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​It’s been a while since my last garden post but summer is in full swing and I wanted to share an update. Temperatures can be brutal for plants, especially in June when there were weeks of 90-degree highs. It’s times like this I’m glad my company transitioned into work-from-home since it gave me the opportunity to move the containers into shade during the toughest parts of the day. The ones in the raised beds weren’t in as advantageous of a situation but they’ve persevered with help from rigorous watering.       

First: the tomatoes and peppers. I would have been surprised if the peppers didn’t survive. I applied an insane amount of compost to that part of the yard early in the year, so I knew the soil was rich. I also believe the types of peppers I planted prefer warm climates. The Thai chili isn’t bearing any fruit yet, but the number of flowers is promising. As for the tomatoes, only the cherries are ripening. A few have reddened enough to pick. I’ve collected four so far and have been sun drying them. I know some people garden because they to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, but I prefer preservation. I plan to sun dry all the tomatoes and once the peppers mature I’ll either dehydrate and crush them or ferment them into hot sauce. (Then again, it’s New Mexico, so I’ll have to broil, peel, and freeze a few of the peppers, as is tradition.)

In the last garden post the apple trees just looked like sticks poking out of the dirt. They’ve started to fill in, although only one is gaining significant height. I’m thinking the soil is lacking in nutrients the trees need so I’ll have to look up the soil conditions these plants thrive in. There is still plenty of time to experiment with their containers. All these trees are only 1 year old and when grown from seed it takes at least 7 years to bear fruit. Right now, they’re still alive, which is good enough for me.

Artichokes have been challenging. I tried growing a few but only one germinated, and it only has one bulb. On the plus side, once this one’s first true leaves became stablished, it was very low maintenance. It’s the plant that wilts the least in the heat and the flower is progressing nicely. To eat them you’re supposed to cut the flower before it blooms, but if there’s only one I’ll probably just let it open. I don’t see the point in harvesting a single tiny artichoke.

I had to cheat on the tomatillos. The one on the left was grown from seed. There was another that was keeping pace, but it died. Unfortunately, with tomatillos, one isn’t enough. Flowers on one plant cannot pollinate another flower on the same plant, so I needed to purchase a new plant which I found on Etsy (Lazy Ox Farm). Like the peppers, it just has a lot of flowers right now which are on the verge of blooming. If this keeps up I’m expecting lots by the end of the summer. I noticed that the leaves on the two plants differ and I wasn’t sure if they’d be able to pollinate. This is actually an old picture and since it was taken the flowers on both have closed and the husks are expanding which is a sign that pollination was successful and fruit is growing. Since the plants have different leaves this will probably be a crossbreed and be different from the type I bought in the store. I’m very curious to see how  they turn out.

The picture of the cabbages was taken during an overcast day when they looked healthy. In reality they’ve been struggling. In the early morning and late at night the leaves are rigid. Around noon they flop down and look more like a green mat. I’ve kept the crabgrass around them in hopes it will provide some shade but it isn’t tall enough, and in some spots even the crabgrass is turning brittle. I’ve changed the watering schedule so they get water in the hottest part of the day which seems to help cool them down and keep the leaves somewhat firm so they can keep folding in and forming a cabbage head. That seems to be enough to keep them clinging to life for now.
 
The potatoes have finally started to bloom. I was worried about them for a while since they had buds which fell off before opening into flowers. This year has been difficult for them, but I have high hopes that they’ll prove to be bountiful  once I upturn the containers.

The main project this season was the 3 sisters in the raised bed. This included 2 kinds of corn, 2 kinds of pumpkin, and 5 kinds of beans. From a distance it looks like it’s doing great. The bed of leaves on the big pumpkin is covering most of the ground and providing shade for the beans which are climbing high on the tall cornstalks. However, only the big pumpkins are crawling across the bed. The pie pumpkins (on the far bed) are more like bushes than pumpkin patches. Strangely, while the pie pumpkins are not providing a lot of shade, they are more fruitful than the large variety. Right now there are seven pie pumpkins in that bed but I’ve only gotten one big pumpkin. As for the beans, they’ve produced a ton of leaves but hardly any flowers. Like the others, the corn is performing well but is presenting complications. There are lots of ears with a healthy amount of silk sprouting out the ends, but when I feel them, they seem soft, almost like there’s no cob inside. I’m hoping they just need more time for the cob and kernels to fill in. Even the ones that do feel strong, I’m leaving on the stalk until late in the season to give it as much time as possible to develop.

Finally, the smallest of the raised beds. I plant yellow beans every year and they are always a high producer. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to do them this year because the yellows are bush beans which don’t perform well when using the 3 sisters method because squash leaves are too high and block too much light. I found one option to get around this problem is to plant grains with beans. In my case I planted spelt, which has an advantageous growth pattern. The narrow leaves of the spelt start close to the ground, forming a ring of narrow spear-shaped leaves. Like the squash leaves, this provides shade to keep the ground cool and help the beans grow. The trick I to plant a fast-growing crop with them because once the spelt leaves grow upright they can block a lot of sunlight. I’ve grown yellow beans enough to have an idea of their rate and got them in the ground early enough for this method to work. By the time the spelt was producing grains the beans were already forming pods. I already have a little more than 4 ounces worth and it’s still early; I’m expecting a lot more before the end of the month. 

Blog Tour
There is a blog tour starting next Monday. An event like this happened when Made To Be Broken was released and I greatly appreciated the feedback of the reviewers. This time it’s a bit different in that some critics are suggesting blogs on my end. I guess they want to increase participation on all sides. Here is the schedule of reviewers and the dates their feedback will be available on their websites:
 
June14th  @ The Muffin
Join us as we celebrate the launch of this incredible tale. Find out more about the author, Hugh Fritz, and enter to win a copy of Public Display of Aggression for yourself.  
https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com
 
 
June 15th @ A Storybook World with Deirdra Eden
Deirdra Eden shares the spotlight today – and in today’s spotlight it is none other than Hugh Fritz with Book #2 in the Mystic Rampage Series: Public Display of Aggression! Readers won’t want to miss an opportunity to dig into the magic of this incredible story!
http://www.astorybookworld.com/
 
 
June 16th @ Create Write Now with Mari McCarthy
There’s a guest author at Mari McCarthy’s Create Write Now and it’s the one and only Hugh Fritz who recently finished Book #2 in the Mystic Rampage Series. He’s busy promoting Public Display of Aggression but has taken time out of his busy schedule to write an informative post about “Using Bacteria and Fungus in Food”. Join readers at Create Write Now to learn more!
https://www.createwritenow.com/
 
 
June 17th @ World of My Imagination with Nicole Pyles
Nicole Pyles shares her thoughts as she reviews Public Display of Aggression by Hugh Fritz. Readers at World of My Imagination will put their imagination into overdrive with this fast-paced story involving plenty of magic. This is Book #2 in the Mystic Rampage Series but reads just as well as a stand-alone. Don’t miss today’s review by Nicole!
https://worldofmyimagination.com/
 
 
June 18th @ Bibliophile with Diti Shah
Diti Shah shares her book review with her Insta followers – find out what she thinks of Public Display of Aggression by Hugh Fritz! This is Book #2 of the Mystic Rampage Series that has delighted readers and left them wanting more!
https://www.instagram.com/she_a_bibliophile/
 
 
June 21st @  A Storybook World with Deirdra Eden
There’s a guest author at A Storybook World and it’s the one and only Hugh Fritz who recently finished Book #2 in the Mystic Rampage Series. He’s busy promoting Public Display of Aggression but has taken time out of his busy schedule to write an informative post about “Illustrations in Fantasy Novels”. This will be great for writers and readers alike.
http://www.astorybookworld.com/


​June 22nd @ Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews
Lisa Haselton interviews Hugh Fritz about the Mystic Rampage Series and Book #2 Public Display of Aggression. Don’t miss this insider opportunity to hear from the author himself – the man behind all the imagination and fun!
https://lisahaselton.com/blog/
 
 
June 23rd @ One Writer’s Journey with Sue Bradford Edwards
Fellow author Sue Bradford Edwards offers her review of Public Display of Aggression by Hugh Fritz. Readers won’t want to miss her thoughts!
https://suebe.wordpress.com/


June 24th @ Knotty Needle with Judy Hudgins
Judy Hudgins keeps readers on the edge of their seat at the knotty needle blog as she reviews Book #2 in the Mystic Rampage Series . Readers will want to grab their own copy of Hugh Fritz’s Public Display of Aggression so they won’t miss a beat of this imaginative story!
http://www.knottyneedle.blogspot.com
 
 
June 30th @ Bookish Trischa
The spotlight is bright at Bookish Trischa and today it shines on Hugh Fritz and his latest creation Public Display of Aggression – Book #2 in the Mystic Rampage Series! Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about the book everyone is talking about!
http://bookishtrisha.com
 
 
July 1st @ Book Santa Fe with Crystal Otto
Crystal Otto reads a lot and she loves a fast-paced imaginative story. Public Display of Aggression is 5 Stars and she can’t wait to tell readers more about it at Book Santa Fe today! This is the 2nd book in the Mystic Rampage series, but she says it reads great as a standalone. Read Crystal’s full review today!
http://www.booksantafe.info/booksantafeblog
 
 
July 7th @ Sreevarsha Sreejith
Readers of Varsha’s blog will hear from Hugh Fritz today in a post about “Fan Fiction” as he takes a break from promoting his latest book Public Display of Aggression. Don’t miss this guest post and opportunity to learn more about the Mystic Rampage Series and the man behind all the excitement!
sreevarshasreejith.blogspot.com
 
 
July 9th @ Bring on Lemons with Carmen Otto
Carmen is an avid reader and soon to be high schooler – she loved Book #1 in the Mystic Rampage series and she joins us today to share her 5 Star Review of Book #2 – Public Display of Aggression by Hugh Fritz. Don’t miss her youthful insight!
http://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/
 
 
July 10th @ Author Anthony Avina’s Blog
Readers of Author Anthony Avina’s Blog will hear from Hugh Fritz today as he pens a guest post titled “Preference of Series of Stand Alone Pieces”. This post will delight authors and readers alike – so don’t miss it! This is also a great opportunity to learn more about the Mystic Rampage Series and Book #2, Public Display of Aggression.
https://authoranthonyavinablog.com/
 
 
July 12th  @ Bookish Trischa
Today is the day – Trischa reviews Public Display of Aggression – Book #2 in the Mystic Rampage Series! Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about and hear from Trischa herself as she shares her insight into the writings of Hugh Fritz.
http://bookishtrisha.com
 
 
July 7th @ Sreevarsha Sreejith
Today it’s Varsha’s opportunity to share her review of Public Display of Aggression. Don’t miss this chance to learn more about the fast-paced writing of Hugh Fritz and Book #2 in the Mystic Rampage series!
sreevarshasreejith.blogspot.com
 
 
July 14th @ Author Anthony Avina’s Blog
A few days ago, readers of Author Anthony Avina’s Blog heard from Hugh Fritz in a guest post: “Preference of Series of Stand Alone Pieces”. Now it’s review time – hear what Anthony has to say in his review of Public Display of Aggression, Book #2 in the Mystic Rampage Series by Hugh Fritz!
https://authoranthonyavinablog.com/
 

There has been lots of progress from the plants lately. The weather has been perfect the last few weeks. A few storms his hard to soak the soil and the forecast for the next few days will be warm and dry. I have a lot of containers but the section I’m most excited about are my raised beds where I decided to try the 3 sisters method. For those who don’t know, the process is to plant corn, beans, and squash close together and the three crops are supposed to help each other grow. The broad leaves of the squash shade the ground which is good for beans which may not be able to handle intense heat. The beans help by putting nitrogen into the soil which is good for the corn. The cornstalks provide support for the beans to grow. I’ve seen various diagrams on seed placement and I’m not sure there’s a “correct” layout. I prepared my beds this way:

Pumpkin                                                                                                                Pumpkin
                              Bean                    Bean                Bean               Bean                                                                             Corn Corn                                  Corn Corn
Pumpkin                                                                                                               Pumpkin
                                       Corn Corn                                   Corn Corn 
                               Bean                   Bean                  Bean        Bean
Pumpkin                                                                                                                 Pumpkin
 
When everything goes smoothly it can be a great way to make the most of small gardening spaces, but the tricky part is the timing. I’ve tried Scarlet Runner beans before and once they sprout they grow very fast. That’s why I started the corn back in early March and the beans only last week. It was early for the corn, but I wanted them to have as much of a head start as possible. As usual, the beans shot out of the ground quickly and are already a few inches tall. So far it looks like the stalks are big and strong enough to support the beans. I just hope it keeps up throughout the summer. I’ve never grown pumpkins before and don’t know how quickly they’re supposed to grow. I planted them along the sides hoping they would grow inward and surround the inner portion of the bed by the time temperatures are scorching. So far the leaves are growing broad but they aren’t encroaching in on the corn and beans. I might have to look up pruning techniques to see if there’s any way to motivate them into progressing a certain direction.
The takeaway is that there are a few speedbumps but so far the 3 sisters are showing good progress. Most of the seeds I planted this year were heirlooms and the beans came from Ranch Gordo. If nobody’s heard of them I highly recommend giving them a look at https://www.ranchogordo.com/ . They have lots of beans and the ones I save for planting have always been quick to sprout. 

You might notice the homepage looks different. Now that the next installment in the series is available, it seemed fitting to make the new cover image in the spotlight. The next challenge is making physical copies publicly available. Most of my day was spent going to book stores around town and asking if they could find some space on their shelves for 2 or 3 copies. It can be difficult convincing big-name stores to do it. I stopped by Barnes and Noble but they don't put titles in their locations unless they are sure the books will sell, and the only way to ensure that is if people go into the store and ask about a specific book or author. The smaller, locally owned shops have been much more willing to include Mystic Rampage in their library. Organic Books (https://organicbooks.net/) and Page One Books (https://page1book.com/) in Albuquerque each took two copies. Plus, while I was out, I was able to shop around.
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I'm glad I did because I may have stumbled on a secret series. I realize why Sherlock Holmes would be a popular choice for fan fictions or crossovers. I wasn't surprised when I found Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Holmes, or Sherlock Holmes vs Dracula. I was a LITTLE surprised last year when I found The Adventure of the Deadly Dimensions by Lois H. Gresh because because Sherlock against Cthulhu seemed like such a bizarre match. I was VERY surprised to find Sherlock Holmes and the Shadwell Shadows by James Lovegrove because it looks like another novel that puts these two characters against each other. Maybe this crossover isn't as strange as I thought. I'm wondering if there is a whole universe worth of material where Sherlock and Watson try to best Lovecraftian monsters. 
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I also finally decided to start a series that a friend has been recommending to me for a very long time. I've seen Brandon Sanderson's name lining bookshelves but I've never given any of his work a shot. I guess I've gotten used to assuming that his books will always be available so I go for something else. The same thing happens with Stephen King. I didn't start the Dark Tower series until long after it ended. I don't even know what Mistborn is about, and I didn't read the synopsis before buying it. This was sort of a "there, I did it, happy now?" moment. I'm not trying to sound skeptical. I'm sure this is going to be great, otherwise the series wouldn't be so popular. I'm just saying it was a peer pressure purchase. 

My test order came in from  Amazon. I can confirm that copies are available for print. Last I checked digital download is not possible but hard copies can be delivered. 

Everything is ready, but for some reason nothing seems to be in motion. Lothar Speer has finished all the illustrations and I’ve decided on the locations throughout the book. The cover is finished and I’ve seen a PDF of the interior which did not have any glaring errors in the text. The next phase would be to receive Proof copies to make sure everything looks alright once it is printed. The Proofs were supposed to arrive the first week of March. When they didn’t I sent an inquiry to the publisher who just informed me there were annoying issues with the printer and gave me a new expected delivery date. Now that time has passed and I still haven’t received them.

​The weird thing is that the book is available on Amazon and can be found using a web browser, but if searched for on Kindle it’s unavailable. Since the Proof copies don’t seem to be progressing I just ordered one hard copy for myself to see how it looks. If the text and pictures look OK my plan is to let the publisher know and hopefully we can finish setting it up digitally. This isn’t going nearly as smoothly as the first book’s publication but with any luck it will be available as a hard copy and for digital download soon. 

This has nothing to do with the novel, but gardening is as much a hobby as writing, and somedays is even more enjoyable, so I felt like posting about it. I’m in a 7b growing zone which grants the pleasure of getting an early start on planting. Mid-April is our last frost date so the time to germinate seeds is late February or early March. 

Starting seeds indoors is somewhat difficult due to the architecture of my living space. I have windows, and some face south, but none of them are very wide. The sun only shines directly through each one for an hour or two. For the seedlings to get adequate energy, they need to be moved to different windows and different rooms throughout the day. Before the shutdown I was only able to do this on weekends, so all the plants were leggy by the time they were moved outside. Now that I’m working from home I’m able to keep up with the sun throughout the week, which is giving me high hopes for the garden this year. So far only the cabbages and Brussels sprouts have emerged from the soil but the planter also contains tomatillos, artichokes, and 4 kinds of peppers (Thai, serrano, chilaca, and Hatch chilis). It’s only been a week, so hopefully they’ll make an appearance by next Sunday. 

​This tomato had a serious head start. My sisters bought me a hydroponic station for my birthday last year. I’ve never been very interested in hydroponics because there’s no soil involved and part what makes gardening fun is getting my hands dirty. Now that I have one I can’t complain; it’s provided a never-ending supply of basil, parsley, and mint. There was only one pod, labeled as dill, that never grew. Since that pod wasn’t active I bought some cherry tomatoes and dropped a seed in to see what would happen. That was in December, right before I left town for a holiday vacation. When I got back the tomato had outgrown the station and was so top heavy it was nearly falling over. I moved it into the container and by mid-January it started producing fruit. There were 2 tomatoes that ripened just in time and I was able to cut and bury them this weekend. If all goes well they’ll be strong and healthy by the end of March. 

​For me, growing potatoes is a must. I usually buy packs of seed potatoes and plant them in a raised bed. This year I plan on trying them in containers. I still planned on buying a pack of seed potatoes, but when I got back from the store earlier this month I noticed a few of the eyes were active so instead of cooking those I just put them in a box and let them sit a while. When I checked on them last Friday I was surprised at how many eyes had sprouted. It might be a little too early in the year to get potatoes started, but they seem like they’re ready so I decided I might as well get them cut up and cured. I still plan on growing them in containers, so I’ll need to pick up quite a few more sometime this week. 

I don’t usually grow fruit trees, especially not from seeds. It takes too long for them to produce fruit and I’ve heard that when started from seeds there’s no way to know about its genetics and how it will impact taste. Despite those issues, I decided to give apple seeds a shot last year. I kept them outside in their containers all winter because I wouldn’t have minded if they died. I realize how cruel that sounds, but I don't feel too bad about it because they didn’t die. Sure, they look like a bunch of sticks right now, but if half the videos I’ve seen on YouTube are accurate, that isn’t out of the ordinary this early in the year. Upon closer inspection most of them have nubs that I believe will grow into more branches, but again, I don’t grow trees, so I don’t know what to expect. I just have to wait and watch how they develop. 

This was the first image I paid Lothar to paint for the illustrations. The first one he did depicted Soleil utilizing his toxic poncho, but we didn’t collaborate on that one; it was just an introduction to give me an idea of his skills. That’s the reason the image of Soleil doesn’t have much going on in the background. Lothar didn’t know what kind of imagery to use to capture the character’s personality so he just used a blend of light and dark colors. Before he started Inspector R.E.D. he requested a description of the character, a brief backstory, and some ideas for a setting. I figured I’d just email him a portion of the chapter where I described what Inspector R.E.D. wears and having Lothar pain a generic background like he did with Soleil. This is the first time I’ve explored the option of illustrations so I really didn’t know what to expect. This was when I started getting a handle on the information necessary for putting pictures in books, and how complicated they can become.
We had a long discussion of where Inspector R.E.D. should be in the image. The first time the readers were introduced to him was in a cemetery in Made to Be Broken, but he was murdered in an abandoned store, and took his revenge in a factory where his killers work. We decided to go with the factory since that is a high action moment in the book, focuses on Inspector R.E.D.’s motivations, and Lothar thought it would be the most fun to paint. We also talked about what kind of factory it is, what sorts of machines and materials would be present, and the condition of the building overall. This is how it will look in the book since it can only be printed in black and white, but there is a colored version in the works. I’m looking forward to how that one comes out. 

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The second installment in the Mystic Rampage series is on its way to being published. Before it becomes available, I wanted to share some of the additional content. This is 1 of 6 illustrations by Lothar Speer. It shows up late in the book, but it’s my favorite image. The character depicted is known as the Old Ticker, who showed up at the end of Made to Be Broken. The reason I like this picture so much is because the character is a scientist and while discussing what to include in the scenery I was able to use some of my lab experiences. I sent Lothar images and links to information on different kinds of spectrometers and nuclear magnetic resonance machines. I even sent him some information on particle accelerators, although I don’t have any direct experience with those. The scene became cluttered quickly, so not all the equipment I suggested could be included. Ultimately, Lothar decided to put in a High-Pressure Liquid Chromatograph (HPLC), which is the device on the left side of the page. Basically, there are two phases: the mobile liquid phase is a fluid that contains the component that is being measured, and the stationary phase is a solid granular material which the analyte will adhere to in certain conditions. It’s been about six years, but I had some experience with a machine like this while assisting a grad student. He was trying to develop a novel method for detecting an organic compound that was a common water contaminant. He made a solution of the compound in a certain pH, flushed it through the solid phase to make it bind to the medium, and then changed to a solution of a different pH which caused the analyte to dissociate and reach the detector. To verify that it worked, he needed to run the test as many times as possible, which meant people needed to stay by the HPLC and restart the procedure as soon as it was finished, over and over and over again. That’s exactly the kind of job that tends to be put on undergrads (good times).
The equations on the chalkboard are from a class I took last year and is basically just a photocopy of a notebook page. It pertains to electron configuration and breaks the overall angular momentum (J) into components of orbital momentum and spin (L and S). I did not send Lothar information on the author of the textbook the material came from, so I might as well do it here: the course text was Quantum Chemistry (sixth edition), by Ira N. Levine. It's a very dense book but the examples are extremely helpful. Quantum chemistry isn’t exactly my area of expertise and I was hesitant about including the equations since I’m not entirely sure they’re accurate. In the end, I decided that even if they’re not correct, having them on the chalkboard still conveys that the character is a man of science, so I decided to ask for it to be put into the illustration. Overall, the Old Ticker was a fun character to write and I hope people enjoy how I portray him throughout the second book. 

I would like to thank Dale Travous in Illinois for taking the time to read and review the book. It wasn't my intention to portray Chicago in such a negative way to make it seem like a place to avoid, but I'm glad the danger of the territory is prominent. There are no plans at this time to turn it into a movie, but it's neat that the story is being read that way. 

Dale Travous' review: 
 Made to be Broken, novel, by Hugh Fritz, is a 3-D IMAX™ action blockbuster in print. A plausible reality is revealed to us, one that is covertly co-habitated by a race of humans with seemingly supernatural powers; the Jinn. We are briefed into the mechanics of the 'magical' powers displayed by the Jinn; their ability to transform matter, as in the Bedouin folk stories where a sack of dates become a sack bursting with gold coins, their  habit of popping-in and then vanishing, conjuring up terrific storms from clear skies, and flying around taking you along for the ride. Mr. Fritz sprinkles the story with bits and pieces of 'how-its-done', allowing me the reader to have fun linking together and assembling these bits into a hyper-realistic physical construction. The Supernatural gives way as it's made clear that the laws of Nature have remained unviolated.
 There's a dramatic juxtaposition of the ancient Middle Eastern mythology with present day Chicago, the part of Chicago that one benefits from absolute avoidance, where you are in some serious danger just being there. But things get dangerouser as we're dropped into the fortress of an armed and semi wasted criminal gang syndicate led by a sociopathic dictator. Dangerouser still is the very well armed secret police death squad commanded over by an even eviler villain.
  The pace of events picks up speed from the start as one action sequence segues into the next. I am astonished by Mr. Fritz's literary description of scenes of all out mayhem, ultra detailed imagery to a molecular scale, choreographed movements flowing through variable time, a big heavy club in slow motion.
   It's difficult for me to not recollect this as a big budget special effects action spectacular. Or not to for-see the universe  built on this framework.