It was date night with daughter number 4. I asked her what she’d like to do.

She said she wanted to play a computer game. She likes the ones on friv.com. Probably because there are a couple hundred to choose from, and they’re free.

Every time we’d play games before, we’d play Miragine War. Warriors, monks, zombies. My army against hers. Sometimes I’d win. Sometimes she’d win. It’s a fun game. It gets a little tedious with the back and forth, but we always had a good time with the slaughter.

This time she wanted to play something new called FireBoy and WaterGirl.

The animation is done in a style similar to FancyPants, which I just love. Not as exaggerated, but still fun movement. The two characters are cute. FireBoy dies in water. WaterGirl dies in fire. Both die in the green mud. And the interesting thing is that it isn’t a competition. I don’t have anything against games that pit players against each other. I love them. But this one was a nice change. The two players actually have to help each other to progress. Part of the fun is figuring out exactly what each of you have to do and in what order to make it through the scenarios.

So daughter 4 and I laughed and yelled and cheered when we didn’t die. We had a great time. We must have played for at least two hours.

If you’re looking for a good date, give FireBoy and WaterGirl a try. Oh, and if you go to Friv.com to play it, it’s the little guy with the burning head.

You’re waiting. I’m waiting. And I’m going nuts. I initiated a process last summer that I thought for sure would be completed by October. Well, that was six months ago.

I was told in January to give it six weeks.

We blew past that.

And so I’m waiting.

The oxen are slow, but the earth is patient.

There’s a special joy in sharing a wonderful experience with someone else. There’s a delight in reliving the experience afterwards, in recalling key moments and quoting funny or cool lines. This is especially true of books. One of my favorite book experiences is Ender’s Game. Which is why I’m so happy to announce that Smart Pop is about to release a collection of articles written by folks sharing their experience with that book.

You get to hear from Eric James Stone about how the book should have ended. You get to hear from Matt Nix (creator and producer of Burn Notice) how the book was a guide to his life. You get to hear from Colonel Tom Ruby why he made the book mandatory reading for the Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College.

There are 11 other articles from Neal Shusterman, Captain John F. Schmitt U.S.M.C., Mary Robinette Kowal, Hilari Bell, Ken Scholes, Mette Ivie Harrison, and many others. There are Q&A sections. And there is Card’s own introduction in which he explains what Ender’s Game is really about for him. All of these articles are wonderful reads.

If you loved Ender’s Game like I did, you’re going to enjoy this book. You can get a free PDF excerpt from the book that includes a few of the Q&As from Card along with the full version of my essay “The Monster’s Heart.” To download the PDF, just scroll down to where it says “Sign Up for Free Chapters & Book Updates”: http://www.smartpopbooks.com/book/enders-world.

Folks, I just finished the first draft of my working outline for AWFUL INTENT. I’m stoked. Lots of research and lots fun and sometimes maddening work to get to this point. Here’s the current version of the summary, which will change.

Southeastern Utah. 30,000 square miles of red-rock desert and wilderness.  One of the least populated places in the United States. The perfect place to hide just about anything.

Frank Shaw is just passing through. He was once an elite soldier, trained to see what others want to hide. Then he made some terrible mistakes and fell from grace. Except the old skills never went away: they were only heightened during his time behind bars. Which is why Frank notices the fearful woman in the McDonalds and the killer watching her. 

Frank could move on. He’s got a life to put together and a sandwich to buy. But some things are more important than a Big Mac. Frank follows the man who follows the woman, and that one decision leads Frank to a ranch that isn’t a ranch and into a plot of awful proportions.

When Frank and the strong female Sheriff from the small town a number of miles away discover the truth, they try to get back and call for help, but the rancher is on to them and sends a private army out to hunt them down in the wilderness. Frank and the Sheriff will need to use all their combined skills to survive. Because time is running out, and thousands of lives are at stake.

My agent got back to me on BAD PENNY. I will be focusing on some tweaks over the next two or three weeks. Then we need to get that moving forward.

Finally, I know some of you are wondering about the DARK GOD series. And why wouldn’t you be with my earlier post? Things haven’t been finalized. Soon, Grasshopper. Soon.

I cannot share any details at the moment, but just know that news about the Dark God series is coming in a few weeks. This isn’t me saying ”I hope to be able to share news.” This is me saying discussions have occured, decisions have been made, and it’s going to take a few weeks before it’s all finalized. 

I want all of you who have contacted me in various ways the last 2-3 years expressing your enjoyment of SERVANT and interest in CURSE to know that I appreciate your letters and tweets and emails and comments.  I will, at long last, be able to answer your questions. Stay tuned.

You read some reviewers because they regularly set you back in your chair with keen insight. You read others because their phrasing and voice are so delightful that you find yourself unable not to read, even when they venture forth into exciting areas like soup cans and lug nuts. I, alas, fear I cannot occupy either role when I tell you about the BBC’s 2009 mini-series production of Jane Austen’s Emma.

I cannot because have no keen insight into acting or film-making or film adaptations. I am not an expert on the late 18th and early 19th century England.  I am not an Austen junkie (although you can be sure I intend to become one shortly).

Surely, as a writer, I could come up with some kind of amazing assessment. But I cannot because I am speechless. I am filled with a fine joy. I have spent nearly four hours with my wife and two of my lovely daughters watching a delightful tale unfold about the fates of a number of characters–some foolish, some arrogant, some quirky, but most of them splendidly human and noble.

This. THIS is what I go to story for. To be transported. To laugh. To cry. To hope and fear and feel suspense for another.  To spend time with wonderful characters.  To have lived just a little more while under the story’s sway.

Gush, gush, gush.

Such an unmanly thing to do. But to hell with that. I am a man who loves Jane Austen and shoot ‘em up thrillers both.

And if you enjoy Cranford or Pride & Prejudice or Downton Abbey, then you will love this production of Emma too. You will want to own it.

Romola Garai plays the star role of Emma. I enjoyed every minute she was on the screen. I didn’t know who she was, but it appears she was in the 2006 Amazing Grace with Ioan Gruffudd. I might have to watch that one again just to see more of her work. Mr. Knightly, Emma’s lifelong friend, is played by Jonny Lee Miller who starred in Eli Stone, one of my favorite TV series. I loved watching every minute with him equally as well. There were some other familiar British actors; and more I hadn’t seen before. I thought they all did an excellent job.

As for the story, it’s about Emma, who believes she has an amazing ability at match making and prognosticating and very soon runs into to trouble because of it. It’s also about kindness, and generosity, and, most of all, love. Of so many varieties.

If you’re wondering what to watch this next week, order this one now.