The sequel to Mattson Academy is finally here! Mattson Academy: Mind Over Magi is officially available.

I’m still working on getting into a rhythm with this blog thing. I can go for a couple weeks and then I fall off.

Well I’ve had a heck of a week. I had my second ever book signing which was amazing and I’ll get to that in a minute…

The title is a bit misleading; it’s really an upcoming event (singular), but I’m still excited.

I haven’t posted in a long time. I’ve been slammed with work both book-related and not, as well as all the normal life things that always seem to get in the way.

There are several more books that I started writing and never finished, and several more that I’ve got notes written down for or even just ideas bouncing around in my head. The challenge then, is figuring out which one to write when.

…with serendipity at my back, I’m going to try and sum up what has been an insane year.

If you haven’t heard yet, then you obviously didn’t watch the video above. Earlier this week (or I guess last week if you count Sunday as the start of a new week), I signed a contract for book 2 in the Mattson Academy series.

We all know what a beach book is, right? It’s a book you’d read at the beach, duh. More specifically, in my opinion, a beach book is an easy read.

Mattson Academy has been out for over two months now, and I’ve managed to get a solid number of reviews. What’s even better is that not all of those reviews have come from friends and family!

I present to you, in no particular order, a glossary of fantastical terms to be found in Mattson Academy

I love video games. I’ve been playing them for as long as I can remember. I started with an NES (Nintendo Entertainment System for the uninitiated) back when I was like, three? Never missed a Nintendo product from then until the Wii U

Well, honestly, I don’t know what you should do. I’m still not 100% sure what I’m doing, either. I’ve got a few ideas though.

First, a quick catch up. Mattson Academy came out just over a month ago and I’ve been on a wild ride of getting pictures from people who’ve gotten the book, reviews from friends, family, and total strangers

I was a young kid in the late 80’s and early 90’s so, obviously, I lived, breathed, and loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I watched the cartoon, I had the toys, I had Turtles themed birthday parties, I had the blankets on my bed and the underwear on my butt.

I like our world. There are a lot of neat stories floating around it already, but I always wished it had a bit more magic in it. There are plenty of myths and legends of magic, but I don’t always see a ton of it today. Still, on the whole it’s not a bad place, and that’s why I decided to set Mattson Academy in our world.

More or less.

I’ve been on a writing hot streak the last few days. Some of that I attribute to a great plotting breakthrough at the gym, but, in a related event, I attribute it to music. 

I have always been creative. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had a pressing need to make stuff up. I made up stories and worlds with stuffed animals, Legos, assorted rocks and sticks, and whatever I had. Despite this powerful need to invent, writing was not my first creative pursuit.