Travel Log: Dueling Warships (Part 1)

(Niceville, Florida; March 4, 2018) I’m currently home in Niceville; Phase 1 of Grand Tour USA is done; Phase 2 begins in two weeks. Time to catch up, and I’ll start with a multi-part series on historic ships. Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina could put to sea some seriously heavy-duty naval armament if they … Continue reading Travel Log: Dueling Warships (Part 1)

It is Finished

It is finished. The seven stories of The Norfolk Murders have been completed. This exercise in the creative process as performance art is over. I wrote seven novellas in nine months...while I was retiring from the Navy. March – November tracked the final active duty adventures of the Navy’s Accidental Detective, Isaac T. Shepherd. In … Continue reading It is Finished

Packing Out

I’m sitting in the Yellow Duck (my house) and, quite literally, one of the packers is behind me tearing through packing paper like a tree-killing fiend as she wraps my antiques, knickknacks, brick-a-brac, and generalized stuff. The packers arrived right at 8:00 this morning. Mom and Pop are here. Pop’s watching a ball game and … Continue reading Packing Out

Pipe the Side

It's over. The horizon has been reached and the ship is at sea no more. I will not soon know again the shifting of the deck under my feet on the featureless sea, nor the anticipatory thrill of the lines being cast off to get underway for a new horizon. I will not again … Continue reading Pipe the Side

Expectations Are Not “Supposed” to Happen

Expectations are NOT “supposed” to happen. I was in the base gym the other day, having just come out of the showers and opening my locker to start getting dressed when I was overcome again by the sadness, the despair, and the darkness. Despite all my efforts and beliefs, despite the goals of my generational … Continue reading Expectations Are Not “Supposed” to Happen

Well, THAT Didn’t go as Planned…Again!

Well, THAT didn’t quite go as planned…again! The Hanged Man was a difficult story to write. Partly because the plot painted me into a corner (I blame the plot, not myself), and partly because, although it was started and set in July, the sequence of events I’m living as I get near retiring from the … Continue reading Well, THAT Didn’t go as Planned…Again!

Stripping Down

No, not like that. Get your minds out of the gutter! This is the one-year anniversary of Sparks1524.com here on WordPress, so that’s a milestone right there. Yes, for my loyal followers (all two of you), I know I’m still behind on the fifth Isaac Shepherd mystery, The Hanged Man. Work with me; I’ve been … Continue reading Stripping Down

The First of the Lasts

I first wanted to join the Navy when I was six years old. It was 1978 and we were visiting my pop’s family in his home state of Hawai’i. I had traveled to Oahu at least twice before, but the first time I was about one foot long and my observational prowess consisted of alerting … Continue reading The First of the Lasts

Tangled Tale Along a Troubled Trail

Madness. Sheer, inescapable, asphalt-founded madness. Yet, what a story today’s tangled tale along a troubled trail of precipitation-painted pavement is! Tomorrow (Aug. 8, 2017) I have my first in-person interview for a job I would very much like to get—teaching public affairs at the Defense Information School (DINFOS), also on Fort Meade. However, as … Continue reading Tangled Tale Along a Troubled Trail

The Hanged Man – Chapter 2

Under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1971, this is a fully copyrighted and protected work by law. Copyright is owned by and all rights are reserved to Nathanael Miller. No part may be reproduced in whole or part without my written permission. Facebook and Twitter links to this story may be shared; but the work … Continue reading The Hanged Man – Chapter 2