Dream of Legends makes a top 5 list, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra Rocks Rupp Arena!

Yesterday I had a couple of very nice things happen. One was a surprise, and the other has become a bit of a holiday tradition.

The surprise was that a fantasy reviewer in Europe chose Dream of Legends as one of his 5 most anticipated book releases of December. The site was The Ranting Dragon, and the link to the anticipated december releases is here.

The other books on the list were by Brandon Sanderson, Glen Cook, Mike Resnick, and Nancy A. Collins. Obviously, I was both thrilled and stunned to be put in this kind of list. When you put as much work into a book, especially a larger type of book as an epic fantasy tends to be, it certainly uplifting to have something like this occur. I hope that things like this help to encourage folks to take a look at picking up one of the limited edition hardcovers, as they look very sharp and it takes a whole lot to put together the kind of package that we put together (which is why you don't see packages like this very often with any publisher's new releases, small or large press).


The other major thing yesterday was my third Trans-Siberian Orchestra show in Lexington. As everyone knows, I'm a lifelong hard rock and metal fan, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra fuses hard rock and metal with orchestral elements to create a really phenomenal sound. To go with it, they have a massive stage show, that of all the great stage shows I've seen, is second only to Kiss. Lasers, lights, fireworks, mobile platforms and trusses, fire jets, the works! TSO was founded by a couple guys from the metal band Savatage, who had a string of excellent albums from the early 80's right up through the early 2000's. They are often joined by other metal alumni, as when one of my favorite guitarists, Alex Skolnick of Testament fame, was on hand last year playing with TSO.

Make no mistake, this is an arena rock show, with a whole lotta rock, and some orchestral polish. The show went well over 2 1/2 hours, and I encourage everyone to go out to see this if it comes near. These guys and gals clearly care about the fans, as the tickets are much less than most arena shows, and you get 3 times as much of a show, visually, and in the length of the performance. I did get some nice pics at the show, a few of which I've put on this page.


The band members often go into the audience, and the bass player knew where to go to rock, when he came up into my aisle. I was only able to get a quick, blurry cell phone pic, but it does prove he knew where to go! LOL

It is a family tradition now, as my mother and I have gone three years in a row, and my sister has been aboard for the last two. This is my idea of a holiday concert, that's for sure!

Last, but not least, I would like to extend my warmest regards, and wishes for peace and happiness, to all of my Jewish friends and their families during the celebration of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, which began at sundown last night and continues for 8 days. Be sure to eat more than a few latkes! You have all been wonderful to me and I hope your kindness and support of my own path returns tenfold!