Interviewed

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to one and all. May your day be filled with merriment and good company.
I’ve been interviewed by the witty, talented and downright charming Brynn Paulin. Please swing by and check it out if you get a chance. Be sure to leave a comment. :D

Thanks for the support!

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Play Hard Die Free

The sweet sensation of water cascading down the back of a man oppressed gives off the fragrance of freedom. For that one glorious moment he forgets where he is as the rain pounds out a steady rhythm that beats his mind into a trance. He is free to ponder the plights of his life. The rolling thunder instills the feeling that the rain will eventually wash away the sins of the world, making it a new place, a safe place, a place of opportunity. Freedom is a fragile thing. Never do anything that will allow someone take it away from you.

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Hello Again

Hey, there you are. I was beginning to think you had pulled a major Houdini, then I remembered that it was in point of fact me who waved my wand and disappeared. I’ve been on grand adventures, attended some awesome concerts, survived soul crushing events, and basically rode the many highs and lows on this little rollercoaster we call life.

Before I go much further, I would like to point out that I haven’t completely isolated myself from the online community, I just haven’t had the time to sit down and right a full-fledged blog. I’ve been caught up a bit in the whole Face Book epidemic and I do post occasional updates There.

It’s not that I’ve grown bored with blogging. On the contrary, I miss it greatly. It’s just that I’ve been working in excess of 80 hours per week for far too long and I just don’t have the time to devote to it yet. Fear not, though, loyal reader. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The project that is eating up so much of my time, should be letting up by the middle of May.

I will try to post at least once a month and hope for at least once a week until then.

Here’s a brief rundown of how February went:
Snow, lots and lots of effing white stuff causi
ng me grief with my weekly travels. I’ve had to get rental cars and drive from airports on several occasions, because they cancelled my flights. One of these trips caused me to boycott Avis, because they gouged me for nearly a thousand dollars to rent a car to get home and made me drive it all the way back to the airport I rented it from or it would be reported stolen. Nice folks, huh? I called and complained and they explained that all of the extra charges were justified. I just told them I was sorry to hear that. I didn’t mention that I was the owner of my company and not only will I not be using them anymore. No one who works for me will be using them either…

You wanna hear the real kicker here? I had finally made it to DFW after several delays out of Baton Rouge. I was put on standby because I missed my connecting flight due to the delay in BR, but as luck would have it, they loaded me on a plane about three hours after I landed. They closed the door and we waited and waited and I said, “They’re about to tell us this flight’s cancelled too.”

There was a soldier sitting behind me that said I had to be wrong. He was taking 15 days of leave from a tour in Iraq and really wanted to get to Tulsa. Sure enough, they pulled us back off the plane and I told him, we’d rent a 4 wheel drive and I’d give him a lift home. We made as far as a point between Denison and Sherman, when hit some fairly major ice on the roads.

Apparently Texans, have never seen the slick stuff before, because they were still driving 90 to nothing. As a bridge crept into sight, a semi lost control and sent cars careening everywhere. There was a cement divider running down the middle of the highway and several of them crunched into it. We narrowly avoided several vehicles spinning out of control, made it to the shoulder, jumped out and rendered aid to the injured until police and EMTs could arrive. We eventually made it home safe and sound, but when I returned the rental, I was reminded that no good deed goes unpunished, and if you do two of them, well prepare to be punished thoroughly. I was charged nearly double what the estimate said it would be (which was outrageous to begin with, but I didn’t really see any other choice, because the airline said they couldn’t get me home until Saturday night and I had to fly back out again on Sunday).

But enough about that…
My wife flew out to Baton Rouge (she was delayed nearly thirty hours before she actually arrived because of the snow) and we attended our first ever Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It was… an experience. Good times, crazy times, probably the only time, but I’m glad we went.

Soul crushing events? I’m not even going to give them any more of my sanity by committing them to paper.

I had another flight cancelled, this time due to rain and I had to drive from Dallas to Baton Rouge. That was a fun day. I set the cruise at 90, cranked up the radio and just let my mind wander for about seven hours.

But, I still get to come home every weekend and I even get to fly out on Thursday nights instead of Friday, so that helps. We are still playing lots of Guitar Hero 5 (my wife loves to play them drums) and trying to push as much fun into our time together as possible.

I’ve also managed to see a few great bands last month. Some memorable ones were Suckerpunch, Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin and a rather uncanny Elvis impersonator.

So, what have you been up to?

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Time Keeps Slipping

Well, we are nearing the end of January and I am still balancing a rather grueling schedule down in lovely Baton Rouge. I had hoped to be wrapping up loose ends by now, but I’ve been asked to extend my current contract until the middle of April and I am trying to figure out a way to accommodate. I’ve been juggling my projects to the point, it looks like I can commit until the end of March. After that… well, hopefully we will have corrected enough of the problems that I can sneak away quietly and not worry about them being able to bring the plant to completion.

Other than that, I’m still getting to come home every weekend, but they seem to be getting shorter and shorter. I miss being home during the week. I miss getting a kiss to send me off to work and a kiss to send me off to sleep. I miss helping my son with his homework (other than on the phone). The list goes on and on, but the thing I miss the most? Companionship. There is something utterly depressing about going back to a hotel room at night, working on various projects until I start nodding off and then going to bed alone. This project was a real boon for my company and the proceeds will do wonders for putting other phases into motion ahead of schedule, but it is definitely take a toll on me.

On the plus side, between my working multiple projects at once and the scheduling problems we’ve run into with my wife’s job, we found ourselves in a position where my wife was able to go back to her employer and have her schedule adjusted. They negotiated a deal to where she no longer works nights, weekends nor holidays. She also can work as little as 24 hours in a given week depending on her workload.

On the writing side, I have high hopes of finishing up the sequel to The Dance by the end of summer and have it ready for release in the fall. I’ve woefully neglected my book promotions over the last year and have high hopes of doing more to try to find readers for them this year.

Well, that pretty much sums up the last month.

So, what have you been up to while I was away?

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The Life of a Writer

A Writer's Journey
I answer the call
From my inner voice.
When the muse tickles my ear,
I have no choice,
But to put pen to paper, fingers to keys.


And so, the journey begins
With eyes so bright.
Innocence abounds
As my imagination takes flight.


The masterpiece takes shape
And my mind reaches for the stars.
I envision interviews with Leno
And my prose read in bars.


The book is complete.
I hold it up with trembling hands.
The only thing left
Is for it to find its way to the fans.


I drop queries in the mail
And hope for the best.
My patience and resolve,
Will soon be put to the test.


Still the fantasy remains.
I will be the next big thing.
My fame will surpass
Anne Rice or even Stephen King.


Days, weeks, and months go by
Without so much as a word.
At last, I receive a letter
Address, written in my hand.
It is addressed to dear author
And they're not buying.


Well, what do they know?
Perhaps an agent is what I need.
I answer an ad in a magazine.
They like my work and for a small fee,
I will be published in no time,
Just you wait and see.


They had the speed,
I will give them that.
I had a dozen rejections,
In no time flat.


Don't let it get you down kid,
You've written a best seller.
We just have to find it a home,
Get it in front of the right feller.


Just send me more money
And we will be on our way.
I have a question or two
Before we proceed.
I've read through your list of publishers,
And I have to say,
You, sir, are a hack, a swindler, and a cheat.
If I had more than P.O. Box
With which to find you,
Your ass, I would beat.


My innocence has been replaced
With apprehension.
My sleep is still filled,
With the first timers dreams.
My words will be read
And hearts will be moved,
Emotions will be stirred.
With a single book,
I could change the world.
Someone, somewhere will read my words
And will be inspired to do great things.


I dream of a series of books,
crossing all genres.
I dream of books on CD
And book signings,
With throngs of people waiting
For a signature or at least a glimpse.
I dream of an adoring public
That falls so hard for my characters,
They become a household name.


All of this and more I dream.
No matter what happens,
I will always have my dreams.
My dreams are not goals,
They are fantasies and as such,
They will never be crushed.


I am a slave to the muse,
A whore for her voice.
I am a man that hears voices.
I argue with myself
And put it on paper.
I am a visionary,
A dreamer,
A fiend for the written word.


I am a writer.

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Available now from Resplendence Publishing

It’s also available at Amazon.com You can reach it by clicking HERE

Here is a blurb:

Carl and Jessica fell for each other during their final year of high school. Unfortunately, they come from different worlds. The people of their small Oklahoma town were taught from an early age that they should steer clear of the kids from the Cherokee reservation, and the animosity flows both ways. Carl's mother is heartbroken to learn that her only son has strayed from his people by falling in love with a white girl, while Jessica's family sees any relationship with a 'Rez Kid' as the ultimate betrayal—and they want Carl to pay for their daughter's mistake.

What happens next will awaken an ancient power thought long gone from the world of man. The pounding of the drums may mark their coming, but it's the screams that will let you know the Nunne'hi have arrived...

Here is a blurb:


Johnny Walker is a FBI agent in need of answers. His sister was murdered a year ago and the police still don’t have a suspect.


Mary Marshall founded a watchdog group to rid the world of online predators after her sister fell victim to a charismatic stranger she met on the popular website, HiyaSpace.

The similarities of their losses bring the two together and hurl them down a path wrought with peril, betrayal and unimaginable suffering at the hands of a madman whose unspeakable deeds threaten to destroy them all.


Will they be able to put an end to his reign of terror? Or will they be forever lost in a maniac’s world of Pixels and Pain?

Look for The Writing on the Wall from Wild Child Publishing.

A chance encounter in a bar plunges Dennis O’Brien into an adventure wrought with death, love, and the fragility of the human mind. When Dennis realizes he’s had a brush with a killer, things take a turn for the worse. Not only is he unable to stop the madman, but he finds himself the chief suspect in the murder investigation. Following a trail of bodies and revolting clues, Dennis uncovers the true motive behind the slayings. Yes, killers kill, but nothing is more shocking than the reason why. He should have seen it coming, shouldn’t have become involved. After all, the writing was on the wall…

Have you read The Dance yet? Are you holding out for the print version? I realize that there are still a lot of people who just can’t bring themselves to read an e-book.

Well, if this is the category you fall in, I have some fantastic news. The Dance is now available in print!

Click on HERE to order a copy directly from the publisher.

It’s also available at Amazon.com You can reach it by clicking HERE

Nearly a decade ago, Detective Tom Wiley worked a case that continues to haunt him to this day. But while the nature of The Puppeteer’s horrific crimes will always remain in Tom’s memory, it’s the guilt of not catching the serial killer before he vanished that still weighs heavily on his heart.

Eight years have passed since the last victim fell under the blade of that maniac during his vicious killing spree. The time of peace and quiet has come to an abrupt and gruesome end.

The Puppeteer is back.

James Goodman was born in Dover, Delaware in 1971, but has traveled extensively. Some of his travels around the world have been in service to his country. Others have been in service to his family, but most have been in service to his heart.

He graduated from Peach County, Georgia before joining the Army during Operation Desert Shield. He served with honor, pride and a whole lot of spent shell casings during his three-year hitch. He attended college at Oklahoma State University and eventually received a BS in EET.

He resides just north of Tulsa, Oklahoma with his with his loving wife and their rambunctious son. They are an active family and when they can pull James away from the keyboard or out of a book, they spend their free time wakeboarding, hiking, practicing mixed martial arts, riding motorcycles and taking road trips.

To find out more, visit his website http://www.goodysworld.com/ or contact him directly at jgoodman@goodysworld.com. He would love to hear from you.