I believe in God. I also believe in ghosts. My belief in the former was actually facilitated by the multiple experiences I had with the latter. It proved easier to have faith in God once I believed in ghosts, especially after my college education had destroyed Young Earth Creationism in my mind. As I've made clear in the past, I primarily believe in both of these things due to personal experiences, of events that I strongly believe actually happened to me. This does not mean that I consider myself gullible or easily fooled. I try not to make any firm conclusions prior to at least a minimal preliminary investigation. In fact, I am quite skeptical about fantastic claims and somewhat reluctant to make them myself, especially without some form of corroboration. A good friend of mine was involved in a number of my personal ghost experiences and verifies to this day that my recollections have been accurate, if not even conservative, so I am somewhat comfortable in saying my own ghost stories are true. Before I wrote about Scott Patterson's alleged supernatural experience at the New Mexico State Prison, I watched a lengthy documentary about the violence that took place during the infamous riot. While I cannot attest to the veracity of his ghost story, I can verify that the events he claimed that happened during the riot did indeed happen. Actually, the obscene violence during riot was even worse than what Patterson described. However, that does not necessarily mean that Patterson's story is true. It merely lend some credibility to the back story of his … [Read more...]
The importance of book reviews and a Kickstarter update
As an author, I realize that book reviews are critically important, as feedback for the writer as well as other prospective readers. Reading a book takes time, a precious commodity in this day and age. There are many authors with other books competing for the reader's attention. A positive review lets other readers know someone else enjoyed and recommends your book. As long as a negative review contains constructive criticism, they also provide valuable feedback to the writer, so they know what didn't work and where to improve. My first novel, Coastal Empire, received positive reviews...just not very many of them so far. My friends tend to call to tell me personally that they enjoyed my novel, rather than publishing a review for posterity. The former is appreciated, but the latter would be beneficial to me and other readers. Therefore, I entered Coastal Empire into a contest run by Reader's Favorite to gain exposure and get another published review of my book. Here's what reviewer Annie B. said in her five star review about my first novel: "Coastal Empire", written by John “Rocky” Leonard, has its setting in the beautiful Savannah, Georgia. Our story begins with a murder and a big bang. When Sarah Reid walked into private investigator Robert Mercer office, he admired her beauty. She hired him to investigate her husband, Barry, a real estate tycoon, suspecting him of cheating on her. Mercer thought “her husband must be an idiot.” Could Barry be an adulterous husband or was it a case of identity theft? The investigation turned dangerous as the murder victims began … [Read more...]
Official Kickstarter campaign for Secondhand Sight
If you liked reading my novel Coastal Empire,I think you might enjoy my new book, officially released on September 7th. Please consider supporting my Kickstarter campaign for Secondhand Sight. … [Read more...]
Kickstarting Secondhand Sight
If there ever was any remaining doubt that my wife is brilliant, this Kickstarter book trailer she made for me today to promote my upcoming novel, Secondhand Sight, ought to eliminate it. It makes me want to buy my own book. Kudos again to Jason White for his outstanding cover design. Check out the trailer and let us know what you think. I'll post another update when the Kickstarter campaign goes live. … [Read more...]
Barnsley Gardens
My wife and I celebrated our twenty-third anniversary at the Barnsley Gardens resort last week. This most improbably located gem in north Georgia is only a few miles outside of Adairsville, about an hour north of Atlanta and south of Chattanooga with roughly the same traveling time. My general rule of thumb for vacations is that I steadfastly refuse to stay anywhere that isn't nicer than where I live. No problems there.Barnsley Gardens far exceeded my wildest expectations. In fact, I had only one complaint about the whole experience, if that's what you would call the purpose of my call...for the first time in memory, I called the resort after we left with my concern about being under-billed for our stay. The package we selected came with a complimentary round of golf for two OR a one-hour massage in the spa as part of the deal, or so I thought. Since my wife doesn't play golf and doesn't like massage, I took the freebie that came with the package, but also booked a one-hour facial for her. When the smoke cleared from billing, it was clear to me that no charges for the facial showed up on our bill, even though I signed a slip of paper charging the service to our room bill. It turned out that we didn't plan a long enough stay to include golf, anyway. As you can see from the pictures, we had plenty to see, walking the breathtaking gardens and exploring the ruins of the old Barnsley manor. Of course, "room" is a euphemism for the one bedroom standalone cottage we had to ourselves. When the staff found out it was our anniversary, we were showered with … [Read more...]
