I’m a huge fan of Steven Spielberg’s early films. Close Encounters of the Third Kind was the first of his movies I saw. Sure, it was on television, and as a kid, I didn’t understand all of it. But I recognized that it was about aliens and was mysterious and visually stunning. Next, I was awed by Raiders of the Lost Ark which I saw in the theater with my family. My sister and I saw E.T. in the theaters. I skipped Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom but I loved Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Spielberg made many more blockbusters but I admit, I tuned out most of them.

Skip to the present. Spielberg’s latest film is Disclosure Day. On its surface, it seems to be about an Edward Snowden-esque individual racing to find a way to reveal proof to the public that the U.S. government has known about extraterrestrials since the 1940s. But the underlying crux of the film is the idea that humans knowing about alien life in the universe would undermine Christian religion and belief in God. Why? According to the film, it's because these aliens have supernatural powers that seem godlike. One of the supporting characters is an ex-nun and a question is raised throughout the film: Is God just over the Earth or can He be over the whole universe?

I found this amusing because that was the whole premise to my science-fantasy trilogy, the Jordan of Algoran Series. And the answer is this: God reigns over the whole universe. He is not limited to one world. In Jordan’s World (Book One), the main character Jordan Lewis and her mother have been abducted from Earth and stranded on a distant Earth-like world called Algoran. During an outing with her hunting pack, Jordan is injured and dying. Yet the Lord makes an appearance to her and asks if she will trust Him to heal her. She does and not only survives the experience, but the rest of her life changes as a result of that trust.

There also is a legendary, very powerful figure on Algoran named SnowFire. But her influence is only present on Algoran.

It’s a very simple premise. God made the universe. He is a Spirit and outside of the confines of time and space. He is not limited in any way.
In my fictional universes, I write alien beings, other worlds, fantastic technologies and such. But God is always more powerful than any of them. And Jesus is always the solutions to every problem, whether on Earth, in space on a starship or in another solar system or dimension.

That’s the beauty of Christian fiction. You don’t have to actually believe in extraterrestrials or any conspiracy theories. What matters is that your writing is inspired by God through the Holy Spirit and that Jesus and salvation are depicted accurately. Everything else is just details.

Over the years, I've met a lot of interesting people and made some great friends. Between 2006 and 2011, I ran a podcast named PODWOM (Podcast Without Measure) that was size acceptance-oriented and I had the pleasure of interviewing a number of people in different fields from research to fitness to entertainment. One of those guests also became a good friend and her name was Robyn McGee. She was an academic, author, and mother.

The original interview was in 2006 or 2007 but we loosely stayed in touch through Facebook and I always wished her a happy birthday. This morning, Facebook notified me of her birthday but I felt something was "off," so I visited her profile and learned she passed away last summer.  June 3rd would have been her 71st birthday.

So, to honor her memory and life, I want to share our interview from years ago (play video - audio only - below). Rest in peace, Robyn. You'll be missed.

I recently uploaded a solo studio album I created in Austin, Texas between 1988 and 1990 to YouTube. It was originally recorded digitally then mixed down and reproduced in cassette (1990 was just before CDs were a thing). Many years later, I transferred the album's songs to digital MP3s and remixed them.

I recorded the album between the ages of 18 and 20 years old, which was six years before I became a Christian. I consider this audio/musical testimony of who and where I was at that time: young, creative, emotional, ambitious, and in the middle of establishing who I would become. I had just started having (romantic) relationships which almost always leads to songwriting. There is no swearing or anything overtly lewd on this album. It ranged from heavy pop to country-esque to dance-y to very experimental.

This passion project allowed me to collaborate with some talented musicians and people. In additional, I wrote all the lyrics and sang lead vocals on all of the songs. I played a number of instruments: electric bass guitar on all but three songs ("Robin," "Jody's Dream" and "Fever Dream"), keyboards/synthesizers on all but one song ("Jody's Dream"), intro and rhythm guitar on “Fever Dream,” and I programmed electronic drums on all songs except "Juxtaposition Fantasia."

Please understand: I don't share this to promote sin; I share it to convey the change Jesus made in my life. I was an idealistic young man at the time, trying to decide how I felt about abortion and other political matters (on one song), lustful, vengeful, confused (even self-tortured), and all I wanted was to find a soulmate. A lot of people are like that.

But the Lord had mercy on me and turned me around. A year after I finished this album, I met Angel, the woman who would become my wife. Not long after that, we became good friends and six months later, I asked her to be my girlfriend. A few months after that, she proposed to me and I accepted. We married two and a half years later in 1995. She gave her life to Jesus Christ two weeks before our first son was born. Four months after that, I saw my own need for the Lord and asked Him to be my Savior in January 1996. In that moment, I was spiritually reborn and now I write Christian fiction and perform music for my God and Savior.

This album has not been for sale since the early 1990s. It is purely for entertainment purposes. I hope you enjoy it. I know it's really rough in places, more album-length demo than polished production. I imagine opinions will vary even from song to song. But it's very honest and heartfelt. That's what I wanted at the time.