Author: sparks1524

I am a novelist, photojournalist, teacher, poet, writer, and story teller.

Travel Log: October 2018 – The Desert and the Creepiest Sound EVER

(Silverdale, Washington; Aug. 20, 2020) – The year is 2001. I was a 29-year-old Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class in the U.S. Navy assigned to work on reconnaissance cameras and the associated aircraft systems used by the F-14D Tomcats of VF-213, a squadron based out of NAS Oceana in Virginia. We flew to NAS Fallon, Nevada, … Continue reading Travel Log: October 2018 – The Desert and the Creepiest Sound EVER

The Accidental Detective returns to his old ship, hot on the trail of a killer…

Murder aboard USS Ponce brings Chief Petty Officer Isaac Shepherd back to his old ship. Read the adventure in "Proud Lion," the new novel by Nathanael Miller coming to a virtual bookstore Sept. 20!!

The Writer’s Craft – Teamwork

(Silverdale, Washington; August 17, 2020) – The successful creation of a writing project is driven by one person. However, the successful publication of a writing project is driven by the collaboration of a number of people. No one who wishes to present a professional product to the world can do it alone. I present these … Continue reading The Writer’s Craft – Teamwork

Travel Log: Let Your Adventurous Spirit Blossom

(Silverdale, Washington; Aug. 13, 2020) – I was largely silent on the blogging front for nearly a year. I only recently (and, in my own humble way, spectacularly) relaunched this forum a couple of weeks ago. I moved to Washington State in January 2019, taking up a federal term position (a temporary position) that ended … Continue reading Travel Log: Let Your Adventurous Spirit Blossom

The Writer’s Craft – A Jolly Good Blog Entry

(Silverdale, Washington; August 10, 2020) – I had the distinct pleasure of spending a year on the road seeing all 50 states and a bit of Canada during “Grand Tour USA” from 2017 – 2018. I wrote numerous Travel Logs detailing my adventures. Following one post, a reader left a comment asking how I got … Continue reading The Writer’s Craft – A Jolly Good Blog Entry

The Instruction Writer’s Problem

(Silverdale, Washington; August 8, 2020) – We trust instructions to carry us through a project in a logical, step-by-step fashion, eschewing any use of magic. I don’t know about you, but my parents sent me to conventional schools for muggles, not academies for young wizards. Finding this trust misplaced is another universal human experience. Quite … Continue reading The Instruction Writer’s Problem

The Writer’s Craft – The Journey of a Million Words

(Silverdale, Washington; August 6, 2020) – My oldest nephew wrote me in January to ask how I write so easily. He’s 15, and is trying to write the first in a series of adventures stories. He wanted to know how I come up with my stories, such as Proud Lion, the first of the “Accidental … Continue reading The Writer’s Craft – The Journey of a Million Words

Sometimes You Have to Risk

That was said to me by one of the wisest young women I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. The year was 1997. I was in Tallahassee, Florida, barely making ends meet after a series of economic downturns and bad policies kept killing every job I held. I got downsized on average every nine … Continue reading Sometimes You Have to Risk

The Writer’s Craft – A Real Character

(Silverdale, Washington; Oct. 6, 2019) – There is a moment in the Disney version of Pinocchio in which the titular character characters declares, “I’m a real boy!” The moment marks his transformation from being an enchanted wooden puppet to a flesh-and-blood human being. The whole story of Pinocchio is, effectively, of an inanimate object being … Continue reading The Writer’s Craft – A Real Character