Derek Hart's Blog

Back to Dragon’s Teeth

Greetings again:

I know I’ve been away from my blog for a few days, but it’s because I’ve been writing, among other things.

When we last left off on our journey, I was going to share with you working on the “bad guys”, because they always require the most attention.  While Adicus Schinagel is a black wizard, Heinrich Himmler is the representative of all things evil with Nazi Germany, perhaps as much as Hitler.  Yet no character is simply black and white, or they become cardboard.  It’s not a matter of trying to squeeze out some ounce of humanity from either men, but rather the author’s ability to add human traits, such as fear, doubt, jealousy and greed, blended with the persona of their individual evil.

With Adicus, his motivation seems to be world domination as well, but in Book 5 we get a chance to dig deeper, to delve into his motivation from the magical, wizard-world application.  After all, if everyone dies, what good what that do for a man steeped in magic?

Likewise, Himmler gains nothing from destroying the world.  Subjugating the population might prove interesting at first, but Himmler suspects the Third Reich is doomed and plans not only his escape, but also wants to flourish in the post-war world.

SS Gruppenführer Taubert met Reichsminister Heinrich Himmler by the main gate.

“In spite of my busy schedule, my thoughts will often turn to Wewelsburg,” Himmler said wistfully.  “I dearly hope my plans for the castle can be resumed after the war.”

Himmler is a fool, of course, for thinking he can return, but his arrogance seems perfectly natural.

“I will offer the Allies the key to so many secrets,” Himmler shared.  “When they discover what I know, I will be exalted among kings.”

This pompous self-importance plays a vital role in the way things turn out, as the reader will discover in Book 6.  Until then, I am crafting the steps that will lead Thaddeus to confront his own demons.

Still, it requires more than just the dialogue of a maniac to communicate the danger that awaits the dragon and his three cohorts.  I have collected hundreds of photographs of Wewelsburg Castle and Himmler, to study while writing.  I also visited Wewelsburg many years ago, but could not bring myself to go inside.  This was many years before I began writing this series, but the strange creepy feeling never ebbed away.  Most of the castle is off-limits to visitors and it makes one wonder what still lies inside?

Next time – the new characters come alive.

 

Back to Dragon's Teeth

Greetings again:

I know I've been away from my blog for a few days, but it's because I've been writing, among other things.

When we last left off on our journey, I was going to share with you working on the "bad guys", because they always require the most attention.  While Adicus Schinagel is a black wizard, Heinrich Himmler is the representative of all things evil with Nazi Germany, perhaps as much as Hitler.  Yet no character is simply black and white, or they become cardboard.  It's not a matter of trying to squeeze out some ounce of humanity from either men, but rather the author's ability to add human traits, such as fear, doubt, jealousy and greed, blended with the persona of their individual evil.

With Adicus, his motivation seems to be world domination as well, but in Book 5 we get a chance to dig deeper, to delve into his motivation from the magical, wizard-world application.  After all, if everyone dies, what good what that do for a man steeped in magic?

Likewise, Himmler gains nothing from destroying the world.  Subjugating the population might prove interesting at first, but Himmler suspects the Third Reich is doomed and plans not only his escape, but also wants to flourish in the post-war world.

SS Gruppenführer Taubert met Reichsminister Heinrich Himmler by the main gate.

"In spite of my busy schedule, my thoughts will often turn to Wewelsburg," Himmler said wistfully.  "I dearly hope my plans for the castle can be resumed after the war."

Himmler is a fool, of course, for thinking he can return, but his arrogance seems perfectly natural.

"I will offer the Allies the key to so many secrets," Himmler shared.  "When they discover what I know, I will be exalted among kings."

This pompous self-importance plays a vital role in the way things turn out, as the reader will discover in Book 6.  Until then, I am crafting the steps that will lead Thaddeus to confront his own demons.

Still, it requires more than just the dialogue of a maniac to communicate the danger that awaits the dragon and his three cohorts.  I have collected hundreds of photographs of Wewelsburg Castle and Himmler, to study while writing.  I also visited Wewelsburg many years ago, but could not bring myself to go inside.  This was many years before I began writing this series, but the strange creepy feeling never ebbed away.  Most of the castle is off-limits to visitors and it makes one wonder what still lies inside?

Next time – the new characters come alive.

 

Building Conflict & Suspense (Spoiler Alert)

Greetings again.

We're wading deep into the story now, bringing converging characters into conflict, of course, but also adding suspense.

I am adding two new characters at this point.  One is human and one is a cat, but with a very enchanted and magical past.

As with the previous volumes, I add the human element to the teen's lives, so they become part of the war's impact on individuals.  I add the fantasy character to propel the reader into discovering yet another facet of the dragon's past history.

Let's start with the cat.  Ziggimoo is an all white kitty, who wears glasses, at least when he can find them.  He is scatterbrained, absent-minded, and a bit infuriating at times, but adorable too.  However, the piskie Idyllioop doesn't like Ziggimoo, but the reader won't find out until the climax of this book.

As you know, I've been hinting at the importance of cats throughout the series, as Thaddeus has discussed them before.  In this book, I will explain thoroughly the association between cats and dragons, with Ziggimoo at the center.

Now as to the human character, there will actually be 2, one a British Airborne soldier and one an American Ranger, both destined to be involved on D-Day, during the Normandy invasion of France.  This gives me the opportunity to include the landings as the central WWII historical event, but also gives me a wonderful tool to develop yet more friendships to Gavin, Bunty & Emily.  As the war went on, year-to-year, soldiers passed through many English villages and towns, but the relationships were brief and tinged with sadness.

This portion of the novel requires in-depth research.  First, I want the British Airborne soldier to be involved with the glider assault on the Orne River bridges.  Remember, I want the basic details of the mission, but I will write about this soldier's personal experience, what he sees, hears, feels, smells, etc.  This vital operation also gives a wonderful opportunity for Thaddeus to meddle in the outcome, assuring success.

The American will be thrown into the bloody Omaha Beach, right alongside Dog Green beach, where the movie Saving Private Ryan began.  The Rangers were part of the specialized assault and were almost wiped out from wicked German defenses.  Again, at the critical moment, Thaddeus will have an opportunity to make a difference.  Will he take it?

The Orne River assault is well documented, so I grabbed this historical account.  This is rough, because I haven't inserted my new character, nor fleshed out the actual glider trip.  I'll add that today.

It was a steel-girder bridge, painted gray, with a large water tower and superstructure.  At 0000 hours, June 5/6, 1944, the scudding clouds parted sufficiently to allow the nearly full moon to shine and reveal the bridge standing starkly visible above the shimmering water of the Caen Canal.

Halifax bombers, two groups of three, were each towing a Horsa glider.

Thornton was singing "Cow Cow Boogie and chain-smoking Players cigarettes.

With cast-off, there was a sudden jerk, then dead silence.  All the singing abruptly stopped.  The engine noise of the departing bomber faded away and there was a tomb-like silence, broken only by the swoosh of air over the Horsa's wings.

Three of the gliders landed within fifty meters of Pegasus at 16 minutes past midnight on June 6th. The first, Glider No.92, containing Major Howard and No.1 Platoon of the "coup de main" force, landed heavily and came to an abrupt halt when, as had been planned during the briefings, it pushed its nose through and penetrated the first belt of barbed wire around the bridge. The force of this sudden halt catapulted both glider pilots through the cockpit screen and rendered them, together with all of their passengers, unconscious.

Within a few seconds, however, the men had fully regained their senses and became aware that all around them was quiet. The noise of the crash had not alerted the Germans at the bridge, a mere 50 yards from where the glider had come to rest. If it had then the fate of the coup de main might have been decided in seconds. Fortunately, the guards had disregarded the noise that they heard as that of debris falling from a damaged Allied bomber.

No.1 Platoon were quickly out of the glider and instinctively went about the tasks for which they had been training for months. Several men knocked out a machine-gun position whilst the majority of the platoon, led by Lt. Den Brotheridge, rushed over the bridge to capture the other side, firing from the hip and lobbing grenades as they charged. Once across to the western side of the bridge, Brotheridge dropped a grenade into another machine-gun position but was shot through the neck in the next instant. Mortally wounded, Lieutenant Den Brotheridge was the first British soldier to die as a result of enemy action on D-Day.

This is the foundation I'll use to create the scene.  Can you guess where I'll insert Thaddeus?

Likewise, here's the start of the Omaha landing scene:

Able Company was riding the tide in seven Higgins boats, but still 5,000 yards from the beach when first taken under artillery fire. The shells fell short. At one thousand yards, Boat #5 was hit dead on and floundered. Six men drowned before help arrived. Second Lieutenant ?  and twenty others paddled around until picked up by naval craft, thereby missing the fight at the shore line. It's their lucky day. The other six boats ride unscathed to within one hundred yards of the shore, where a shell slammed into Boat #3 and killed two men. Another dozen drowned, taking to the water as the boat sank.

Five boats remaining.

Lieutenant ? in Boat #2 cried out, "My God, we're coming in at the right spot, but look at it! No shingle, no wall, no shell holes, no cover. Nothing!"

His men were at the sides of the boat, straining for a view of the target. They stared, but said nothing. At exactly 6:36, ramps dropped along the boat line and the men jumped off into water anywhere from waist deep to higher than a man's head. This is the signal awaited by the Germans atop the bluff. Already pounded by mortars, the floundering line is instantly swept by crossing machine-gun fires from both ends of the beach.

Able Company had planned to wade ashore in three files from each boat, center file going first, then flank files peeling off to right and left. The first men out tried to do it, but were ripped apart before they can make five yards. Even the lightly wounded die by drowning, doomed by the water logging of their overloaded packs. From Boat #1, all hands jumped off into water over their heads. Most of them sank to their deaths. Ten or so survivors got around the boat and clutch at its sides in an attempt to stay afloat. The same thing happened to the section in Boat #4. Half of the men were lost to the fire or tide before anyone made it ashore. All order vanished, before it has fired a shot.

Already the sea ran red. Even among some of the lightly wounded who jumped into shallow water. the hits prove fatal. Knocked down by a bullet in the arm or weakened by fear and shock, they are unable to rise again and are drowned by the onrushing tide. Other wounded men drag themselves ashore and, on finding the sands, lie quiet from total exhaustion, only to be overtaken and killed by the water. A few moved safely through the bullet swarm to the beach, then found that they cannot hold there. They returned to the water to use it for body cover. Faces turned upward, so that their nostrils are out of water, they creep toward the land at the same rate as the tide. That is how most of the survivors made it. The less rugged or less clever seek the cover of enemy obstacles moored along the upper half of the beach and are knocked off by machine-gun fire.

This is still very rough, but gives you an idea of the scene.  I will continue to edit and then throw in my character.  Right now there are no names for either addition, because I haven't thought of them yet.  That will come from the earlier introductions and descriptions.

From here I develop the action and events leading up to these climactic historical events, but I will leave this portion now and focus on the…..BAD GUYS!

Tomorrow we'll work on Himmler and Adicus.  Oh, and don't forget Rachel Heller.  She's pretty important too.

The Writing Journey (Spoiler Alert)

Beginning with this introductory post, we are going to take a trip together.  I thought it might prove interesting for you to go along, as I write one of my novels.

Each day that I work at writing, I will share what was accomplished, how I went about incorporating the research with the prose, as well as the thought process.  It will give you a glimpse into Derek Hart's writing, as well as the actual building blocks.

I am currently working on 4 novels, switching between them depending on both mood and motivation.  However, the primary focus is on Secret of the Dragon's Teeth – Book 5 in the series.

This storyline is beginning to reach the climax of WWII,  as the reader will find themselves in the Spring and Summer of 1944.  Of course, the Normandy invasion is the focal point, the high-water mark.  I am faced with both the challenge of writing about the invasion from a military and historical viewpoint, but more importantly from the human experience.  Likewise, Thaddeus Osbert, the dragon who meddles throughout the series, wants to take a more active role in the outcome.  Add to this the three teenagers (Gavin, Emily and Bunty) who are also now firmly involved.  This quandary of plots and characters will be my greatest challenge, because it not only must make sense, but the decisions and action here leads to Book 6, where most of it comes together.

First, however, I have to solve two huge events that closed out Book 4.

1) Major Vickers was captured by the Germans.

2) Emily Scott was kidnapped by the German agent Vera Ericksen and delivered to Himmler.  Remember, the American bombers are on their way to obliterate Wewelsburg Castle.  Oh my.

I've had plenty of practice with this potential peril style and decided that the Book 5 sample chapter at the end of Book 4 would answer  only half of item #2, because it would both intrigue and  infuriate the reader.  (Always a good tool.)

So here is how Book 5 will begin: Bold print, so you'll be able to discern when the writing stops and starts.

There was an old stone house with apple trees in the yard, surrounded by a thick stone fence, which went clear around the house, separating the apple orchard from the road. Standing near a grassy bank in the hedgerow country, not far from the village of Bayeux, Major Traber Vickers awaited his execution in the cool dawn mist.

The members of the SS Exekutionskommando firing squad had heard the guttural orders to open fire.

"Schiessen!"

Darkness fell across them as their rifles fired simultaneously.

However, not one bullet hit the target.

In fact, every round simply disappeared in mid-flight.

Dumbfounded by this strange turn of events, the soldiers all looked at their rifles first, then at their commanding officer.  The SS officer could only manage a half-hearted shrug.

Major Vickers peered through half-open slits, just as surprised to be alive.

It was then that the mysterious shadow grew in proportion, blotting out the morning sunrise.  The SS soldiers felt an incredible chill sweep over them and they huddled together in uncertainty and fear.

In a blink of an eye, there appeared before them a gigantic monstrosity, a magnificently terrible creature with flaming-red scales.  The dragon was poised, claws extended, tail raised to strike, mouth open to display razor-sharp teeth.

Perhaps courageous, perhaps foolhardy, the SS officer shook of his initial shock and screamed for his men to open fire.  They hesitated for just a moment, before discipline took over.

Weapons lifted, it was the last thing those German soldiers ever did.

Thaddeus Osbert roared in defiance and with terrible fury unleashed, the dragon incinerated the firing squad with his fire-breath.  Enveloped in one power jet of liquid flame, the men were instantly turned into nothing more than ashes.  The intense heat also engulfed the truck used to transport Major Vickers to his execution site and it exploded, but the debris merely bounced off the dragon's scales.

Thaddeus spun around and with extended talon, sliced free the British officer.  "I do apologize for cutting things a bit short, Traber.  It's been a busy few days.  It was just last night that I found out you had been captured."

Vickers rubbed his sore wrists, but grinned.  "I think you have impeccable timing, Sir Osbert.  Thank you."

Thaddeus shook his head.  "No need to thank me, young man.  I am your friend and ally, so it's my duty to come to your aid."

"Just the same, I am very grateful," Vickers said.

Now the idea is to set in motion the rescue of Vickers, while the reader is wondering how the dragon is going to also rescue Emily.  I also want to build the suspense, by not really rushing.  In fact, chapter 2 will open with even more delay to the central story.  Not too much, but enough to make page turning the goal.

The bombing mission itself requires some set-up writing, so I researched the conditions necessary to abort a mission and also brought back my favorite bomber crew from Book 4.  That way the reader can't immediately identify with the crew, to spend more time focused on the mission itself.  Of course, Thaddeus must interfere, without revealing himself and without causing harm to the Allies.

This is how I built both the tension of the mission, mixed with Thaddeus the dragon:

It was the most frightening sight of all.

Thaddeus Osbert came down from the clouds above, racing on an intercept course with this very formation.  There wasn't a moment to spare.  The bombers were just moments away from unleashing their payload onto Wewelsburg.

"Hold on tight, Major," the dragon roared.  "This will require some fancy maneuvering and uncanny timing.

Poor Vickers' eyes were closed, he was ghastly pale, and reciting every Psalm he could remember.  Traber dare not even peek.

Aboard Dragon on My Tail, the crewmen braced themselves for another fearful and almost paralyzing confrontation with the possibility of death.  It was mathematically probable that their B-24 would explode from a direct hit or the one or more crewmen would be struck in the body by a jagged chunk of shrapnel from a near miss.

            Radio Operator Grant made his way out onto the catwalk of the bomb bay to pull the pins on the bomb fuses, which had kept them safe while being loaded and during the flight. With everyone at his position, Lennert steered towards the final bomb run, which would include the formation's evasive action at the beginning and then become a straight, unwavering course through every obstacle the enemy could throw at them. As the formation flew closer to the target, the flak barrage became more furious. The gray puffs of smoke originally seen from a distance, then became black explosions laced with fire. Tail Gunner Michael Benteen described the nearby flak bursts as black orchids of death. All of them were fatalistic about flak, knowing that if you saw the flak burst and didn't feel anything, that meant that you were alive and hadn't been wounded.

            While Pilot Bob Lennert and Co-pilot Mario Valerio were on the bomb run, they were kept occupied by the requirements of keeping just off the wing of the airplane next to them in the formation. There was an added requirement of a tight formation over the target so the bomb pattern would be concentrated, so the pilot made a special effort to fly tight.

            On the bomb run, all eyes were focused on the lead plane in the formation. The lead plane and the second lead to its right were the only planes in the formation in which the bombardier was manning the Norden bombsight to trigger the release of the bombs on the target. If for some reason the lead plane was not able to carry out the bomb run, the second lead would take over.

Thaddeus opened his cavernous mouth and let loose a blast of icy cold beneath the formation of B-24's, filling the atmosphere with an instantaneous bank of thick cloud cover.

Suddenly, without any warning whatsoever, the entire Wewelsburg valley was locked in with a tremendous storm front, which produced snow and bitterly cold winds.

"Jesus, I can't see a thing," Lennert called out.

"Where the hell did this come from?" Mario demanded.

The target vanished and with it the opportunity to bomb.

"Signal from squadron leader," Bernie grant spoke of the intercom.  "Mission abort, repeat, mission abort."

"Let's get the hell out of here," Mario exclaimed.

It's important for me, as the author, to blend historical fact with fantasy, so when I research a bombing mission, for instance, it must be real.  However, I don't want to bore the reader wither, so I edit viciously all the details, while leaving intact the action, emotion, and and other senses I can incorporate, such as smell and sound.

Tomorrow we'll talk about the Normandy landings and creating a new character caught in the middle.

Distractions

I apologize for being away so long.  Lots of distractions, interruptions and frustrations.

Anyway, besides being attacked by a swarm of yellow jackets and stung multiple times, I've been a bit too busy for comfort.  That's because a lot of what I've been doing hasn't been very productive.

Still, doesn't do any good to complain, so I keep plugging away.

1) Hollywood completely baffles me.  I read my online copy of Variety every day and the studios keep funding remakes, retools of Boomer TV shows, and inane projects that just make me shake my head.  Little wonder the ticket sales (except for a very few exceptions) suck.  People are sick of the same old thing and during these tough economic times, they're not going to part with their hard-earned money on crap.  Yet I sit here with over 20 stories which would make new and entertaining movies, but can't get anybody to pay me the time of day.  And believe me, I've tried!

2) Speaking of the economy, I get to shake my head again.  Congress is the biggest joke of my lifetime and I've seen some pretty unbelievable things.  Politics aside, what a bunch of losers.  This isn't just an issue of cutting spending, reducing the deficit, or reigning in spending.  All of this bullshit comes from a bunch of overpaid morons who emit waste products every time they open their mouths.  The disparity between the rich and poor aside ( an I'm not making light of the situation), I have ZERO respect for Congress, regardless of party and wonder how much worse it will get.

3) However, I do get a thrill every Monday evening, Friday evening and Saturday, while watching my son compete with his epee in fencing.  He's really quite skilled and while having a ton of fun, Ian is improving dramatically.  He won a gold medal over the summer and always makes it into the Direct Elimination rounds, but it's more than the competition, because he has made a score of new friends and he REALLY loves the sport.  So cool.

4) Finally, there's the writing gig I do every day.  With everything else going on, it's sometimes very difficult to stay focused on my true calling.  While I admit I write a pretty solid novel and they too are improving with each project completed, so far the books aren't paying the bills.  The stress of not contributing to the bottom line really gets to me at times.  Sure, I look for employment, but there's this little voice that keeps telling me to go back to the keyboard.  I battle this every single day.

One last item.  I have created a pretty impressive Internet footprint for Thaddeus Osbert and Derek Hart.  The following does seem to being growing rapidly and I have seen an increase in book sales and overall feedback.  Nothing viral yet, but I keep striving to spark it.  I want my fans to participate more, to help this train along, but hey, they've got their distractions, interruptions, and frustrations too!

When I’m Writing

There are two senses I try to enhance when I’m writing.

First, I like to listen to music.  This usually involves a selection from my extensive collection of movie soundtracks.  They’re great for setting mood, while shutting out the distractions.  I have a tendency to listen to action and adventure scores, since that’s the genre I’m writing.  I have my favorites, of course, so if you’re interested, you should check out some of the titles I’ll list later in this article.

My favorite composers are:

1. Jerry Goldsmith – my favorite, without a doubt.  Too many to list.

2. Hans Zimmer – a close second and coming on strong.  Transformers!

3. Ron Goodwin – Where Eagles Dare is my favorite soundtrack.

4. Elmer Bernstein – The Comancheros  & Heavy Metal score are awesome.

5. Alan Silvestri – Van Helsing & The Mummy Returns

6. Roy Budd – Wild Geese & Fear is the Key

7. John Barry – James Bond & Zulu

8. Basil Poledouris – Red Dawn & Hunt for Red October

However, since I have over 200 movie soundtracks to chose from, I really focus on the project and my mood, before selecting.  There always seems to be the perfect combination to help me along.

Likewise, there are movies I watch to help with specific book plots as well.  For instance, when I was writing Secret of the Dragon’s Scales – Book 4, I watched the following films.  When you read the book, you’ll understand the process.

Reign of Fire and Dragonheart – dragons, of course.

Operation Crossbow – The war against Hitler’s V-1 & V-2 rockets.

The Counterfeiters – Himmler’s elaborate plan to forge millions of English pounds.

Into the Storm – Fantastic movie about Churchill’s war years.

The Last Legion – A Roman spin on the King Arthur legend.

The Battle of Britain – Mood and setting, great music.

Sometimes the DVD sits in the computer drive for weeks at a time and I may replay a specific scene over and over.  I don’t always know what I’m looking for, but again, with over 400 movies on DVD, I usually can find what I’m thinking about.  This process is repeated for every novel I’ve written and it also prevents me from suffering from writer’s block, because I just overwhelm any resistance with music or acting and special effects.

So, while I’m pounding the keyboard and staring at the monitor, I’m usually surrounded with music and visual enticements.  There’s only one drawback.  Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the movie or soundtrack, I stop writing.  Oh well, time for popcorn.

When I'm Writing

There are two senses I try to enhance when I'm writing.

First, I like to listen to music.  This usually involves a selection from my extensive collection of movie soundtracks.  They're great for setting mood, while shutting out the distractions.  I have a tendency to listen to action and adventure scores, since that's the genre I'm writing.  I have my favorites, of course, so if you're interested, you should check out some of the titles I'll list later in this article.

My favorite composers are:

1. Jerry Goldsmith – my favorite, without a doubt.  Too many to list.

2. Hans Zimmer – a close second and coming on strong.  Transformers!

3. Ron Goodwin – Where Eagles Dare is my favorite soundtrack.

4. Elmer Bernstein – The Comancheros  & Heavy Metal score are awesome.

5. Alan Silvestri – Van Helsing & The Mummy Returns

6. Roy Budd – Wild Geese & Fear is the Key

7. John Barry – James Bond & Zulu

8. Basil Poledouris – Red Dawn & Hunt for Red October

However, since I have over 200 movie soundtracks to chose from, I really focus on the project and my mood, before selecting.  There always seems to be the perfect combination to help me along.

Likewise, there are movies I watch to help with specific book plots as well.  For instance, when I was writing Secret of the Dragon's Scales – Book 4, I watched the following films.  When you read the book, you'll understand the process.

Reign of Fire and Dragonheart – dragons, of course.

Operation Crossbow – The war against Hitler's V-1 & V-2 rockets.

The Counterfeiters – Himmler's elaborate plan to forge millions of English pounds.

Into the Storm – Fantastic movie about Churchill's war years.

The Last Legion – A Roman spin on the King Arthur legend.

The Battle of Britain – Mood and setting, great music.

Sometimes the DVD sits in the computer drive for weeks at a time and I may replay a specific scene over and over.  I don't always know what I'm looking for, but again, with over 400 movies on DVD, I usually can find what I'm thinking about.  This process is repeated for every novel I've written and it also prevents me from suffering from writer's block, because I just overwhelm any resistance with music or acting and special effects.

So, while I'm pounding the keyboard and staring at the monitor, I'm usually surrounded with music and visual enticements.  There's only one drawback.  Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the movie or soundtrack, I stop writing.  Oh well, time for popcorn.

Empire Avenue

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Okay, this site is really cool.  I built a profile for Derek Hart that people can invest in, not for actual dollars, but for social networking capital.  The premise is really quite simple and loads of fun.  First, you create your profile and connect with all the other sites you might use for social networking (such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Facebook Fan Page, YouTube, Flickr, etc.)  It takes time to make all the connections and create a solid profile, but when people start investing in you, it's very satisfying.  I've only been at this for 2 days, but the response has been fantastic and if you're interested in helping DHE out, please invest.

Looking for Friends

To be perfectly honest, I sometimes really hate Facebook.  It takes too much time away from my primary focus – writing.  It's time-consuming and addictive.  Then add Twitter and YouTube and LinkedIn and several other social networking sites, and sometime I feel like I've been sucked into an electronic Internet black hole.

However, I really must admit that there are times when Facebook is an absolute joy.  I think this stems from either making new friends or finding old friends.

1) New Friends.  Indeed, through Thaddeus Osbert, I have discovered a bunch of really great people, who are interesting and add value to the online experience.  They don't rant and rave, or spout political rhetoric, or complain.  Instead, they share and support and give.  This makes the experience enjoyable.

2) Old Friends.  At first, many of my friends were already on Facebook and connecting with them didn't take much effort.  Keeping up with them, however, is a daily process and once you have over 2,000 friends, they can get lost through the cracks.  No matter what you may have been told, Facebook isn't easy and requires lots of time to keep track of everyone important.  I make mistakes all the time and it can be very frustrating.  Still, I do my best to stay in touch and support my friends through this window.

Finally, there's that moment when you discover a new old friend!  This just happened to me a few days ago.  I used the Facebook search function and found Michael Bodeen, a very dear and important friend when I was in high school, some 38 years ago.  What was more thrilling than finding Michael, was that he replied favorably to my email and we connected.  Now it's not like we're going to catch up on all those years overnight, but for me, it was a thrilling rediscovery of fond memories.  This is truly what Facebook does that is marvelous.  You have the opportunity, whether you pursue it or not, to reconnect, reacquaint yourse;f. and even repair some of those bridges burned long ago.  Believe me, it's worth the risk.

Now there are no promises that you'll find everyone.  In fact, I have quite a long list of people I'd like to find, but I'm enjoying the detective work and the positive responses far outweigh the negative.  I highly recommend at least trying.

So, here's to Michael Bodeen and all my other friends, old and new, on Facebook and Twitter and all the other social sites.  It's nice to know you and I only wish we could meet in person.  Until then, the electronic version will have to do.

Fencing

Yesterday was a delightful day.  My son Ian won his first gold medal, after competing in an open epee competition for unrated fencers.  He has only been fencing since September 2010, on the high school level, but we just recently started participating in USFA (US Fencing Association) tournaments in May of this year.  In fact this was only his 3rd tournament.

Sure, I'm a very proud father.  However, what I really feel good about was how gracious my son was in victory.  He remained modest, went out of his way to congratulate all the other fencers he faced, and while he was elated, Ian kept his celebration very low-key.  He was a gentleman and since I'm old-school, I felt proudest of his behavior.

There's a gigantic Georgia peach trophy sitting on our table-top display now.  It takes up a lot of room, but is a unique and eye-catching addition.  Ian can't wait to return to practice tonight.  He is dedicated to the sport, but it's so obvious that he enjoys every minute and while competitive, he had made a ton of friends from other schools, older and younger, and the coaches speak very highly of him.  I go to every practice, but remain quiet and just observe.  I fenced for a few years in high school, but never caught the fire that Ian has now.

Back to the actual tournament for a moment.  It was my first experience with not being able to sit still.  I paced during every bout, which is very unusual for me.  Still, it was so much fun watching all those young fencers.  It's an expensive sport, but I feel that every dollar invested has paid off incredible dividends.  Not only is it entertaining, but my son has grown into a man, the right kind of man.  I am thrilled and proud.  I love watching Ian learn from every bout and how well he listens to his coach's advice.

En Garde!