about me

Two things I've done for a long time are: Read, and live in Minnesota. I get tired of both things at times.
My joy of reading was nearly destroyed by years of text books and career related technical manuals. I credit Peter Tompkins' "The Secret Life of Plants" with awakening my interest in reading for pleasure as well as thinking of the ordinary as extraordinary.
I'm new to writing novels although I've written short stories and poetry which were at times translated into musical lyrics.
ODIN"S TOE is something that festered in the back of my mind for over a year before my wife declared during a life evaluation session at a local restaurant that she thought I should be a writer owing to my unique insights and way with words. I immediately began to format my story. I found that I really enjoyed developing the characters and intertwining their lives while placing opinions in juxtaposition.
The only problem was that as I crossed the 50k mark that I read in Writer's Digest as being the manuscript mark; I hadn't told half the story I set out to. So I've done my best to make it a free-standing first book and hope for feedback and encouragement to continue.
I can't imagine not finishing what I set out to say but this is over 30 months of thought and I could sure use some constructive criticism.
I should preface my work by noting that, like myself, it is irreverent and contains passages that some will find offensive. I can't apologize for this although if you think something detracts from the story, that's a legitimate complaint.
I also would like to take this opportunity to say that I will not sugar-coat my reviews. I want serious critiques of my work and you should expect the same. I am excited to be entering a writer-focused forum but I don't see how an "I'll back you if you back me" attitude helps anyone. That said, anyone who does me the honor of reviewing my work will receive a review from me.
Another thing I read in those pesky writer's mags is that you should forget about ever using a prologue. My real story starts at Ch. 3 but I thought I needed something more exciting to kick it off so I developed the current opening chapters. Now I'm second guessing myself even though I like the added dimension. What do you think?
Overall, I find myself impressed with present company and hope that I can be considered a peer.

Cheers!
PJ Qats

favourite books

The Secret Life of Plants- Peter Tompkins
Sirens of Titan- Kurt Vonnegut
Reality is Just an Illusion- Chuck Coborn
Man's Search for Meaning- Viktor Frankl
The 12th Planet- Zecharia Sitchen
The Giza Power Plant- Christopher Dunn
Worlds In Collision- Immanuel Velikovsky
Chariots of the Gods- Erich von Daniken

my websites