Goal Post: Last Weekend of Spring Break

Posted on April 11, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

I’m still on a father/son vacation right now, but I have Wifi and my laptop.  So, I can still make this post the night before.  Though, I’m struggling to stay awake since it’s been a busy couple of days.  I’ll put a slideshow at the end with some of the fun animals that we saw during our adventures.

As far as the trip goes, we drove up here on Wednesday and arrived with enough time to rest before seeing the Mario movie.  The theater here is really cool and old-school, which my son enjoyed.  We have a great room too.  Small kitchen area with a sink and microwave plus a big shower.  Nice balcony with a view of the river too.  Makes hanging around the room between outings very pleasant.

Thursday was the Syracuse mall where we walked around, had lunch, and did an animal encounter.  The one I originally signed us up for wasn’t feeling well, so we were switched to fennec foxes.  They weren’t really social, but we got to be in their enclosure to learn about them.  Got to visit the sloths for the last 5 minutes.  The one that was awake was faster than one would expect.  It would occasionally reach for my son when his back was turned and stop if we looked at her.  Got very close to me as well, which is odd since sloths don’t have good eyesight.  Guess she was happy to have company?

Friday was more animals with a trip to the zoo.  It’s small, so we only stayed for 1.5 hours before heading back.  We still got to see plenty of animals like elephants, tigers, a chicken standing on a sheep, and a red panda that wasn’t sleeping.  My son was focused more on jotting down monster ideas for video games whenever an animal inspired him.  I wish I still had my ‘animal magic’ books, which always helped me.  No idea where they went and I’ve checked everywhere.

Today is more low key.  Having breakfast with a college friend who I haven’t seen in person since maybe 2002 or 2003.  Then, we have a Pokemon Go event from 2-5 and I got a parking pass to join the college crowd for it.  Dinner will be with two more college friends and then we head back to the hotel to relax.  Tomorrow is the long drive home and I have to get back with enough time to do all the laundry.  I have enough clothes, but having to wait another week to do it will mean sacrificing an entire Saturday or Sunday.  I’d rather take 3-4 hours Sunday evening to get it done.

I haven’t done much writing on this trip beyond some blog posts and staring at my notebook.  Last weekend, I fixed up the outline for Darwin & the Deadlands Queen and finished the ‘Phi Beta Files’ outline.  That left me with no projects to work on even leading up to the trip.  I picked ‘Coven of the Gray’ to work on and tried to start it up, but it took me two days to get the concept started in my head.  Spent a lot of time catching Pokemon while thinking and staring at the ceiling.  Finally came up with a concept for this idea and landed on a single book.  The inspiration is how a person who is bombarded with negativity will always be negative and their brain will become wired that way.  So, it’s very difficult to mentally pull out of that situation and can lead to self-destructive behavior when faced with positivity.

Next week is back to work for me and school for my son, so I don’t expect to get a lot done as I get back into the routine.  Don’t really have another day off until Memorial Day weekend.  Technically, I will have to take a day off for court, but I don’t think we can count that as a relaxing period.  Anyway, I’m going to focus on ‘Coven of the Gray’ when I have the physical and mental energy.  It’s supposed to be warm too, so I’m going to be heading out to the parks as well.  Pokemon Go is helping me get some thoughts together unless I’m walking with other people.  Maybe I should let that experience help me fine tune the ‘Keys of Eden’ stories that were birthed by me wanting to create 100 creatures for a single adventure.

What are the goals of the week?

  1. Drive back home.
  2. Get back into the routine.
  3. Help son get back into routine.
  4. Work on ‘Coven of the Gray’.
  5. Work on Pokemon Lego sets when I need a screen break.
  6. Watch more ‘Falling Skies’.
  7. Contend with certain stressors.
  8. Catch Pokemon for fresh air and exercise.
  9. Go to bed early if needed.
  10. Find a local bubble tea place.

Oh yeah.  Had that whole birthday thing on Thursday too.  Was on the trip, so I didn’t do any celebrating.   Just said thanks to all the messages and enjoyed the day.

Posted in Goal Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Questions 3: Delivering Hope

Posted on April 10, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

Everyone has their own opinion on this subject.  Some think you don’t need to get positive energy from others.  Some think it’s essential.  You have another group in the middle.  So, let’s open up the floor:

  1. How important is hope to an artist?
  2. How would you describe the hope an artist might need?
  3. What would you do to instill hope in an artist?
Posted in Questions 3 | Tagged , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Happy Birthday to . . . Oh, It’s Me.

Posted on April 9, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

Yeah.  It’s my birthday.  On vacation with my son too, which means no party.  Not really sure what we’re going to do today.  Would feel weird for me to buy a cake for myself, but we’ll see.  Enjoy the memes!

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Please welcome Jan Sikes

Posted on April 9, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

Jan is one of my longest term author friends. She has a new book out and I’d like you all to take a look. Those sharing buttons really help authors …

Please welcome Jan Sikes
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

7 Tips to Giving Artists Hope

Posted on April 8, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

People might be wondering how to give an artist hope.  Here are some suggestions:

  1. Actually interact with their art.  Read their books, listen to their music, look at their paintings, etc.
  2. Give compliments even if you also want to give some criticize.
  3. While it may feel superficial, ‘likes’ on social media don’t go unnoticed.
  4. Suggest their art to other people, especially if you know someone who would like it.
  5. If you can afford it and want it, pay for their art instead of asking to get it for free or pirating it.
  6. Write a review.
  7. Send a fan letter.
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Teaser Tuesday: Worse Than Zombies

Posted on April 7, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

Cover by Jason Pedersen

Cover by Jason Pedersen

Continue reading →

Posted in Allure of the Gypsies, Legends of Windemere, Teaser Tuesday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Giving Hope To The Artist

Posted on April 6, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

I feel like one of the hardest parts of being any type of artist is retaining ones hope in getting noticed.  Yes, I know many are going to rush to the comments to say that isn’t the point of making art.  Maybe for them, but there is still a big faction who would like some type of recognition.  It could be money, compliments, awards, a clap, or even a social media like.  Most artists want some type of positive energy in order for them to feel like they are not wasting their time.

This makes sense to me, especially since this can be subconscious.  An artist puts part of themselves into their creations.  They work hard and use their free time to continue with what is typically a side project.  Toiling for years without getting any positive feedback can crush the spirit.  It can reach the point where they either quit or produce art with no soul because they are questioning themselves.  Not entirely about talent, but about ones priorities.

Hope can be destroyed in an artist pretty easily too.  Many think they are helping by taking on the role of ‘creative critic’.  That’s in quotes because a person is really just tearing a piece of art apart with no positive feedback.  I remember asking a person why they only mentioned the negative they felt towards my stories.  They said it was because I could only improve if I knew what I was doing wrong.  Figured I would already know the positives, but that isn’t what happened.  Young artists especially end up doubting their entire purpose and dream.

People really do overlook the necessity of hope when it comes to building art.  I think it’s more so today with social media allowing more criticism, A.I. being used more, and a sense that the audience pool has shrunk.  With that last one, I mean there’s a sense that there are fewer people enjoying art outside of the mainstream.  Those who can create the biggest social media presence will win the most attention even if they’re product isn’t as good as someone who can’t promote themselves.  Kind of makes one wonder how many talented artists have been lost because they simply aren’t good at promoting themselves.

Another threat to hope is that there are many who set out to get others to quit.  It’s different from the ‘creative critic’ who believes they are helping.  These are people on the Internet whose goal is to hurt others.  I’m pretty they’re still called Trolls, but this always feels worse than merely getting someone angry.  Getting an artist to quit or at least leave the Internet is what they want.  Trigger a fight that embarrasses the artist who comes off as unhinged and unable to take criticism.  Not sure what drives a person to do something like this, but the shield of anonymity keeps them safe.

This is why giving an artist hope is so essential.  Again, it doesn’t have to be money.  It can be anything that makes them feel noticed in a good way.  While this might not help them get sales or attention from others, it provides a boost of positive energy and confidence.  It helps one avoid creating empty art born from them going through the motions solely because it’s ‘what they do’.  I know I’ve had moments like that and have to toss entire chapter sections to try again later.

What do other people think about artists having hope?

Posted in Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Happy Easter!

Posted on April 5, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

It’s that time of year that bunnies lay chocolate eggs filled with jellybeans in the hopes that Jesus returns.  Is that right?  I really don’t understand most of these symbols.

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Goal Post: Crazy Week of Court, Work, And Spring Break

Posted on April 4, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

This past week was a wild one because so much happened.  It’s currently Spring Break though, which means resting.  Going on a trip next weekend, but I’m taking the laptop to make sure I can do the goal post with a few pics.  It’s a father/son trip, so we have a few outings set up.  One of them is a surprise for him, so I’m not going to spill the beans in case he looks here.  You never know.

I managed to finish the final outline for ‘Phi Beta Files’ last weekend.  It was a relief because I knew things were going to get crazy.  Still not sure how to fully explain Greek letters in Windemere, but I have a samurai, indoor plumbing, flying vehicles, and other things that aren’t pure medieval fantasy.  Windemere may have started as a fantasy world like Middle Earth, but I really started adding onto it at times.  So, it’s going to have some places that use magical items to create real world things like refrigerators and communicators.  I’ve hinted that there’s a gateway to Earth too, but I’m still not sure if I’m fully invested in that.  There are two stories that involve cross-dimensional travelers with one being part of the Great Cataclysm and the other being isolated.  Guess I have time to figure stuff out.

Once Spring Break started, I began the outline for Darwin & the Deadland Queen.  I couldn’t finish it in one day because we had family over.  If the 5-year-old wants to play then you kind of have to.  I did finish it yesterday since the original outline didn’t need a lot of tweaking like previous ones.  Needed to check an associated story to make sure I didn’t kill off the wrong characters.  This volume leads into the secret of the Fate Bracelet too, so I had to make notes about the cliffhanger ending.  Frustrating part is that I don’t think it’s going to phase Darwin at all, so he’ll start Darwin & the Nightmare Lord going about his business.  The plan there is for him to unwittingly foiling the bad guy’s actions and having no idea what’s going on until Act 2 or 3.

The current project for outlining and preparing is ‘Coven of the Gray’, which I can’t find my original notes for.  Long ago, this was a group on Earth who gathered magical items and made sure evil people didn’t get them.  It was inspired by ‘Hellboy’ and all these cartoons where heroes had to collect items like ‘Jackie Chan Adventures’ and ‘Shaolin Showdown’.  That doesn’t work in Windemere.  My current plan is to have the Coven be a group that either disappeared or were killed, which has caused an area to become cursed.  The heroes will be searching for a way to undo the curse.  I was going to do short stories, but I’m leaning towards duology.  First book would be heroes searching for the Coven to revive them then . . . I don’t know if I want them to stop the Coven or the heroes become the Coven or whatever.  Covens usually have 13 members, which is why I’m leaning towards them not being the heroes.  Maybe a trilogy where they need to find a purification item then revive the Coven and then deal with the fallout?

All of that is for this weekend and next week though.  I should be able to figure out the trilogy or duology issue at least.  My brain needs distractions too . . . Now on to my goals of the week . . .

Oh, people my have noticed I mentioned court in the title.  Without going into any details or explanations, I’m involved in a legal matter.  I don’t feel comfortable talking about on a public forum.  Still wondering if I should post about it on my ‘friends only’ Facebook page too.  It’s tough keeping it secret, but it’s best for me not to talk about it in public until it’s over.  Starting off Spring Break with a court appearance wasn’t something I expected back in January, but it is what it is.  Needless to say, I’m looking for any distractions when I’m not so exhausted that I can barely crawl out of bed.

Now for the goals of the week:

  1. Figure out ‘Coven of the Gray’.
  2. Schedule July and August posts.
  3. Watch more ‘Falling Skies’.
  4. Father/son trip when it’s my half of the break.
  5. Catch Pokemon.
  6. Build Lego Pokemon.
  7. Sleep.
  8. Errands and packing for trip.
  9. Try to get together with friends.
  10. Did I say sleep?
Posted in Goal Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Questions 3: Authors Having Hobbies

Posted on April 3, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

I know Passover caused a blip in the topic, but it’s a really personal one.  So, there isn’t much else I can say.  Can’t give tips to people about getting hobbies because everyone is different.  So, let’s enjoy some questions.

  1. What is one of your hobbies?
  2. How would you relate it to writing?
  3. Is there a hobby you want to adopt?
Posted in Questions 3 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 14 Comments