Souls of Poets dead and gone,

  What Elysium have ye known,

  Happy field or mossy cavern,

  Choicer than the Mermaid Tavern?

--From "Lines on the Mermaid Tavern" - Keats

Elysium, paradise, heaven, shangri-la - Well, I'm installed at Xanadu with my writing room overlooking green fields and a range of hills in the distance. The caves of ice below hold my workout room and random miscellany. Unfortunately, we still lack a damsel on a dulcimer.

My current project remains a Napoleonic short story infused with the magic of Egypt. Although I did a bunch of research, including re-reading a book on the chosen battle, I've found that my story takes place near the noteworthy battle, to remain historically unknown but just as exciting and crucial to history. Thus, most of what I researched won't be featured in the story--but we'll see.

If you haven't latched on to a copy of Accidental Pirates, now's your chance:

I didn't listen to "I Can't Drive 55" but the song did come up in a conversation. Unfortunately, the lads with whom I spoke didn't get the reference. Those individuals are about the age of my oldest child. They weren't even born when Sammy Hagar voiced that anthem of oppressed drivers when the land suffered under the curse of the double-nickel highway sentinels. Those guys with whom I conversed have no knowledge of that dark time--although they might get a taste of it if they travel to Oregon.

With my wife back in town, we've started watching the Young Sherlock series on Not-the-Nile. It has its moments, but still isn't as good as the old series with Jeremy Brett. Nevertheless, it's a nice change of pace and new look at Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous sleuth. We're five or six episodes in. I've done a decent job of predicting most things, but I won't ruin it for those of you who may yet watch it. So far, I give it 4 deerstalkers our of 5.

Get Luna Fox's The Void, a prequel to The Stone Legacy

For connections that defy death, check out The Shardborn by Laurie Bowler.

Richard Davis' The Circle features a Bond-like hero with a blade instead of a Beretta.

These dystopian books are calling to you now.

Glom onto these free sci-fi and fantasy stories while you can.