Another review. And this time it's not a television show. In this episode, I tackle the story and plot of the Red Rising Trilogy, as written by author Pierce Brown. 

A dystopian society existing several hundreds of years in the future, Red Rising follows Darrow - a lowly worker on Mars who finds out his entire existence and life of servitude is a lie, as the people who live on the surface are wining and dining and living great lives; all within the Society's "Color Hierarchy". 

Aside from giving my review, I talk about the nature of relationships in big war stories like this one. I also touch on the nature of first-person versus third-person narrative as well as how one might view a book like this 20 years from now. 

Lastly, I hope to interview Mr. Brown at some point in the near future (The challenge made. The challenge accepted).

Finally finishing up part 2 of storytelling and its purpose. This episode looks at the last 2 parts of storytelling as it is defined by our good friend, Webster, wherein story is often used to develop cultural values as well as morals.

Often a society's culture and its morals can intertwine. Where the culture is affected by its morals. Or its morals tend to be shaped by the culture that's created. 

And how does storytelling come into play here? Do stories play a role in establishing either of these? I would say the overwhelming answer to that question is yes. 

As such, I take - an albeit brief - look into story as it pertains to our culture and morals.

It's Halloween night. Yes, I am doing a series on creativity and the writing process. And yes, I do interviews with other creative folks. But, I'm thinking that I can do reviews once in a while too (this is a creatively-based podcast, after all). 

So keeping that spirit in mind, I decided to do a quick episode on my thoughts / opinions / impressions of the latest season of "Stranger Things" on Netflix. Complete with SPOILERS. You have been warned.... 

What did the rest of you think? Check it out..."mouth-breather."

"Our memories aren't perfect."

Part 2 of my interview with fellow scribe, Brent McLaughlin, takes us down the rabbit hole of what can be truly beneficial in keeping a personal journal. As I stated in Part 1, Brent is the zen master when it comes to reflection and seeing growth in his life.

And in this section, Brent and I talk about the life-giving aspect of journaling. How our frustrations can help us gain insight into who we are. And how common themes tend to shape us. Kudos to my brother-in-arms for sharing some personal things with the Internet world in hope to encourage others.

Enjoy!

My next guest comes as a two-parter. Brent McLaughlin, a fellow scribe, friend and co-founder of a local writer's group in Northeast Ohio, shares his insights on journaling and why sometimes journaling can be overlooked in a person's life. Not just for the creative in us, but anybody.

One of the things I've always admired about Brent is his purpose-driven lifestyle. Everything he does is with purpose. With direction. And with passion. Doing so with one eye on the future and the other on the past; careful and mindful of what he's learned and what's he's currently learning.

Having overcome several personal obstacles, Brent shares some insights he's had while keeping a personal journal for the past five years. Side note: I can't even keep one for a month!

Anyway, I'm excited to share part one of my interview with him. 

Part 2 to follow.

Fantasy, entrepreneurialism, and returning from war with a desire to touch the next generation. 

I've been doing interviews for the past month (all of which have been astounding) and instead of just letting them linger out in social media land, I felt compelled to do a bit of decompression on what I've been learning. So, in this episode, I tackle some of my favorite takeaways from my last three interviews: 

Darrick Dean, author of Among the Shadows

Daniel Luketic, entrepreneur

Dr. Robert Snyder, author of What is a Veteran, Anyway? 

Oh, and I even say "by golly" at least once. A phrase I hope to cut out of my vocabulary as soon as humanly possible.

"What is a Veteran, Anyway?"

Dr. Robert Snyder is a professor, army veteran of 15 years, and author of the children's book, "What is a Veteran, Anyway?" Dr. Snyder served in the Iraq War in 2003 and during his time there, he came up with the idea for a children's book on what it meant to be a veteran; in hopes of addressing the many questions children might have when one of their parents have to leave and serve overseas. I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Snyder at a "Meet the Authors" event in Pennsylvania, and after some conversation and learning about one another, I asked Dr. Snyder if he'd be willing to share some of his personal story on how and why he wanted to write a children's book.

In addition to that, Dr. Snyder is a traditionally published author - unlike many of the self-published authors I run into - so I was curious also to get his take on the process and how things have been going thus far (and by all accounts, very well!). Here you can catch the video portion of the interview where we discuss these items among other things related to his time serving in Iraq.

For more on Dr. Snyder and his books, you can visit his webpage at www.robertsnyderbooks.com or like his page on Facebook and Instagram.

My latest guest, Daniel Luketic, was a roommate of mine at Mount Union College in Alliance, OH. We were both aspiring business majors with creative pursuits. Whereas my story veered into the world of insurance (and the selling thereof), Daniel took a slightly different path. He started up a company that would develop software for insurance agencies, taking a big risk as someone who had just come out of college. 

In a time where we are always encouraged to "follow our passion no matter what", Daniel and I discuss what this ought to look like, and what pitfalls one can avoid in the pursuit of the things we want to achieve. 

And a little bit of strolling down memory lane for good measure.

Stories offer us an escape from our daily lives. And stories are a good way to educate others too. When we tell a story, we are hoping to communicate information to our listener. But, how - or what - our listener derives from that story can be varied. In this episode, I start looking at how we are affected by the stories we hear. What do we take from them? What are the ways in which we are most affected? And is there a narrative behind everything we hear? 

Oh, and a little bit of talk about why guys are constantly quoting movies. You know, because we do that a lot.

When fantasy meets science fiction. 

In this episode, I interview Darrick Dean, author of Among the Shadows: Watchers of the Light, and a fellow writing enthusiast. Darrick's mantra of "Find your purpose. Find your story" reflects his desire to engage readers and fellow writers by fostering their imaginations and taking them to new and exciting places. 

Darrick and I will also discuss the differences between fantasy and sci-fi, the challenges of standing out in a sea of voices, and how imperative it is for authors to find communities they can share their stories with. 

For more on Darrick and what he shares with other creatives, you can visit his website here. And for the full video interview, be sure to check out my YouTube page for this (and other interviews too!).