About Lifeology Bookshop

“A Life Without Books is Like a Body Without a Soul.”

I’ve been reading & writing since I was a kid, and now blogging for many years, all the while continually citing books, referencing books, quoting from books, and of course recommending books. So I decided to launch my own Lifeology Bookshop, so I can more directly discuss and recommend my library, my favorite reads, and even my out-of-control TBR stacks!

Plus, the Bookshop.org platform platform helps support independent authors & creators (like me), and they donate a percentage of all sales to independent bookstores across the nation, to help them compete against the industry giants like Amazon and the big corporate bookstore chains. So when you buy a book from Lifeology Bookshop, you not only get a great book (and trustworthy recommendations!), but you help support my work as an independent author/creator, as well as supporting independent, mom-and-pop bookstores across the country!

So please consider browsing Lifeology Bookshop!

About Me

I am an author, blogger, artist & craftsman living in Las Vegas, NV. Certified in both nutrition & ancestral health, I am a healthy nutrition & lifestyle advocate. As for personality type, I am INTJ (and BTW, got the mug too!). I also love animals & wildlife, and am particularly fond of cats—both domestic and wild. Under Eastwood Innovations, LLC I operate Lifeology Blog, Lifeology Store, Lifeology Bookshop, and Woodlands Press. My books are available on Amazon, and some of my fiction is also published on this blog under My Fiction. My much-anticipated epic novel PRIMEVAL was released on Amazon in Sept of 2025, and is currently available in trade paperback. Subscribe to the Lifeology Blog Newsletter and/or follow my Amazon author page for updates.

(For a more complete biography, please feel free to review my Bio Page).

About My Fiction

I’ve been reading and writing (well, trying to write, anyway) since I was old enough to know how to do either. I still remember, when I was just a kid, spending endless hours downstairs banging away on my mom’s old typewriter, trying to write novels. In grade school I won a little writing contest and was published in the community newspaper. Later, in junior high school, I discovered they offered a typing class, and I immediately signed up—thus furthering my hope of becoming a writer. (If I remember correctly, I was the only guy in a class full of girls…I know, I know, showing my age…). As an adult, I worked as a technical writer, marketing & advertising copywriter, and graphic designer for a manufacturing company. During that time, I had a poem published (The Wall), as well as some articles in the local newspaper. I also wrote a little rhyming children’s story entitled Kip the Kangaroo, which never went anywhere—I didn’t know anyone who could draw cartoon animals!—but I eventually managed to work it into my novel PRIMEVAL (detailed below).

My First Short Stories

Years later, around 2001, while living in Houston, Texas, I completed my first short story: the psychologically twisted A Sweet Ride (which remains a reader favorite to this day). A Sweet Ride is now available as a Kindle single, and is also included in my collection Rolling The Bones.

My first Story A Sweet Ride remains a reader favorite to this day!

Then in 2009, my mystifying story The Traveler was awarded First Place in the International Short Fiction Competition hosted by Carpe Articulum Literary Review Magazine (unfortunately, the magazine is no longer being published). The Traveler is now available as a Kindle single, and is also included in my collection Rolling The Bones.

Editorial Review:

“This piece was strong because it takes the reader through the experiences much the same way that a screenwriter ushers you through a film. You see pieces scene-by-scene, and in a way the make you feel as if you are truly experiencing the events as they unfold. I especially thought the use of a non-linear timeline was effective in this story. That is not an easy accomplishment, and in most cases, lands the piece in the “round file” (rubbish bin). Here, however, the writer takes a gamble and it works for him. It is a mature piece with a particularly believable protagonist.”

~ H. R. L. Broscova, Editor-In-Chief, Carpe Articulum Literary Review

The Traveler won First Place in an international fiction competition!

And the following year, my ghost story Forever Anna Day won Honorable Mention (essentially 4th place) in that same International Short Fiction Competition. I’ve since expanded the short story into a novella, which is now available on Amazon in trade paperback and on Kindle, and is also included in my collection Rolling The Bones.

Also in 2010, my chilling short story CATS (not the musical) ascended the ranks to become a Finalist (top 100) in the Writer’s Digest 79th Annual Writing Competition, in the Genre Short Story category (horror), and eventually placing 40th. Deciding there must be more to the story, I’ve since expanded CATS to a short novel re-named CATS: the number of the beast, which is now also included in my collection Rolling The Bones.

My short story CATS (not the musical) was a finalist in the Writer’s Digest competition, and is now a short novel (CATS: the number of the beast), which is included in Rolling The Bones!

My First Book: Rolling The Bones | 12 Tales of Life, Death, Loss, & Redemption

In 2016, I published my “dark fiction” collection Rolling The Bones, which comprises twelve subtly interconnected tales: 8 short stories, 3 novellas, and a short novel. I followed up with a hardcover edition of Bones in 2021. And, Bones has garnered multiple 5-star ratings on Amazon. Plus, I’ve also shared some of the stories here on Lifeology, under My Fiction, which are also linked in the list below.

Rolling The Bones: 12 Tales of Life, Death, Loss, & Redemption

Writer’s Digest Literary Judge Review:

“This collection of a dozen short stories and novellas gives the reader a rich variety of points of view and plot twists. The emphasis is generally on character rather than action, even in a piece about rape and guilt during World War II. The author uses many of the key devices for good literary story-telling: simile, metaphor, alliteration, strong verbs and so on. He creates good imagery and plays with the timeline as needed. For example, in the opening fiction, The Traveler, the first-person narrative gives the author the key to much interior dialogue. Other selections look at the tensions that arise in all relationships and how they play out, both in the short term and long term. There is even humor, not just in some of the titles (Forever Anna Day). In another piece, the metaphysical plays out in a struggle between human shadows that possess more presence than their human counterparts. These creative looks at the human condition are entertaining even though some are faster paced than others. The “bones” or dice in question symbolize the ambiguity of life and life choices as each story seems to look at the essence of duality in one form or another. One of the pluses of any anthology like this is that the author gets to explore and flex. This author does that as well. The skull image on the cover portends more of a negative tone to the contents than is there; while some selections certainly are dark, there is redemption here as well.”

THE BONES:

• The Traveler (award winner)
• A Sweet Ride (reader favorite)
• Hell or High Water (a personal favorite)
• Forever Anna Day (novella, award winner)
• Request Denied (reader favorite, also shared in My Fiction)
• The Crossing (novella, a personal favorite, and now the premise of my novel PRIMEVAL)
• A Bearable Darkness of Being (a personal favorite, also shared in My Fiction)
• Roughing It (novella)
• The Calling
• This Old House
• CHAMBERS
• CATS: the number of the beast (award-winning short story, now a short novel)

NOTE: Shortly after its release, I was invited on to the Seeds of Liberty podcast to discuss the book, as one of the hosts had read it and thought it was amazing and recommended they have me on to discuss it. So, for more in-depth details of the book, the stories, and my own writing style/processes, check out that podcast episode here.

Flash Fiction

I’ve also dabbled in “flash fiction” (usually 1,000 words or less, or thereabouts), some of which I’ve shared in My Fiction, a few of which were finalists in Crystal Lake Publishing‘s Shallow Waters Flash Fiction Competition (The Road Home and The Ritual), and The Road Home was included in Crystal Lake’s Shallow Waters Flash Fiction Anthology Vol. 5, as well as their final collection (top 100 selections from all the series): Shallow Waters Horror Flash Fiction Anthology.

My flash-fiction story The Road Home is included in Crystal Lake’s Shallow Waters Horror Anthology

My First Novel

I now have an extensive novel under development (working title PRIMEVAL, and estimated to come in at 750 – 800 pages), along with other various writing projects.

UPDATE 7/18/25: The first draft of PRIMEVAL is now complete, and the printed galley proof has entered the beta-reader review/critique process prior to public release…and yes, it did actually come in at 762 pages as anticipated!

PRIMEVAL galley proof ready to be sent out to beta-readers!

UPDATE 9/22/25: PRIMEVAL is now available on Amazon! The final novel, spanning centuries and nearly 800 pages, is now available in trade paperback:

My epic novel PRIMEVAL is now available on Amazon in trade paperback, weighing in at nearly 800 pages!

PRIMEVAL Synopsis:

“Something evil has been haunting the town of Hope for decades, leaving mysterious disappearances and bloody killings in its wake. Some believe there’s some kind of creature or monster lurking somewhere deep in Black Woods or Blackwater Swamp out on the outskirts of town; some believe that Black Woods itself is haunted; and still others believe that those are all just rumors, folklore, old wives’ tales-after all, nobody’s ever seen…whatever it is (and lived to tell about it, anyway)…But when a young boy comes face to face with the beast and miraculously survives, then the hunt is on…but what the hunters discover is much bigger, and much deeper, and much more ancient than anyone in Hope had ever imagined…”

Order your copy of PRIMEVAL today!

Check Out All of My Books on Amazon

To peruse all of my fiction, and for notification of future book releases, please visit/follow my Amazon Author Page.

Browse all of my books on Amazon!