Tag Archives: fantasy

Monday Morning Ramblings

April 9, 2012 D.A. Adams 3 Comments

I had a pretty cool experience last night while talking to Collin. On average, I talk to the boys 4-5 nights a week for about an hour each night. Usually, Collin wants to play games that we make up, and most of those games are based on whatever video game he’s into. Sometimes, he wants to talk to me “like adults,” meaning he wants to tell me all about his job, wife, and kids. Currently, he’s an illustrator, an explorer, an inventor, and a construction worker; he’s also been married for twenty years and has two or three kids, depending on the day. Finn sometimes wants to talk, but mostly, he just enjoys having me sing to him.

Recently, Collin has begun reading to me from a book he got about the most dangerous animals in the world. He gets very serious and has already developed a reading voice that sounds like a museum tour guide. He needs a little help on a few words, but for the most part, he’s becoming a pretty good reader. I probably don’t need to mention how proud that makes me. For the last four years, I’ve worried about him watching too much TV and playing too many video games, but now that he’s discovered reading for fun, he seems to be taking to it much like I did at that age.

Last night, Finn had already fallen asleep, so Collin and I started out playing a couple of games. Then, he asked if he could read to me from a new book he had just gotten, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. If you know anything about me, you probably know that’s the book that got me into fantasy and writing, so it’s pretty special to me to begin with. He had gotten to page 47 on his own and read aloud to me up to page 63. For nearly a full hour, I just sat and listened to him, helping him with a few words but mostly just listening to my oldest son read to me one of my favorite books. It was one of those ineffable moments parents get to share with their children that make all the difficulties worth it. All I can say is that I’ll hold onto that memory for as long as I can.

General Posts

Sunday Afternoon Ramblings

March 25, 2012 D.A. Adams 2 Comments

It’s been an exciting couple of months on the writing front. Ever since the relaunch of the series by Seventh Star Press, there has been a palpable upswing of momentum, and for the first time in a long time, I feel as if all of the hard work has been worth it. From two strong convention showings to some solid reviews, the series finally seems to be garnering a little respect. I’ve always believed in the quality of the work, but there’s no substitute for hearing positive feedback from others, especially people who read vast quantities of books. As if all of that weren’t enough, this blog has seen a huge increase in readership and interaction. I’ve grateful to all of you who stop by to read my Ramblings.

Here are links to two recent interviews, one with Daniel Cann and the other with Sean Taylor:

http://www.danielcann.com/index.php/blog/q-and-a-with-d.-a.-adams#.T29SsGE7X4u

http://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2012/03/d-adams-and-lot-more-than-seven-dwarves.html

And here are links to reviews of the first three books by Daniel Cann:

http://www.danielcann.com/index.php/books/the-brotherhood-of-dwarves#.T29TG2E7X4s

http://www.danielcann.com/index.php/books/red-sky-at-dawn#.T29TE2E7X4s

http://www.danielcann.com/index.php/books/the-fall-of-dorkhun#.T29Su2E7X4u

Thank you to everyone for all of the support and encouragement. Whether you’ve been with me for years or just a couple of weeks, I appreciate your time, feedback, interaction, and friendship. Without you, I couldn’t continue to share my writings, and I’m grateful for all that you give to me.

General Posts

Thursday Morning Ramblings

March 22, 2012 D.A. Adams 4 Comments

After my illness last fall, I had nearly lost hope of ever launching the farm. With my left hand nearly useless and my balance all but gone, I knew that I couldn’t do the physical labor necessary to get it off the ground. Not knowing if I would ever feel normal again or if I would continue deteriorating compounded the problem because I didn’t want to pour a bunch of time and money into a project that I physically might not be able to sustain. Those feelings only added to my sense of helplessness and despair as I contemplated my future. At that point, I had no answers as to what was wrong with me; all I knew was that I felt terrible and seemed to be losing control of my body.

Today, I feel much better. Removing gluten from my diet has all but eliminated the vast majority of my symptoms. I still have some trembling and twitching in my left hand, and my balance is still a little suspect, but overall, I can do virtually everything I could before the onset of the illness. When I read the journal entries I wrote back in October and November, I’m astonished by how much healthier I feel today. Then, I wouldn’t have given you a nickel for my future because I was deteriorating so rapidly. Today, I honestly feel as if I could live a healthy, productive life for another 40-50 years. It’s an amazing turnaround.

So with that in mind, my attention again returns to the farm. I still believe in its potential to provide a long-term, sustainable method of not only providing food and revenue for my family but also for providing a blueprint for others in this region. Because of the efficiency of energy use and inherent purity of the produce, long-term hydroponic farming has many distinct economic advantages over traditional farming. Instead of being dependent upon the conditions of nature for sustenance, the plants receive consistent levels of full-spectrum light, water, and nutrients, therefore allowing for multiple crop cycles in a given year. Instead of losing 90% of their water to soil absorption, their roots are immersed in water and thus require much less total resources. Because of the use of liquid based nutritional supplements for each stage of growth, there’s no need for harsh fertilizers, and because of the indoor growth, there’s no need for dangerous pesticides and herbicides.

So again, I’m turning my attention and energy towards the farm. The wonderful thing I found the last couple of years, before the illness, is that working on the farm actually boosts my creative energy and allows me to write more than teaching does. After a full day of lecturing and grading, my brain is spent. After a day of hard labor, my mind is fresh and teeming with ideas, so long-term, if I can get the farm off the ground and operational, I believe it will improve my productivity as a writer. It’s a good feeling to once again have hope for a brighter, healthier future, and I plan on taking full advantage of my rebounding health to create not only entertaining books but also a viable, sustainable farm.