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2/22/2015 0 Comments Fatherhood Malia completing her paperwork to be a Junior Ranger Well, here we go. I am on the verge of yet another release. My short story, "Eyes of Payne", will be coming out sometime in March. We don't have an exact date yet, but we're working on it. The story will be a prequel to Lazarus Rising although it can stand alone as well. I have wrote a sort of memorial to 9/11 in fictional form. Also, it will only be available in digital format on Amazon. I plan to take advantage of what Amazon has to offer with their KDP program. It will sell for a $1.99... but for all you out there who read my blog - just wait! I will be giving it away for free as well. It's a big deal to climb the charts even on free days since it gets your work noticed. So please, take advantage of the price. I will have a certain day I will ask all of you to get your free copy. And yes, if you have access to the internet you can read it! It just takes downloading the Kindle App, which, by the way, is also FREE! Click Here to get it so you don't forget. I have been thinking about fatherhood lately and how important it is. It seems somewhere in the 60s or 70s our country started to veer off the path. Slowly fathers on television became Homer Simpson. Father's are portrayed as buffoons and in many cases as not needed. I read one article, The Fatherless Generation, that listed a ton of statistics showing the damage being caused by not having a father and the importance of having one. One stat claimed that about 40% of children who grow up in a fatherless home haven't seen their dad in over a year! I think of my own father and how he told me I wasn't nearly as important as the mother in my own case. I often wonder where he got these ideas from. There was a time I thought he was absolutely right. That I really didn't have enough of an impact to make a difference in my daughter's life. I am grateful to those who showed me a different path. In our nation one stat claims that 43% of children born in 2007 were born into a single parent home. When you look at certain minority groups the number is off the charts. Some will claim a racist element or how the "man" is keeping the rest of us down, but I am sick and tired of spending my time defending the greatest country in the world. Instead of playing the game of standing around complaining about what happened 50 years ago, or 100 years ago, or longer, I say we begin by doing what we can to solve the problem of millions of children growing up without a father. Lets start there and stop subscribing to the debating society. The number one cause of poverty is a single parent home. Period. So the question is how do we start to change it. Well, I started with me and decided to be a part of my daughter's life regardless of other circumstances. Next, it's time we start speaking out and telling it like it is. It is time to stop worrying about people's feelings. That kind of thinking is killing us as a nation. If someone is not taking care of their responsibility as a parent someone needs to tell them. I guess we can be nice about it... the first time. We idolize men like Adrian Peterson who didn't even know one of his children that died. And he has kids running all over the place. In his case money isn't the problem, so what is? Access to contraception? I don't think so. So where do we go from here? How about we just start talking about it with friends, family, and co-workers. I bet if this became the mission of every community many of our other issues would begin to be solved. Send me your thoughts... ideas... I truly think the time is now. God Bless...
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 It's Super Bowl Sunday! One of my favorite days of the year. It's more than just football... it's the day of the Austrian Open Championship... it's the day we actually want to watch commercials... it's the day we are dazzled by the halftime show (except the Black Eyed Peas a few years ago)... This just in - Djokovic wins the Australian Open in four sets. And yet, there is some bad news... once the game is over tonight I go into sport withdraw. It will be two weeks until catchers and pitchers report to Spring Training and TWO MONTHS before the baseball season starts. Since I happen to be a Cubs fan there is no better time of the year than April when we have not yet been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs - that usually happens sometime in May! But there is a silver lining; I plan on using my Sunday's that I would usually spend watching football getting some writing done to get a "head start" on this summer's new project. Speaking of the writing front, I did finish my short story, "Eyes of Payne," which will be available in March. Yesterday I sent off my new author bio and back cover copy of the story. It will be available exclusively on Amazon and only in digital form. But, stay tuned, I will be literally giving it away shortly after release. And remember... ALL of you can get the kindle app (Click Here for Mac/Click Here for Android). There will be more to report on the release soon. A cover is being made, and revisions are being considered. The best advice I can give aspiring writers is keep writing. It's a whole new world out there for authors. Yes, with self publishing not having the stigma it once had it is easier to get your writing out there, but that also means the market is saturated with tons of choices for the reader. How do you get noticed? I'm still trying to figure that out and will let you know what worked for me if and when something works! What I do know is the more opportunities a reader has to discover your work the better. My hope is to sell some shorter pieces so readers will give me a shot. I plan to release a couple of short stories ("Eyes of Payne" in March and a horror story I am working on to be released in the summer) to reach a larger audience. I find that I am more than willing to give a newbie ten or twenty thousand words, but not as willing on larger stories until they I know more about the writer's style. I just don't have the time which is true for most of us. So my plan is to give reader's variety in hopes of giving my writing more exposure. Now, I don't want those of you who feel the need to hold the book in your hand to worry; my plan also includes a release by the end of the year of yet another novel... I will keep you posted as the story better develops. All that being said I'm planning on spending the rest of the day on my couch filling my head with useless analyzing about a three hour game that hopefully will have footballs inflate properly. I mean, with the world on fire, ISIS on the move, Yemen falling apart, people's healthcare going up, the scary proposition that Romney might still run, the possible rise of the South, and the latest discovery that the Taliban is not a terrorist organization, what's really important is the possibility that a team might have deflated a few footballs to give their quarterback an advantage. I equate this act with stealing signs in baseball. I'm still wondering why ALL the footballs weren't deflated. That being said, even after suffering through the tuck rule, I will be rooting for New England today. I hope all of you enjoy the big game today, or at least the commercials! God Bless! |
AuthorAnthony D. Flores loves to spend his summers writing fiction. His strong Christian faith and love for this great country find its way into his fiction. His work is also available on Amazon by Clicking Here. Archives
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