A tiny new grandson and a tiny self-defense tip!

Dec 19, 2025 10:21 pm

Hi friends,

I’ve been a little busy the last two days because I’ve been camped out at the hospital for a very exciting addition to the family. We welcomed our fourth grandchild, and my son’s first child, into the world.

Everyone is doing well, and I’m running on that strange mix of exhaustion and joy that only hospitals and newborns can produce.

It's an amazing time seeing my son, who I held as a baby, hold his own son for the first time. And his wife's strength was incredible. Seeing their joy was a beautiful moment that I'll always treasure. I’m home now, and quickly writing this email before heading back to help out.

I was also very grateful to finish editing Triumphant Dawn a few days ago, so I had my biggest December task done before the little 'peanut' arrived. And he is tiny with the most adorable pouty lip that he pushes out everytime he stops crying. <3

The new book comes out in May '26, but you can reserve the pre-order right now. Didn't the cover turn out awesome?

It's been a wonderful four years writing the 1.25 million words in the Shieldwall Academy series! Thank you to everyone for your feedback and suport!

And in my usual fashion, if you scroll down, I’ve got a simple self defense tip that takes about ten seconds to use and works more often than you’d expect.

But first, click on a few of the great books and deals here:

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Self-Defense Tip #39: Stomp and Break Free!

If someone gets close and grabs you, your chance to escape is gone. You have no space for a punch.

Disrupting the attacker with sudden pain so you can break free is now your real goal.

And an easy way to do that? One everyone already knows how to do is: a stomp.

A hard downward stomp to the instep does three things at once:

It causes immediate pain.
It makes breaking free easier.
It hinders the attacker chasing after you.

Here’s how to use it.

Lift your foot just enough to clear theirs. No big motion.
Drive your heel straight down onto the top of their foot.
Don’t stop to see if it “worked.” Use the moment to move, hit again, break free and get away.

Why this works:

The instep is fragile and hard to protect.
Pain forces a reflex to protect themselves and let go of you.
This isn’t about winning a fight. It’s about creating a half second of advantage and using it immediately.
Small move. Big payoff.

And now I'm off to the hospital to hopefully help the new parents get a bit of sleep.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season with many friends and family to share it with!!