1. I am a Leo, born in 1971, the year of the Boar.
2. I’m average looking and average size, but I’m wicked smart.
3. I love living in Rockford, Illinois. I wish others who live here did too.
4. I quietly take everything in until I have something intelligent to say.
5. I drink Budweiser. It’s called the King of Beers for a reason.
6. I was a Reagan Republican until I became capable of independent thought.
7. My family use to camp each weekend. I miss the friends I had and the rivers and streams where we would play.
8. When I was 12 I wrote a story about my friends running off to the woods to live with Indians and fight ninjas.
9. I’m a hockey goalie, everyone thinks it’s scary. I’m more afraid of letting my team down.
10. I coach hockey. It isn’t hard if your players believe in you. The hard part is getting them to believe in themselves.
11. I am a fan of the Chicago Blackhawks and Bears. Sorry MJ, I only liked basketball with you.
12. I am boycotting they Chicago Cubs until the commit the winning the World Series.
13. Walter Payton was my idol growing up. Now I idolize his family for championing organ donation.
14. I don’t like cold weather. I wish I lived somewhere warm, like Florida.
15. I’ve written comic books. I like the fact the images are more important than the words.
16. I don’t get enough sleep. My job gets in the way of what I really want to do.
17. I am a realist. There isn’t enough common sense to go around.
18. I spend a lot of time inside my head. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.
19. I have a problem with people who lie. Honesty is the best virtue.
20. I believe television has made all dumber. The vote is still out on the Internet.
21. You may think Steve Jobs was an asshole. I believe the iPad is a game changer. Deal with it.
22. I prefer taking photos of landscapes and wildlife to taking portraits.
23. I find taking photos very therapeutic and calming to my mind.
24. I continue to rewrite my screenplays because I am never satisfied.
25. I have been writing a novel for the last ten years. My second one shouldn’t take that long.
26. My mother died of liver cancer, my father of a brain hemorrhage. I was with each of them when they died.
27. I am a reformed Catholic. I’m Agnostic.
28. I believe Jesus and Mohammad believed in themselves.
29. I don’t believe in Jesus, I just believe in me.
30. When I was young I wanted to be like Walt Disney and create my own magical place. I still do.

I try to choose goals that are attainable. For instance I don’t specify something like: ‘Write a novel’, because it’s too general. You need to do something on a regular basis for a month to create a habit. Some writers mark a calender on days they write to keep track. This is a great way to make yourself feel guilty, especially if you place it where you see it every day. Guilt is a powerful motivator. You can use this technique for just about everything.

Here are my resolutions for 2012:

1. Establish a routine to create a stronger mind & body.
A healthy body is a healthy mind. I want to work out more this year so I’m going to attempt to guilt myself into exercising more.

2. Live life more creatively. I will make time to be more creative and write on a regular basic.
This year I’m going to hammer myself on writing regularly. Sorry Facebook and Twitter, but I have to cut somewhere.

3. Reduce distractions in my life that keep me from my goals.
Work gets in the way, taking the kids to hockey practice gets in the way, life gets in the way. There are plenty of important things that get in the way, most aren’t.  Set priorities and stick to it. There are no excuses.

First up is the final draft of Dancing with the Devil:

How far will a father go to be reunited with his recently deceased son? Jimmy Parks unwittingly makes a deal with the devil to kill seven people in order to see his son again.

More on Dancing with the Devil to come.

I’ll try to keep on creating relative post on all things which interest me. Keep in mind I haven’t hired an editor for the site since they usually want paid for their work. I always enjoy comments and feedback so keep them coming.