Something About Me

Apr 2013

Still in the Army. Writing slower. I've finished fixing the beginning of the Darkseid story. I'm starting on a new chapter of completely original material.

10 Mar 2010

Didn't fit back in very well teaching math again after first tour in Iraq. I went back in the Army full time about a year ago and now I'm over in Iraq again. This time I'm with the four-star Headquarters, so now I'm the them we all used to grumble about years ago.

30 Dec 2008.

I've been back since mid November and it's taking some to adjust to life back in the states. I've seen quite a lot of my son and my girlfriend. I went back to work teaching high school math the first week of December, and that also has taken some getting used to, since I'm working with at-risk students now rather than the mainstream. Metropolis Kid and I are putting some additional material together to wrap up World without Superman and I've started a rewrite of the Trust AU. Cheers.

MyThoughts on my Superman Stories

I've been working on my Superman stories for over five years now. Speakfire has graciously allowed me to borrow her OC Trish the Intern from time to time. The Superman stories go in this order: "Confessions," "Betrayal of Trust," "Redemption of Trust" and "Darkseid Cometh." I feel like I should also throw props out for "World without Superman" which can be found on the Crossover boards.

I'm working on a couple of themes in the Trust AU. One theme is "Why the heck did Superman leave for five years anyway?" I know that Brandon Routh said some lines about needing to see where he came from or finding out if he was truly the last of his kind in Superman Returns, but I don't buy that. At first I thought it might be about coming to grips with killing Zod in Superman II. I explored this idea Confessions. Then, after I saw Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut and reviewed some of the commentaries and interviews on it and Superman: The Movie: The Director's Edition, I began to wonder if Clark's interstellar pilgrimage might have had more to do with how he got his powers back in SII. I'm exploring the second idea in Redemption.

Another theme I'm dealing with is "How will Clark, Lois, Richard and Jason deal with their blended family situation?" I haven't disposed of Richard. Jason calls him "Daddy," and I just don't have the heart to rip him out of the story. Although, if i may give props to one of the other writers on here, SHADO Librarian has a tremendous set of stories that do just that and they are superb. Very respectful of Richard. So, I'm forcing them to come to terms with things as they were left at the end of SR and the end of SII (the one where Clark takes Lois's memories).

In "World Without Superman," Metropolis Kid and I realized we both really like the mid-90s Superman comics story line in which a monster named Doomsday terrorizes the US in general, and Metropolis in particular, figths Superman to both of their apparent deaths. Superman is the replaced by not one but four heroes, one of whom bears some resemblance to Arnold Schwarzenegger's battle damaged T-850 in the final Acts of Terminator 2 and Terminator 3. So we asked ourselves some questions. What if this Cyborg Superman was actually some kind of Terminator sent back from the future? What if Superman's son Jason from SR were the Superboy character? And what if the whole story started off in the world of the Sara Connor Chronicles TV show, where would we find our Superman characters from the comics and the movies? I think you will all find the results very rewarding. Along the way we threw in homages to Hellsing, T2, T3, and T:Salvation, Justice League Unlimited, Smallville, Wonder Woman, Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns, Alex Ross and Mark Waid's Kingdom Come, even Jack Bauer from 24 makes a brief uncredited appearance.

Along the way I've tried to incorporate some of my favorite Smallville and DC Comics characters including Chloe Sullivan, Lionel Luthor, Diana (Princess of the Amazons), Batman, Green Lantern, Bizarro and BrainIAC. I have tried to imagine where some of these characters would be five or ten years into their future. Some of them are composites, combining different versions. I'm currently working on a way to bring Jor-El back from where ever he went in SII. I try to explain everything I'm doing with the good guys so you don't need extensive knowledge of anything to enjoy the stories. I must warn you though and say that to my own peril, I ignored the dictates of Steven J. Cannel and Michael Connally who have both said to pay attention to what the bad guys are doing. If you think Superman is really off the reservation during "Betrayal," please remember that Bizarro is usually a twisted clone of Superman, who sometimes has the same powers and sometimes slightly changed powers.

Again many thanks to my readers and fellow authors.

Original Profile

Alright lads and lassies, I know you've all been drooling just waiting for St Thomas to write something about himself...(j/k). I'm not anywhere near that vain. On the other hand a several hundred of you have been following my stories since June of 2006, and I guess you deserve to know something about me. So here goes.

I'm a mid thirties guy, with military officer experience who lives in Texas and now teaches high school math. I'm divorced with one son who was born in 2000. I see the lad several times a week, though not as much as I want to.

Much like Richard White and Kyle Rayner in my Superman Trust AU, I have been plucked from my life of teaching high school math, visiting with my son, and helping to lead my congregation. In Nov 2007, the U. S. Army recalled me to active duty. I've said for years that Duty, Honor, Country was more than just a motto. It's a way of life. And now once again it is my way of life.

About my Sarah Connor Chronicles Stories

Capeless Crusader is the introduction to what I will call the Crusader AU. The first eight chapters are The Case of the Falling Girl which tells about John and Cameron's investigation into the death of Jordan Cowen. Lots of good fluff and angst in there along with a plot. The Case of the Three-Eyed Man is a separate case (duh). Three-Eyed Man provides some set up for Operation Phoenix.

The Dreams AU exists in parallel to the Crusader AU. From time to time the two AUs may cross paths.

'The End is the Beginning is the End' and 'The Beginning is the End is the Beginning' help to map out some of the boundaries of the Crusader AU and give some idea of where the whole story is going

'Operation Phoenix' comes after 'Capeless Crusader' and after 'The End is the Beginning is the End.' I revealed in 'The End is the Beginning is The End' that Skynet isn't the only Killer AI network that wants to enslave Man. The Connors will need a different strategy to defeat several AIs.

In Operation Phoenix, the Connor Crew travels back in time to rescue Andy Good first and then Miles Dyson. There's action, adventure and still some funny/cool banter between John and Cameron. Operation Phoenix: Prologue shows how the Connors determine to go back keep Andy and Dyson alive. Operation Phoenix: Resurrecting Andy and Miles delivers on its title with a Time Jump back into key events from T2. Operation Phoenix: Affecting the Present shows how the early 1st Season Episodes work out differently given the timeline changes made in Resurrecting.

I've got a pretty amazing ride planned for all of you, so fasten you seatbelts, secure your safety restraints and prepare for the roller coaster.

Something about my writing background

I have been writing fiction and poetry on and off since high school, probably before some of my readers were born. The first thing I wrote was on loose leaf paper with a mechanical pencil. It was a time travel story featuring me and some of my friends. That didn't go very far. I continued it of and on through my first year of college. Then I had a long burst of writers block. My Junior year of college, I co-wrote a Star Wars/ Star Trek crossover where Episode IV: A New Hope crossed with the Star Trek: The Next Generation. One of my friends wrote it with me and several others helped out with ideas. None of this has ever been published. I did put some Star Wars fanstories up on the predecessor of this website back when I was a Lieutenant in the Army. Then I worked on some Batman stuff that went through several incarnations and finally ended up on here under the title of "City Flight." It's pretty dry. I rewrote the second part and put it up as Intervention Overhaul. Tell me what you think

That said, half the reason I'm putting stuff up here is to improve my writing. I put my heart in some of these chapters and my soul in others, but I make the fastest progress when you guys and gals out there in internet-land tell me what you think. Talk to me about my characterization, character development, plots, action, emotion, subplots, romance, whatever. Tell me what's good and give me constructive criticism. I want to get better and I appreciate everyone of you who sends feed back.

I must acknowledge Dragonlots who started as a beta reader and became a friend and writing coach in 2008. Not sure where she is now, as her old email address doesn't seem to work any more. I hope she got that novel published.

I also appreciate those of you just read. Almost 1000 of you have read "Confessions." Over a thousand of you have read "John Connor: Capeless Crusader." And I must say I am honored, particularly that they both keep collecting hits even though they've been finished for years now. So, thank you to all my readers, reviewers and beta readers and co-writers.