Debut Novel Outside In to be Published August 13, 2013

Debut novel titled Outside In to be published by Greenleaf Book Group on August 13, 2013. Distribution available through all major stores and online retailers.

Looking outside you never see in but inside you can always see out.

Sometimes no action is the best action. The difficulty is knowing when.

Even an eagle needs a nest to fly home to.

I probably wouldn't keep touching the hot stove if my hand wasn't cold.

The smile you give is often exactly the one needed by another.

A donkey will never be a thoroughbred.

We are all tiny soldiers in a miniature dirt war.

See beyond the need; hear above the fear.

Oh, the grass? I see the grass. Some say it's green. I say it's there.

Just keep going, staying open, and you'll finally get there one day.

To know your greatest fear look on the backside of your biggest hope.

Finding the right words usually results from using the wrong words.

Regardless of the distance between two people, there is always more space behind them.

In an overgrown field lies a seed of truth if you are willing to look.

True trust, belief, and faith require no subsequent prepositional phrase.

Life is like a hotel fitness center - rarely what you want but you have to make the best of it to stay healthy.

If we didn't feel lonely now and then, how else would we know we are on our own paths and not just following someone?

Nothing grows without the combination of pressure and space.

When you're feeling angry, eat a cupcake.

Standing at the threshold of a great hallway. The path through which will lead to many doors. Some will be locked; others open. Be wary of those opened but believe in yourself. The key to any passage lies within.

To grasp more you have to let go of what you're holding.

Don't think. Just play. The brain always gets in the way.

That which I dream of, I would like to see. To become what I strive for, exist as I pretend to be.

Welcome the possibilities uncertainty brings.

The most important thing is not what the idea is but rather where it leads.

Each face is a universe unto itself.

Strength comes from accepting, not from overcoming.

Drove down a long bumpy road. Looking back I remember the bumps more than the smooth road between. Guess I should have appreciated them more along the way.

Understanding results from oscillating between focusing and forgetting.

The only healthy expectation expects the unexpected.

Boredom is allowing ourselves to become prisoners of our routines.

Focusing on the future comes at the expense of dealing with the present.

If I knew how important the things I forgot were, I probably would have remembered them.

In the end all we have are our thoughts.

All paths lead within.

Every culture understands a smile.

Ignored questions circle like buzzards.

Knowing what to do comes from learning what not to do.

Have you ever stared at your eyebrows in the mirror for so long that you swear they aren't real...yeah, me neither.

Ceremonies are only the midpoint between when the waiting and anxiety stop and the rest of your life begins.

The best decisions are often what you choose not to get involved in.

To truly understand the line, one must step over it from time to time.

Neither mine nor yours but ours.

Not as much fun swimming in calm water.

We may not want to live in the past, but the past lives inside of us.

True conversation is its own experience, and experience, not words, is what brings people closer.

More reasons why not to will always exist than why to, but belief in your feeling is the only reason that matters.

Solving a puzzle provides a brief sense of accomplishment...then nothing.

Don't allow patience to become waiting for something that will never happen.

Focus is only possible when we allow other edges to become dull.

To truly know someone offers the goodness of being understood.

Growth flourishes when one looks away.

Life is a simple production made complex.

The struggle for control is a battle never won.

Don't let the pain of caring prevent the joy of sharing.

Maybe winning isn’t everything. One just needs to hedge the outcome so the risk is minimized.

The difference between being free and lost is focusing on where you are rather than where you should be.

If excess leads to the palace of wisdom, then boredom surely leads to the shack of excess.

Our paths are neither circular nor straight but winding threads woven together in unbreakable braids.

The more confident the prediction, the more unlikely the outcome will happen.

Climb to the edge of the difficult. Leap to the ridge of the misunderstood. Soar to the peak of the unknown.

Time passes swiftly when we don’t think about anything, or maybe when we look back, we don’t recall anything significant to mark the passing time, so it’s remembered as one complete piece of life.

Every moment needs to be your best moment.

The only certainty is uncertainty.

You can't always be the smartest person in the room or the best looking, but you can be the best dressed.

Forgiving others allows us to accept our own imperfections.

Let go with confidence. Another breath will come.

A coincidence ignites a spark that one hopes will lead to something more meaningful.

A pen used only as an extension of the heart will always flow.

Turning elsewhere for answers often leaves us spinning.

Predictability translates to a listless existence.

Anonymity releases one from the chains of expectations.

Butterflies must flutter.

I am me. The time is now. You are here. Let's begin.

The choice given at the moment is the one to consider.

Our problems are not always our fault, but they are our responsibility.

Even chaos takes on a form over time.

To find the island within, one must plunge into the water.

The same actions that comfort eventually enslave.

Not all ice melts at the same rate.

That which causes our hands to quiver also makes our hearts pulse.

The people and activities we lose ourselves in are also where we discover who we truly are.

Overt strength and independence are just shields to hide behind.

Writing is like to sex - you usually do your best work in bed but the dining room or office can be a nice change of pace.

Like a wax flower planted in a real garden, melting in the afternoon sun, disappearing before ever truly living.

If we say things in our own words, we don't have to reference who said it, and people won't roll their eyes at us.

That which is unclear today, crystallizes over time.

If you end up with leftover parts, just throw them away.

Compromise is not a surrender but an act of strength to help someone else.

I should perhaps stop to think. But I think that perhaps I should not stop. For a thought is not wrong but a part of me. As I am not wrong when thinking like me.

Pretending hides the meaning but not the feeling.

I am a moment - an afterthought, a sigh, a flash of hope.

Travel can tap into the unconscious energy released by the displacement of the mind and body moving at different rates.

It's better to be narcoleptic than necrophilic.

Darkness is merely the period between opportunities.

We are not expected to change the past or predict the future, only to deal with the present.

Of course I can be spontaneous; I just need to plan it.

Lived 10,000 days and tried 10,000 ways. But the things in between are not what they seem as the mind always searches for more.

Under all the layers and hopeful prayers hides the person who cares.

If we keep believing in, committing to, and acting on our dreams, they remain alive.

If you're going to spank me, hit me hard enough to leave a mark.

Decadence is a nice place to visit but you don't want to live there.

Insurmountable problems are really just unrecognized solutions.

Unspoken does not mean unnoticed.

The unconscious has no off switch.

If I was an article of clothing, I'd be a women's skirt. Not for the obvious reasons; I just really like skirts.

Decided to do nothing today but then realized that was something so I kept trying and ended up having a busy although quite unproductive day.

Exceed expectations on your money days. The return will always surpass the investment.

A thought is like the weather - just because it changes doesn't make the previous instance less true.

Everything old will again be new. I see myself by looking at you.

Even when you stumble, you're still moving forward.

Little things build into something big only when engineered to do so.

Words are like people - to understand true meaning and worth you must look deeper than initial appearances.

All actions involve compromise. We just have to be honest about what we are willing to give up and what we expect in return.

To understand who you truly are, keep stepping outside yourself until you forget the way back in.

Find your meaning, sing your song.

Our imperfections define us but do not restrict us.

You talk too much. Just shut up and kiss me.

The funniest thing in the world is a sense of humor.

By peering into the darkest corners will we be truly illuminated.

Evaluate your experiences by the intensity of feeling rather than the time invested.

If we didn't feel lonely now and then, how else would we know we are on our own paths and not just following someone?

Sometimes one is willing to wait for tomorrow.

If life is so short, why do so many days seem so long?

Rationalization is foreplay with one's conscience.

Underwear is the only article of clothing that no one will know you are wearing unless you want the person to.

A Haiku for Spring: Light and warmth return. / Another winter survived. / Time to grow again.

The more we explore and share the seemingly unknowable parts of ourselves, the greater our contribution to the world shall be.

Commitment is accepting the decision has already been made.

Tomorrow is indeed a new day but easily can be the same if we resist change and ignore the possibilities offered.

A breath on the cheek, a breeze on the back...the muse speaks and then is gone.

Within the small pond, individual puddles bubble, each having its own purpose and mission but connected in this common space.

A person can swim farthest in calm water.

Circumstances are just a momentary outcome in a continual stream of events.

Be honest in the moment and let things unfold.

The more difficult the memory. the greater wisdom it holds.

You can't BS musical instruments or sporting equipment. Either you can play or you can't.

The toughest advice to follow is our own.

Got to get to three to make it to six to reach ten.

Beware of any sentence with the word should.

There's more to a tourist location than the drinks served. Most people never get past the hangover.

There's something comforting in times of searching to be around people who are as twisted as you are.

Working in obscurity means no one sees your mistakes.

Want to walk. Got to step. Want to fly. Go to leap.

Getting old is for people with nothing better to do.

Recognizing bad decisions before they happen doesn't make one a pessimist.

To forget a name is to lose a word. To not have something to remember one by is to never know the person at all.

Silence is our greatest teacher.

Deeper than the distress of discovery lies a yearning to uncover what is hidden under the veils cloaked around one's true self and share it with someone.

Age involves counting; wisdom requires living.

Faith, belief, trust, and confidence require a subject but not an object.

Step inside. Let's go for a ride. The journey begins when you come in.

Don't mistake lack of opportunity for good judgment.

A dream not followed is a story untold.

All darkness is a passing shadow.

Fear washes away confusion if you let the wave pass.

The right step isn't what you did yesterday or what you will do tomorrow but what you will do right now.

A negotiation is not a competition but a dance of compassion and compromise.

Trivial concerns fade when engaged and content.

A life without consequences would be a suffocating prison.

Balance is only a moment between two extremes.

Variety may be the spice of life, but consistency pays the bills.

The expiration for every moment is now.

As much as we hate to clean, it is perhaps our primary purpose - to dust away the layers covering one's true self and shine the discovered jewel.

Words may be cheap but sometimes it's all we can afford.

The problem with always holding out for the Wow is that a Whoa usually follows with an eventual Waa.

Blessings become burdens when we don't allow space.

Achievements may measure a life but struggle defines it. To be fullfilled, one must choose a struggle worth waging.

Rain on your wedding day may end a drought for another.

And so we stand teased by the future as it flickers in the distance revealing itself in flashes so we sense what is coming without knowing what it is.

Don't fight the universe.

One who hesitates is not lost because hesitation is the seed of patience.

If a candle was meant to be burned at both ends, it would have two wicks.

Be the guide you always wish you had.

The only time to think about is now.

Climbed many mountains and searched through the valleys. But what stands ahead and what lies behind are nothing compared to this moment in time.