Thursday, July 4, 2019

My Favorite Poem!




"The Road Not Taken"
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Friday, May 24, 2019

Another Of My Favorite Poets: Seamus Heaney from Ireland



"Bogland"
by Seamus Heaney


We have no prairies 
To slice a big sun at evening-- 
Everywhere the eye concedes to 
Encrouching horizon, 

Is wooed into the cyclops' eye 
Of a tarn. Our unfenced country 
Is bog that keeps crusting 
Between the sights of the sun. 

They've taken the skeleton 
Of the Great Irish Elk 
Out of the peat, set it up 
An astounding crate full of air. 

Butter sunk under 
More than a hundred years 
Was recovered salty and white. 
The ground itself is kind, black butter 

Melting and opening underfoot, 
Missing its last definition 
By millions of years. 
They'll never dig coal here, 

Only the waterlogged trunks 
Of great firs, soft as pulp. 
Our pioneers keep striking 
Inwards and downwards, 

Every layer they strip 
Seems camped on before. 
The bogholes might be Atlantic seepage. 
The wet centre is bottomless. 


Sunday, May 12, 2019

MERLIN & ARTHUR: The Awakening -- Almost finished!




I'm finally working on the last chapter of my new SciFi/Fantasy novel, Merlin & Arthur: The Awakening. Once chapter 30 is done, I'll write the epilogue, and then the book will go into editing. I can't believe I'm this close to finishing the first draft! It's been quite a journey!

Writing the climax of the book has been an incredible experience, not only because of the book's complexity but also because of how hard I've labored to keep the tension building to the very end. It's been a challenge, but I'm extremely pleased with how it's coming together.

I'm looking forward to sharing Merlin & Arthur: The Awakening with you! It will still be awhile before it's published but keep checking my blog for updates. When it's done and when it's published, you'll be the first to know!

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

One Of My Favorite Poets


Mary Oliver



Mary Oliver is one of my favorite poets. Sadly she passed away in January of this year. I'll miss her voice.



Thursday, April 11, 2019

Update: My New Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novel




In my new Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel, Merlin & Arthur: The Awakening, I'm currently working on chapter 26. I've written over 123,000 words so far and just recently entered the build up to the climax.  It will take place over several chapters, and there will be an epilogue at the end to tie it all together.

I'll be leaving for Scotland again, probably in September, so I'm hoping to complete the book within a couple of months or so.

This particular novel has not been an easy one to write. I started it on October 16, 2016, and have been working on it since. Three months before that, I did a great deal of research to prepare, and it didn't stop there. In every chapter since, I've had to continue to do additional research. In fact, the other day it took two hours to complete one paragraph due to the need to look up information.

The story has elements of the Merlin and Arthur legend in it that I wanted to carry on within the plot, but most of it is told slightly in the future. It takes place in various locations around the world and has an important strand of international intrigue built in as well. Throughout the plot there's a large cast of characters, several government agencies from different countries, and aspects of fantasy and science fiction woven throughout.

As you can imagine, it's been an incredible amount of work, but I've loved every minute of it and have approached this book somewhat differently than my others. From the start, I set out to have each chapter be mini-story of sorts, yet still write it in such a way as to encourage the reader to wonder about what would happen next. I also incorporated a similar writing philosophy within each sentence and paragraph, attempting to end them with the most important word or phrase - not burying the lead, so to speak.

One last tidbit that I wanted to share with you was that I've been struggling mightily with the climax and ending of the book. However, two days ago I was working on chapter 26, and it all started coming together. I was relieved and extremely excited! I take a great deal of pride in how my books end, and I didn't want to let myself, the characters, or you down with this one. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I'm looking forward to sharing Merlin & Arthur: The Awakening with you!

Keep checking my blog for updates. When it's done, you'll be the first to know!

Thursday, March 7, 2019

Two Reviews From One Of My European Readers!



Below are two 5 star reviews from one of my readers in Europe for my fantasy novels Beatrice and Black Grotto.


Beatrice: Book I of the Alban Saga
Beatrice was my first book of Bob Stegner. From the very beginning I was sucked into this great story. I love Scottish Culture, and the author did an amazing job of promoting it. I love the mixture of fantasy and history of the ancient Celtic culture. Strong and interesting characters, dynamic action, and a really unexpected ending made this book one of my favourites. I truly appreciate Stegner's talent of describing places. I have always wanted to visit Scotland, now I desire it even more. I would love to see some of the places described in Beatrice. I strongly recommend this book. I had a lot of fun reading it and cannot wait for its continuation!

Black Grotto: Book II of the Alban Saga
It was so much fun to come back to the world created by Stegner. I have been waiting for this book for a long time. The result is just great. The new adventures of the Scottish family that has to face evil again are fantastic. The story is very rich with descriptions of the interesting places in Scotland that most of us would like to see. The Black Grotto is a very complex book that offers a lot of new possibilities for continuation. I hope that we will meet the characters created in Beatrice and Black Grotto again. Cannot wait for another book of this author!

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

2nd Edition of ROOMS & THE CHOSEN Released!


                                           2nd Edition                           2nd Edition



The 2nd edition of my young adult science fiction novels Rooms: Book I of the Rooms' Series and The Chosen: Book II of the Rooms' Series have been released. They are both new versions of the older novels that have been revised and edited and include new blurbs on the back.

The series name is new for the two books as well. I don't believe I will be adding any other books to the series so this set will probably be a duology.

The new 2nd edition for both books is now available in either paperback or Kindle eBook on any Amazon site around the world. Just search for "Bob Stegner" to view them. On some Amazon sites you'll need to include the quotation marks around my name.