Brutus

One neat thing about being a novelist is even if you’re writing in the “real world” (versus creating an entire world as fantasy and sci-fi writers do), you get to play “God” and modify your characters to your heart’s content. And you even get to give them things — like pets. I gave Alec a…

Five Star Review – Readers' Favorite

Five Fathoms Beneath earned a five-star rating from Readers’ Favorite, an indie book publishing site.  Excerpt from the review: J.R. Alcyone writes with fluid prose and serious heart in recounting this tale of medical drama, family obligations and dealing with the darker side of life and death. … Five Fathoms Beneath gives just a dash of supernatural…

Utopian Fiction

Gizmodo posted an excellent article on Why We Need Utopian Fiction. I wouldn’t call “Five Fathoms Beneath” utopian fiction, but it does have a very positive and un-cynical ending, and for that reason this line in the article about utopian fiction really resonated with me: As children, we are told to dream for better futures;…

The Marlin by Joseph Riden

Full disclosure: I received a gift copy from the author. This is a creative non-fiction piece written as a short story about a couple on a wooden trawler boat, Tin Hau, in the Pacific Ocean. In terms of style, pace, and format, the piece is written as a classic short story. Any story about ocean…

Author Interview

My cover designer, Tim Barber, was kind enough to interview me about my novel, Five Fathoms Beneath. You can read the interview on Tim’s website by clicking here. If you’re looking for a cover designer, Tim does exceptional work and I recommend him without reservations.