, and since it feels like it should be around 90K words, I'll be somewhat hard-pressed to do that.  All I can do is just write at every available opportunity and see how it goes.  Fortunately, I'm doing better each time I sit down and things are coming along much easier these days.  I'm dying to see how it turns out!

Recently, I was a guest on a radio show blog, and that was tons of fun!  If you're of a mind to do so, you can listen to the interview here:

I read an excerpt from Chapter 2, and was flattered by all the positive responses I got afterwards.  Everyone seems to think that I have a decent reading voice, and that I should do an audio version of Mage's Burden.  After doing some research and asking around, some wonderful friends have said that I can use their facilities or equipment, so this thing might just work.  Of course, I want to finish Gart's Road first, but once that is complete, I'll dig into this project.  I think it would be fun!!

Speaking of projects, I've finally started digging into some boxes of old family photos that my Mom had given me a few years back.  It's a huge trip down Memory Lane, that's for sure!  I'm seeing pics I haven't seen in years, and many that I've never seen!  I love seeing my parents when they were younger and first married.  There are even quite a few of my Dad when he was young...quite the Rico Suave, that one.  My Dad was a stern old country boy, but he was also given to huge belly laughs.  Somewhere in there I found a pic of him in mid-guffaw, and it made me smile for the rest of the afternoon.  I also found many pics of myself with somewhat questionable fashion sense.  Geez, I really went out in public dressed like that?  With that hair?  Sigh.  Ah, well, I was young.  I had no sense.  Here's my 11th grade mugshot.  I obviously had no idea that I could put something in my hair that would make it stay in one configuration, because surely, I wouldn't have wanted it to stay like THAT.  And a baby pic!

Baby Whit  1969/1970

Whit McClendon, 11th Grade, 1986-87

One other thing of note...my Uncle Robert passed away last week.  He was my favorite uncle, and was well-loved by everyone who knew him.  He was always ready to help you fix whatever was broken, tell a funny story, and was just an all-around great guy.  The family held the viewing a couple of days ago, and I was told that there was a table upon which they had placed some of his favorite thing, service medals, awards, other items that he held in some high esteem.  My Mom noticed that someone had left my book on there, and when asked, found that it was placed there on purpose.  My uncle had loved my book, and so it was deemed worthy of being added to that collection.  I can't begin to tell you, dear readers, how much that moved me.  In fact, I have tears in my eyes as I type this.  Robert Pollock was a wonderful and amazing man, a man that I feel incredibly fortunate to have known so well during my life, and I was both deeply honored and humbled by the fact that he enjoyed what I wrote.  Godspeed, Uncle Robert.

Robert Pollock, Sr. 2015

Ow, ow, ow, ow! Dang it!

Bayou City played another lacrosse game today!  It was an away game vs. Metro, and this makes the third year in a row (I think) that this particular game was played in the rain.  Thankfully, the rain really didn't kick in until the 2nd half and was just a chilly drizzle rather than an icy downpour as it had been in games past.  As always, I look forward to these games with great anticipation...I simply love playing.  I'm not as fast as I once was, and I'm certainly not the best player, but you don't have to be Gary Gait (Google him) to have fun playing the game.  And oh, I do.  I really, really do.

For the first time in a loooooong time, I couldn't finish the game today.  Fortunately, I wasn't horrendously injured during a play (although I did stop a shot on goal with my thigh, and WOW, that did hurt), but instead, was sidelined by a bit of plantar fasciitis that's been dogging me for a few weeks now.  My right heel held up for not quite 3 quarters before it finally gave me the 'no go' signal, and I watched the rest of the game from the sidelines.  Frustrating, but I was happy to have played that much, at least.

We lost the game, but it was fun, nonetheless.  I really am glad to be playing for this particular team.  We win some, we lose quite a few, but we always enjoy playing together.  I couldn't have picked a better team on which to play.  And the team colors are green and white, of course!

I'm scheduled to do CrossFit Games workout 15.2 tomorrow morning at 7:30am.  I'm honestly not sure that my foot will allow it, but I've got the silly thing on ice at the moment, and I'll just have to see how it's feeling tomorrow.  After that, I've got a week to rehab the thing before our next lacrosse game.  It's a pretty simple routine, really...icing it, sleeping in a boot, rolling out my calf multiple times daily.  I could look at it as a huge annoyance, but admittedly, that takes too much energy.  Instead, I'll just view it as an additional step in my physical training, like warming up or stretching.  For now, it's just something I need to do to keep everything working properly, so there's no sense in resenting it.

In other news, I'm really rolling along with Book 2, 'Gart's Road', at the moment.  I've found a good balance of doing admin stuff for my school and also finding time to write each day, so I've progressed much faster lately.  I reached a point where I was about to depict the beginning of a city siege, but another scene kept presenting itself, so I shifted to write that one instead, and I'm thrilled with the result so far.  Now that I pretty much have that scene all done, it's time to get back to work on the attack on the city of Laro.  I've been reading an awful lot lately in the genre, and I've felt a lot more open to trying new things in my story, much more creative stuff than I did in the past, so I'm pretty excited to see what I can do with this next section.

I see the whole story in scenes, and although I do know where the whole thing is going, I don't always see the scenes in proper order.  At any given time, I'm generally just writing whatever I see most vividly right then.  There are also plenty of times when I just don't see anything, so that's frustrating.  Fortunately, the muse is speaking to me lately, so I'm going to make the best of it, and write as much as I can while I'm on a roll.

Sometimes, I write here to make a point of some kind.  More often, I'm just reporting things that happen in my life because I want to remember them later.  Yes, those things could just as well be written in a private journal, but I enjoy sharing in the hopes that maybe someone would be amused or even inspired by my writing.  This post doesn't have much of a point, other than to just say that I'm doing my best to keep moving forward in several areas.  I'm closer to 50 than 40 now, and I want to remain active as much as possible, so martial arts, lacrosse, and writing are not only lifelong passions of mine but also tools that I use to keep myself nimble in both mind and body.  I have no plans to 'go soft into that good night.'  I'm going to keep training, keep playing, keep writing, keep moving until I use up every ounce of life I've been given.  So there!

Writing, Training, More Writing

Yes, I've finally been able to get back to writing lately.  'Gart's Road', or Book 2 as I tend to call it, is moving along at last.  It took a month or so to get settled in here at JMMA's new location, but things are up and running smoothly now, so I can turn my focus back to the story.

I'm obviously not the fastest writer on the planet.  This occasionally frustrates me, but more often, I just enjoy the process however fast or slow it happens.  I've been stuck at one spot for a long time and I was thrilled to finally get through the scene and start looking at other areas of the story.  It's like watching a movie only 5 minutes at a time!  I'll get there eventually.

Things are about to get pretty hairy for my characters...there is about to be a large-scale assault on a city and its castle.  The fighting is going to be ferocious and intense, and I can tell you that it's going to be rough for the good guys.  Will they all make it?  I'll only give you this hint...George R. Martin, I'm not, but I'm not averse to seeing good guys die if that's what I see in the story in my head!

In other news, training is going well.  I haven't had a bit of chocolate on a day other than Sunday for over a month now, and I've kept off the handful of pounds I've lost.  Another lacrosse game is coming up this Saturday and I've got sprints planned for today in preparation.  I'll never be as fast as I once was, but my stamina is still pretty good, and I'm bound and determined to stay as mobile as possible.

Back to work here...I'll keep you posted.  Feel free to drop me a comment or an email anytime, I love hearing from folks out there.

New Year, New School, New Lacrosse Season

Wow, so much has happened since my last post here.  Last December, after months of wrangling, paperwork, and about a thousand things on the daily To-Do Lists, we managed to move Jade Mountain Martial Arts to a new location.  We moved from an extremely hard-to-find attic, with an entrance that sat about 20 feet from a dumpster, to a fantastic location right next to the Alamo Drafthouse.  In one day, with a massive team of volunteers, we somehow loaded up every single thing from the old place, and moved it all into the new space.  It took a good three weeks to get everything situated, but the new and improved Jade Mountain is ready for action and it...looks...GREAT.  I'm ridiculously proud of it, and humbled and grateful at all of the hard work that our students and Ms. Kathryn put in to make it look so amazing.

The To-Do List is still pretty gigantic, but things have calmed down enough that I can turn some of my energy to other things.  Book 2 has been waiting not-so-patiently for me to work on it again.  I'd like to get it done by the summer, though that means I need to get to it pretty consistently.  Lacrosse season also started today, and though my training suffered during the move, I was able to enjoy the game and cause a bit of trouble on the field.  No Tornado Kicks, but a few good plays, nonetheless.  I very much look forward to getting my speed and agility back as the season progresses and I'm able to get back to training.

That's about it.  I mean, the super short version, anyway.  As always, I intend to write here more often, but we'll just have to see how that turns out.  One thing I'll say before I go:  the weather was perfect for the game today.  It was sunny and bright, with a cool breeze blowing now and then.  The field was soft but not muddy, and my new cleats were rocking.  My team played hard and we had fun.  I ran, I scooped, I passed the ball, I hit some folks and dodged others.  As all this was going on, I couldn't help but feel absolutely, deeply, ridiculously happy.  I'm closer to 50 than 40, and I'm still out there.  It rocks.

Bad reviews...ouch! Well, I don't like Pumpkin Pie...so, there.

As a writer, I knew that I'd never be able to please everyone.  I've always dreamed of being a published author, and although I never aspired to fame and fortune, I'd always hoped that folks would enjoy my books at the very least.  I feel as though I'm a decent writer, maybe not as skilled or imaginative as my favorite big-name authors, but I think I do pretty well.  I knew that there would always be those out there who would not like my work, whether because of the subject, the storyline, the characters, or my sentence structure.  If I wanted to put my books out there, I had to be willing to endure the opinions of the masses, both good and bad.

Up to now, my reviews were pretty positive.  Of course, the first people to read Mage's Burden were those who knew me, so they were far more likely to be supportive.  However, I also got other reviews and positive feedback from folks I'd never met, so that got me pretty excited!  I always want honest appraisals of my work, and I do a happy dance for every good review that I get.

Along with the good opinions, suddenly came the bad ones.  In the last 2 days, it seems that a handful of people signed on to Goodreads.com as new members in order to review my book, and wow, they surely didn't like it at all.  Comments about my writing skill, accusations of racism and sexism (seriously?!?), and even suggestions that my use of punctuation was off-putting.  Fair enough.  Everyone has a right to their opinion, even if it's one I don't share.  It was a bit shocking to hear such negative comments on something that I had worked so hard to create.  I want to tell a story of heroism, a battle of good versus evil, magick and monsters...this is supposed to be fun! 

In thinking about all this, I realized that I don't like pumpkin pie.  Honestly, I never have.  Millions of people out there LOVE pumpkin pie.  It's a staple at almost every Thanksgiving dinner, and I don't like it.  I know there are others like me out there, but most folks enjoy it, and that's just fine.  It's also fine that I don't.  The fact that I don't like pumpkin pie doesn't change what the pie actually is, what it is meant to be, or the fact that so many love it.  It's just my opinion.  My favorite authors all have quite a few horrendously negative reviews sprinkled among the shining, positive comments, and they're doing just fine.  You can't please everyone.

All in all, I'm grateful to each and every person who takes the time to read my book, whether or not they like it.  I hope that more people like it than don't.  Having someone write how much they hate my work isn't the end of the world.  I plan to keep writing, keep working, and I'll improve my storytelling skills as I go. 

Those of you reading this, if you've read my book and want to share an opinion, I'd truly love to hear it.  Here are all the places you can write a review.  As much as I'd like to ask for good reviews, I really just want honest ones.

Mage's Burden on Goodreads

Mage's Burden on Amazon.com

Mage's Burden on Barnes & Noble.com

Another Year, Another Birthday!

I'm 45!  As of my birthday a week ago, I am now halfway to 90.  Not even CLOSE to being done.  I joke about being an old man, but although I'm a half-step slower here, maybe not quite as strong there, I'm feeling pretty danged spry, thank you very much.  I'm on the 120-Year Plan, so I intend to keep working out, eating right (more or less, anyway), and keeping a positive attitude.  45...wow.  In just a few short years, I'll be 50.  Cool.

It's been a big year for me, and it looks as though it'll end with a bang as well.  Just a few days ago, I signed a lease for Jade Mountain in a new, bigger, better location.  11 years ago, I had been teaching out of my garage, but we found a spot right off of I-10 near Mason Rd.  It was cheap because it was basically an attic for the store below, which was a Mattress Giant at the time.  Fortunately, the space had previously been a dance studio and also a martial arts school, so it was already laid out perfectly for what I wanted.  Since then, we've been rolling along, having a blast up there, but it's finally time to make a change.  We need a bigger space, a better space, a place that's easier to find!!!  After months of wrangling and financing, I finally put pen to paper a few days ago, and it is on like Donkey Kong.  The lease should be executed this week, then the builder will be put to work, and we'll eventually end up right next to the Alamo Drafthouse on Mason Road in a space big enough to have two classes going simultaneously.  I'll certainly miss the old Jade Mountain, but there are tons of good memories that will be coming with me, and a whole new adventure awaits at the new space.  

In other news, I've been working on Gart's Road (the second book in my fantasy trilogy) and thoroughly enjoying myself.  I've gotten to know other authors, had quite a few folks say nice things about Mage's Burden, and was recently mentioned on a radio show in Nevada!  My friends, students, and family have all been super supportive, and I've signed quite a few copies of MB for folks.  I often feel an odd sense of embarrassment when folks want me to sign one.  In my mind, I'm saying, "It's just little old me!  My signature's not worth anything!"  Yet I'm also quite honored.  I was fortunate enough to have a handful of my copies of various books signed by their authors, most notably, Dennis L. McKiernan, and I treasure those things.  Simply put, I think it's exceedingly cool to have them.  If I stretch my mind a bit, I can hope that maybe one day, others might think something similar when they open their copy of my book with my signature in it.  One day.  Maybe.  I'll just keep writing and see how it goes.

All in all, my 45th year has been pretty good so far.  I'll keep doing my thing and just take one step after another and see where the journey leads me.  I'm thinking it'll be fun!!