Happy 4th of July!

First and foremost, I want to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July! I hope your weekend is filled with fireworks, barbecue, family and friends. As a retired veteran, I am always proud to be a part of our nation’s birthday. I like to think it’s a sense of pride, although some in the world today might see it more as arrogance.

Is it arrogant to be proud and patriotic? I don’t think so. People have pride in their looks, in the job they do, in celebrating achievements through life, like graduations. What’s wrong with pride in one’s country?

To me, that pride is transcendent of not only who you are but where you live. People who come to America from other countries are proud of their heritage but that changes when they raise their hand and take the oath to become American citizens. I’ve witnessed such a ceremony and, believe me, it’s a very emotional moment when an immigrant proudly calls him/herself an American for the first time.

In the Forever Avalon series, Lord Bryan MoonDrake starts out as a simple Sailor, devoted to God, duty, country and family, while serving in the U.S. Navy. That patriotism—that pride—transcends when he finds himself stranded on Avalon, after he discovered his extraordinary  lineage with one of the original Knights of the Round Table.

At that moment, he changed his loyalty, devotion to duty and his patriotism from the United States of America to Avalon. Though his world changed completely for him, he took it in stride as he stepped up and assumed the mantle of the Gil-Gamesh. Instead of answering to the President of the United States, he now answered to the King of Avalon.

This may seem simple enough plotline for a story but it’s really not. A lot of thought and emotion goes into decisions like this. The real question is, what happens if those loyalties are tested?

This is a tease for the next installment of the Forever Avalon series I’m currently working on, tentatively title The Outlander War! I hope to have it finished by the end of the year. Now, those of you who’ve read The Dark Tides know what little twist I’m talking about; and for those of you who haven’t read it yet, I hope you’ll take the opportunity to pick up my book. I guarantee that, after you do, you’ll be eagerly anticipating the third book.

In any case, I guess what I was really trying to say is that, though it may not be “politically correct” to be patriotic anymore, I wear it with a great deal of pride. I am proud to have served my country, I am proud to live in the greatest nation on the planet and I am definitely proud to be an American. Have a safe and happy Independence Day! God bless you and God bless the United States of America!

The Dark Tides is now available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iUniverse.