Journey to Jordan is now published!

My travel journals from the 2008 BYU Jordan Study Abroad are now available as an indie published ebook from Smashwords! Originally published as a blog, I always wanted to make it available as a book someday.  I spent the last couple of months running through it, putting together all the old posts as well as… Continue reading Journey to Jordan is now published!

The Prophet by Gibran Khalil Gibran

AL MUSTAFA the chosen and the beloved, who was a dawn unto his own day, had waited twelve years in the city of Orphalese for his ship that was to return and bear him back to the isle of his birth.  And in the twelfth year, on the seventh day of Ielol, the month of… Continue reading The Prophet by Gibran Khalil Gibran

Getting back into things

Sorry I haven’t posted much lately; I just got back to Massachusetts from a cross-country train trip (after spending Christmas between Utah and Texas), and I’m still getting situated here at my parents’ house.  If all goes well, I’ll be leaving by the end of the month to teach English in Georgia; worst case scenario,… Continue reading Getting back into things

Back from Texas, or My Last Day in Provo

So!  My Christmas vacation in Texas is over, and I’m on the road again, hanging out here in Utah before catching the train to my parents’ house in Massachusetts and (hopefully) going overseas before the end of the month. It was a great break!  Great to see my niece and three nephews together.  I swear,… Continue reading Back from Texas, or My Last Day in Provo

Merry Christmas from Texas!

Merry Christmas y’all! I’m down here in Texas, spending the holidays with family; it was either Texas with my sister’s family, or Massachusetts with my parents, and we all agreed that the weather was better down south. My brother-in-law and I drove down here from Provo, and it was a fun little road trip!  We… Continue reading Merry Christmas from Texas!

Random updates before leaving

I’m spending Thanksgiving with my parents this year, which means I’m leaving for Massachusetts tomorrow…by train.  Well, technically, Sunday morning, since the cross-country trains come through Salt Lake City in the wee hours, but to my way of thinking it’s tomorrow and not Sunday.  Either way, I won’t be posting anything until Tuesday night, since… Continue reading Random updates before leaving

Decisions suck, writing is awesome

Whew!  I just finished revising through almost 9k words in Desert Stars.  I’ve only got three more chapters and an epilogue to go, and man, I am so excited about this story!  I have no doubt it’s my best work yet. Of course, I might be biased. 😉 Star Wanderers is also coming along very… Continue reading Decisions suck, writing is awesome

Some awesome blogs you should follow

So a bunch of blogs I follow have been doing this blogfest called “Pay it Forward,” organzied by Alex J. Cavanaugh. The idea is to bring attention to some well deserving yet lesser known blogs, and that’s something I’m all for supporting. The rules are simple: list, describe and link to three blogs that you… Continue reading Some awesome blogs you should follow

Where will Joe go?

Just a quick and dirty update before bed, because hey it’s been forever since I’ve posted to this thing. Holy crap, this last week was CRAZY for my family!  Youngest sister got married, middle sister had a baby, and oldest sister…well, I’m not at liberty to discuss that yet.  But congratulations to all of you!… Continue reading Where will Joe go?

Travel writing + Gemmell + Sanderson signing = awesome

Today was an awesome day, which is weird considering everything that happened.  Woke up at 4:45 am to catch an early morning flight back to Utah, took public transport back to Provo, and ran around on errands until attending the midnight Way of Kings signing at the BYU Bookstore. Yet it was awesome.  Why? First,… Continue reading Travel writing + Gemmell + Sanderson signing = awesome