'He was darkness in a world of darkness, and soon he’d dance again.' Note: I received a paperback copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. So how does the rest of my story go? I’ll tell you when I get there it’s still a work in progress. I’d spent the last fifteen years refining my skills and building a solid foundation of knowledge, so I figured what better time than the twilight of my career to throw all that out the window and start from scratch in an entirely new field. In 2013, I hung up my cool shades and leather jacket and donned a pocket protector and masking-tape-repaired glasses, transitioning from Army Aviation to Operations Research and Systems Analysis. It was some years ago, and my memory is fading faster than a cheap tattoo. I attended flight school in Alabama, where I learned to wear cool shades and a leather jacket, and something about helicopters. In 1998, I graduated from West Point and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in Army Aviation. This lent me to writing angst-filled poetry and short stories when I should have been paying attention in class or studying in the barracks, thereby resulting in the refinement of my craft and lending credence to that familiar idiom - you know, silver linings and all that. I somehow fooled Uncle Sam into believing I’d one day make a great leader of men, and he promptly shipped me off to the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY, where I languished in a turmoil of emotions ranging from apathy to not giving a damn.

I’ve been an avid reader ever since, throwing my lot with Frank and Joe Hardy, the three investigators, and much later, Roland Deschain and his ka-tet. It hooked me, and I took to main-lining novels and working the libraries like an eight-year-old junky looking to score his next fix. I read my first novel, Cujo, in the third grade. Once I outgrew the newspaper, she moved on to Golden Books. My Mom started by reading the newspaper to me, ensuring I was up to speed on current events. As an only child, my parents were able to devote their existences to catering to my every whim. I took on this mortal coil in 1976 in Omaha, NE. Get your copy of my award-winning sci-fi novel, The Eighth Day, totally free at: Follow me on BookBub.

The Eighth Day by Joseph John