Do I have any characters with autism? Yes I do.

Thank you for the question, Simon Passant. Yes I do have two characters with autism and both of them will be revealed in my next novel. But I will tell you right here and right now who they are. But first I want to explain something about  diversity in GZ.

I am far far less interested in making brownie points with any one certain group or classification of people and more in making a complete and believable universe. Look around at the world we live in. GZ is a modern day universe and therefore it makes sense to have modern day people in it. I want it to be rich and diverse in every possible way. It isn't easy to fit all that together in rich character profiles with deep backgrounds.

We live in an age were people point and yell "SJW" at the drop of a hat and that label carries some terrible stigma, especially online. Marvel is constantly getting lambasted for being too "sjw" in their recent story arcs. See here:

I don't want that for GZ. Every person and what makes them up are details in a massive painting of a universe. Without those aspects of those people, it just wouldn't be complete. So just who are these characters with ASD in my universe. Well, if you've been reading and you're all caught up on the story so far, you already know one of them.

Blacktide with the Parahuman Activity Commission (PAC) has Aspergers. His real name is Larry Peters and when he was just a young boy his powers manifested and killed both his parents. It can be hard to separate the trauma he has endured in life with his Aspergers but it's there. When it's revealed in the novel that I'm working on now, it won't be a big thing for him, rather a passing note. He knows what he has, but frankly has bigger fish to fry and it doesn't define him.

Next:

This is Spaz and yes he likes being called that. Spaz works with the Crazy Harry Detective Agency. He is an inventive savant meaning that he can invent bizarre contraptions out of ordinary items. Spaz has messed up eyes and never seems to be looking at anyone he's talking to, but he is a genius in a number of ways. He is also ridiculously rich. That allows him to do just about anything he wants and he seldom takes no for an answer. Sometimes unfeeling people call him retarded and he sets them straight in ways readers will love.

This is where I point out that neither of these characters are representative of all persons with autism. Autism is a spectrum disorder/condition that has broad combinations of effects that are different for each person. Only a few factors of autism are common enough to keep all the combinations on the spectrum. My son and I both have Asperger's and even for the two of us the effects are different in many ways. We have the social difficulties and sensory issues, they are just different for both of us.

So there you have it, two ASD characters getting some spotlight time along with several other distinct characters coming soon. Do you have a question about GZ? Post in comments. And if you enjoyed this post, please share it.

How many Dwarves in Galaxy Zento?

My wife works for a radio station and sometimes I go and have lunch with her. Recently during one of our lunches she asked me how many Dwarf characters I have in my universe. I realized this is a very good question. One worthy of answering right here. I even address this in one of my new short stories currently in the works.

In my universe there are two kinds of Dwarfish people. There are the racial fantasy Dwarves also called Celestials and those with actual Dwarfism.

The two communities don't like being mistaken for each other and this causes some friction between them. One side will say they aren't medical freaks and that will anger the other of course. Those of the medical side will say they aren't a bunch of barbarians to poke at the racial side.

I have more than a couple of active characters from either side of that fence and it can get slightly confusing as to who is who. The short story I'm working on has a character named, Ultrasonic. He is a man with Dwarfism who is deaf and mute. He has the power to amplify and control sound waves. He's also a telepath and an advocate for education on Dwarfish issues particularly where parahuman powers are involved.

In the GZ universe there is a connection of increase of people with powers who also have certain medical conditions, like Dwarfism. It's a matter under study and of intense interest in the society.  It's discovered that a person with Dwarfism is up to 5x more likely to have some sort of power.

I think a development like this makes my universe more believable. It gives depth and identity. As for who those Dwarves are:

Monolith's human form is a man with Dwarfism. His teammate, the Serpent is a racial Dwarf. One of my top villains, The Maker, is a racial Dwarf. I even have a reptilian Dwarf called JoJo.

So that's the answer basically. I have several Dwarves in my universe and you can read about many of them anytime!

Meme Funny: Who are you?

You know, some memes like this one are just hilarious to consider. I don't know who put together this mish mash but he must have loved July. I mean, really, this couldn't get much more lopsided that it is now. Since my birth month is July I decided to do a fun write up on just how fast Dr. Manhattan rules over this no matter who his enemy is in this case. And I don't even have to kill them all. I can make them my collection of people in little jars if I want to. So here is the meme and I am, Dr. Manhattan.

I'll start from August and go around:

VS Deadpool: Bullets and swords mean precisely jack to me. Not only is he not going to touch me, I think I'll cure him of being a living cancer at a molecular level. He's going to have to go through the hell of getting his powers all over again just to keep his job. I'm way beyond his reach.

VS Hulk:  He comes up as my actual nemesis according to this meme. I laughed. I don't eve have to think about what to do. I'll just separate the gamma radiation from his cells and send the cured Dr. Banner on his way. He never has to be the Hulk again.

VS Tall Man: This is the guy from the horror franchise, Phantasm. What the hell is he even doing on this list? Not only is he critically out of place, but he won't be invading my dimension today. I don't care how many places he can be in at once, I can be in more. He depends on weird cross dimensional technology that I'll turn to dust before he can think of a single syllable word. That includes his cute little spheres that won't get anywhere near me. Might just turn them right back on him and see how he likes it.

VS Spawn: Ah, just about the only near worthy opponent on this list. Spawn has taken on some big baddies to include Malbolgia (the equivalent of Mephisto in Marvel). But that isn't going to save him. At my level I can figure out what his magic is made of and put an end to it. No matter what he does, I have the power to just say NO. And it doesn't happen. It's likely I can even shunt him to another dimension to go after someone he'll have more fun with. Hey, Tall Man, you're about to have company.

VS Super Saiyan: If I spelled it right, ha ha. I don't care. It's bad enough it will take three weeks for him to throw one punch but while he's building power, I'm draining it. He will never get the chance to throw that punch because he won't have any kinetic energy to move with. And I can do that forever. Perpetual stasis? No problemo. I don't care what power levels he has, he can't use them if he can't activate them. And there is no speed he can move at that my cosmic intellect can't see. Like many of these, this is a non fight.

VS Superman: Oh let's see. Create the light of a red sun, generate a cage of pure green kryptonite, or just drain all the yellow sun radiation from his body. Doesn't really matter, Supes isn't fighting me today. Even his super speed doesn't matter, I'll see him coming from a mile away. I won't let him within a foot of me, much less ten. That's the level of awareness that Dr. Manhattan possesses.

VS Batman: No. Just no. Remember Ozymandias? Smartest guy in the universe and he totally failed to decimate me. For all his logic he had zero actual chance of affecting me in the first place. Same goes for Batman. Not everything in this universe can be plotted out by Batman. I don't care how much he researches moving a planet with his pinky finger, it's not going to happen. I, on the other hand, can move the planet by casual thought. It's a simple reality. Some things are just not reachable for some people. That is the case in this with Batman. I am the unreachable for him.

VS Mystique: Oh boy a shape changer. That's cute. No matter what she does to alter herself against me, my command of molecules can change her right back. In fact, I may change her into a few fun things just to annoy. Like a Smurf maybe. Yep, I turn her into a Smurf. Perfect.

VS Darth Vader: Let's face it. If Darth had anywhere near the ability to affect me in the slightest, his own universe would be totally under his control. Unfortunately for him, he requires permanent life support that I erase without even looking at him. Yep, in this case, I would actually kill Darth Vader who can't use the force well enough to sustain his own body.

VS Wolverine: Once again it's blades and claws. Those mean nothing to me. I am beyond even caring about such a flea. But since I must, I'll remove his adamantium even better than Magneto did. It just won't exist any more. I can disassemble him to molecules or just send him home. Doesn't matter much here.

VS Venom: I  separate the symbiote from the host and seal it away forever. No one will ever find it. That equals no powers for the host. That puts Brock or any other Venom beneath my notice but then that brings me to my final point.

You might think that all together they have a chance against me. But they don't. Because I did all of these things at the same fraction of a moment in time affecting them all simultaneously. I did it so fast that none of them could actually register what happened to them. Now they can get off my moon and leave me alone as my contemplations are beyond their microscopic ability to see. None of them any greater in scale than a germ to me and I am not affected by germs.

Do you agree? Do you disagree? Have fun in comments. Hope you got a half chuckle.

Woo Hoo! Summer Update!

I haven't posted here in a while but boy do I have stuff to talk about! I'm working on cards for the next step in the board game series on GZ and it's coming out awesome! So today I'm going to tell you about some of the new character cards that are going to be in this game. There's going to be more action than in a ring full of wrestlers on hyper steroids.

If you want to find out more about this and other GZ products, be sure to hit the links to the right!

This edition is going to become the new core edition of the game and it's setting is good ol New York City. It will be based on the characters from then main novel series for GZ that starts with Chaos Rising. That means the heroes of PAC will be there along with villains of all sorts. The power levels will be off the charts. Here are some examples.

Sandstorm: Good Character: 
Raw Power: If Sandstorm's first attack against you is a natural 17-20, he wins the combat.

So watch out if you play evil against this character. He may just blow you away before you can do anything. But check out what you get as a bonus if you are good and recruit him!

When another player attacks you, roll 1d20 with no modifiers. On a 17-20 move that player up to 6 spaces away in any direction and end their turn.

He also gives you protection from elements so no fire, wind, ice, lightning, or other elemental cards or spells can affect you while he's your ally.

Electrode: Good Character
Fast Combat: Every time you miss Electrode he gets +1 to attack for the rest of the combat.

And he starts out with a +8 attack value so you better be having a good dice day or he will catch up with you FAST. But, he gives allies a nice bonus as well.

If you roll a 6 for movement, you may move to any location on the board.

Having trouble catching up to another player? Even if that isn't perfect he still gives you +3 to your movement.

Blacktide: Good Character:
Disintegration Aura: When you hit Blacktide in combat, you take 1 damage.

Fighting this guy is a thorny concept. If you are playing a goal on taking damage, great, you have a way to win. If not, this is going to be worth 3 damage just to beat him. Be ready to heal. But as an ally, he gives you this:

Other players cannot challenge you to combat or stop adjacent to you.

They can still ranged attack you, but full on combat is out of the question. This is a very useful protection to have since a lot of nasty tricks involve adjacency. But what if you are the one who moves adjacent, right? No problem. Nothing happens. You can move adjacent to or challenge to combat if you want. Other players just can't return the favor.

Nyhtwulf: Good Character: (I'm still working on what makes him dangerous to fight, but check out his bonus:)

When a player moves away from being adjacent to you, you may immediately move adjacent to them after they move.

This depicts the character's ability of neuro tracking from the book. Once he's met you, there is no escaping him. But what if it's Blacktide versus Nyhtwulf? What if a player with Blacktide moved adjacent to a player with Nyhtwulf and on their next turn moved away? Could Nyhtwulf follow? The answer is NO. Because Blacktide's power prevents other players from stopping adjacent to that player.

I know some language may need to be sorted out, but this is the hash out phase if you know what I mean.

New Year 2017 Update!

It's high time for a new update and what better way to kick off the new year? While planning stories for GZ Tales Volume 3, I've also dug into revisions for the GZ role playing game. This will be an official publication, likely available on Amazon! If you enjoy role playing games that give you lots of freedom and creativity, this will be for you.

GZ RPG will be a percentile and D10 based system. It is a game in a preset universe of characters, monsters, alien races, magics, and more. The old quote of 'everything but the kitchen sink' certainly applies.

It's a game where you get to choose how to build your character by use of Karma points you earn for your side of the balance of good and evil. And yet, you don't have to just good or evil. You can serve Chaos if you prefer and make your life goal the destruction of the balance. It's up to you!

It is a game of magic and super powers so there are lots of cool ways to power up your character creation. At today's count there are over 386 powers and you can roll for your powers on a new character totally at random. For that matter, you can roll your entire character at random if you so desire.

That's not to say there isn't an intelligent side or academic side to the game. There are over 200 possible occupations/academics for characters that give modifiers to dice rolls. Since it's set in a modern day setting, your character could be a person with any kind of actual job before their life turns upside down on adventures.

Still, you can be anything you want with a broad number of alien races also in the mix. You can see prime examples of all this with a visit to the Galaxy Zento Facebook page or even by perusing these blog entries.

I don't have a release date at this time because I'm just jumping in on the revisions now. But there will be updates.

Project work also continues for the board game and it's expansions and accessories. If you haven't jumped into the GZ universe yet, there's no time like the present. The current accessory pack will bring the gods of GZ to the board game. More posts on those completed cards will be coming soon. Currently, I'm halfway through the artwork (and there's been lots of positive feedback!).

That's pretty much it for the current update, but it's a major desk full for me!

Here's hoping you all had a wonderful holiday season and face a new year of all new excitement and adventure.

All the links!

Hey all you awesome people out there! Today's post is a special one. I've been having trouble with my author's page lately. Not all the books are attached to it properly. I've written to Amazon and haven't had any luck. On Goodreads they are pretty much all together, but not where it seems to really count. Naturally this causes confusion issues. So I've decided to create a post where you have all of those together in one place. But not only that (because just a set of links would be boring), but a recap of what you get and what the stories are about. It seems like the perfect time of year for this and folks have asked me where the best jumping on point is among my books. So, for your convenience I will also make a note of which those are. The name of each book will be linked to it's page on Amazon (for the hardback, but they are all in Kindle too). So just click on the name to get the book you want.

Chessmen: Opening Moves:  The queen died in childbirth and the king has been murdered. When the Royal Guard is framed for that murder they have no choice but to go on the run to protect the infant princess from the real killer. Pursued by mercenaries and assassins, attacked by monsters, and forced across the stars; the heroes soon discover a plot overshadowing their own problems and threatening their whole solar system. This is the origin story of a unique team of heroes. [Good starting point]






Chessmen 2: The Queen's Gambit:  Having survived what they thought was the worst, the Chessmen prepare to take the fight to their enemies once and for all. But Queen Margel has invited a new threat to do her dirty work for her. The Maker has come for the Chessmen and will take anything he wants in the process. He is a threat that neither side my survive. This story carries maximum action from beginning to end on a spiraling roller coaster ride with all new characters. Witness fantastic feats of power and survival. Will the Chessmen finally return to Chyssia?

Chaos Rising: When the Earth is enveloped in darkness bands of killers with strange weapons attack all the police precincts of New York City. Nothing seems to stop them short of taking off their heads. But that's only the tip of the proverbial ice berg. The White House is taken hostage and bizarre acts of evil erupt across the country. Hakim only just got his powers in the likeness of Anubis and will have to learn as he goes. A new team of heroes must band together to hunt down the cause of their problems before something even greater comes to destroy them all. [Good starting point and these events occur before Chessmen 2]

GZ Tales Vol 1:  Assassins with a mystery target, an imaginary friend that kills, the core of time and space, and a demon that serves Death himself, are just a few of the short stories that wait for you in the first volume. This book includes the short story, Tale of the Gator that won honorable mention in Writer's Digest. Some stories are origins that carry on and others are about heroes that appear in the novels. Either way, they are action packed and full of fun. [Good starting point]

GZ Tales Vol 2: Even more awesome stories about GZ heroes and villains. Meet Maestro, the King of Demons, take on poachers with Killer Whale, and see what a day being a psychic is like. Read stories that pick up where some left off in volume 1. You'll read about heroes in unlikely places with the strangest of problems.








Galaxy Zento, the Adventure Game: You've read the stories (or even if you haven't), now play the board game! Travel the universe for good or evil and race to complete your mission before anyone else. The characters from Chessmen are there as enemy or ally. Face beasts and obtain artifacts. Escape from dangerous traps. You never know what the deck will throw at you next. About an hour of fun for 2-6 players, aged 10 and up. This game is customizable so you choose what goes in the deck.

Galaxy Zento, Expansion One: Lots of great cards to add to your board game. Check out the all new Monsters! More spells, more characters, more artifacts! Comes with a tip guide on how to customize your game!

Marshmallow Fight!: (I would be remiss if I didn't put a link here even though it's not GZ). This is a great family party game! Perform stunts with marshmallows for points and be your household champion. You can finally play with your food! This game has been reviewed by PalladinElliott and FatherGeek with approval from both!


And there you have it! This will be the ultimate guide to all the links that I will share in a few places. If you haven't jumped in on GZ yet, you've been missing out. It's a universe of unique and original characters. People have said some interesting things about it:


- It's like Star Wars met Marvel.
- It's definitely not Disney.
- A new kind of space opera.

And the story is really only getting started. Big thanks to all my readers! More to come!

The Art Process

Once in a while I get asked what my process is to my artwork. Today, I'll answer that question. I have several steps that I use to put my artwork together. Sometimes I work on a Wacom tablet, but my true love is pencil to paper. I'm going to use a pic I was just working on for a special prize set to go with my board game. This will be the art for the Horseman of Apocalypse called, Plague (or Pestilence if you must).

First I start with pencils. I just use a number 2 and sketch away with basic shapes and refinement.  I work on paper that's at least 50 lb weight. That means it's sturdy and less likely to crumple when I erase pencil marks. I do have a tendency to use what's on sale if what I really want is too expensive. Hey, artists have a budget after all. I don't get into a lot of ultra small details at this level because my hands simply can't do it. On today's pic, I was having an exceptionally good day. Any other time and smaller details get added digitally.

Next is inking (photo above) This is the hardest part for me. I have to ink when my tremors are at their calmest. That's usually first thing in the morning because I haven't done anything to tax myself yet. For new readers; I have MS and my work is part of overcoming that. I have a cup with more than one set of drafting pens in it. I use several tip sizes to preserve the detail I'm aiming for. Even so, some errors will have to correct in the digital step.

Digital. I take the photo that you see from the ink step and load it up in Photoshop. I crop the image and use a layer called 'threshold' to instantly make it digital black and white. At this point, I can use tricks to zoom in on lines and correct them or make sure they are all connected where I want. I can add small details (see if you can spot the changes) that my hands weren't letting me do before. Once I have all the lines fixed and have added details I want, I get to my favorite part.

That would be coloring. I use the filler tool for the flats and then brushes for all the other details. I can zoom in and add all sorts of neat details like bloodshot eyes. I'll be the first to tell you that I'm not the most tech savvy guy. I still don't know a lot of tricks and even videos don't help with my specific programs as much as I'd hope. But I'm learning and that's what is important.

Now that you see Plague in color, you might be wondering what he's holding. Well, it's not his sneezy cloth. It's the Scarf of Pestilence. The nasty looking end can give you any disease while the clean end can cure any ailment. On second thought, maybe that's how he fuels the thing. Nah. Hope you enjoyed the simple breakdown. I have more drawing to do!