New release- The Cagliostro Chronicles III: Into the Heart of Evil!

New release! The Cagliostro Chronicles III: Into the Heart of Evil

Available at http://tinyurl.com/cagchronIII  Get your copy today!



My Epic Adventure!

Orlando extended ride report

 

I left my home at 5 AM on Wednesday May 13th and headed west in the darkness, toward Manhattan and beyond to adventure. After as quick gas stop in Islandia to top off the big FJR’s 6.6 gallon tank I continued west with the first vestiges of sunlight beginning to peek over my shoulder. Onward I travelled along the Long Island Expressway, which was slowly becoming more and more congested with those on their way to work. By the time I was into the low 20 numbered exits I was practically crawling along. I was putting my feet down repeatedly for a stretch now and cursing NY area traffic just as repeatedly. After crossing into the midtown tunnel and out the other side into Manhattan itself it was smooth sailing over to, and through the Lincoln tunnel and out the other side. I stopped at the first rest area on the Jersey turnpike and had breakfast. I was basically alone in the building. It was 6:30 AM. It had taken me an hour and a half to go a mere 56 miles.

A quick breakfast over with, I saddled up on the FJR and headed out. There was no traffic here, heading west on 95. It was a clear run right to the Jersey/Delaware border. I gassed up again at the last rest area on 95 and began to roll once more. The plan was to get through Washington DC after the rush hour traffic and it looked like I was going to do just that. While there were other vehicles on the road by this point, it was not packed or slowed to a crawl anywhere I went. By 11AM I was through DC and headed south on 95.

I was following my GPS’s route and it took me off on I295 for a stretch. Originally I was going to ignore it, but I’m glad I didn’t as I would find out why later on. 295 skirts Richmond and avoids all the traffic that goes with it. The worst part of all of this was that I happened upon an accident that had 295 closed down and I had to reroute. The best part about this was that I went past an awesome aviation museum that had an SR 71 Blackbird out front. I was awed by it as I passed by. It was beautiful. I should have stopped and toured the museum. It was near Richmond Airport I believe.

I continued on and quickly passed into N. Carolina at that point. The road closure had cost me an hour of going in circles and stop and go until I figured out where 95 was. It was now nearing night time and I had had enough. By 7 PM I pulled off in Dunn, NC at a Hampton inn. I was actually heading for a Holiday Inn Express as per my GPS, but that was no longer there. I gladly settled for the Hampton inn. I walked across the lot and had dinner at a steak house there. After dinner I returned to my room and settled in, quickly realizing I left my contact lens cleaner at home, along with a couple of other things.

The next morning I ate an early breakfast at the Hampton inn and rode cross town to a Walmart that was open when I arrived at 7:30. I bought my contact lens cleaner, a belt and some toothpaste then headed back to my room where I remounted my saddle bags and rode out. It was Thursday morning and I planned to be at Orlando 600 miles away by nightfall. The day before I was wracked with back, hip and knee pain requiring lots of Ibuprofen to counter. Today was different. I was pain free for some reason and just rode. I was on 95 doing 200 mile legs, with a half hour stop in between. NC and SC were both beautiful states, while I found Georgia to be a bit boring, at least from I95. There was no scenery there, just constant trees on both sides, like a green wall for a long distance with far fewer exits than in the Carolina states. I exited at the end of Georgia for gas once again and made hotel reservations at Disney from there. If you go, try staying at the Coronado Springs resort, it was a gorgeous place built with Mayan architecture and was just a very cool place to stay.

I entered Florida not long after I finished my final gas stop and rode through what appeared to be rush hour. I rolled into traffic before Daytona where there was construction going on. It was slow going, but not terrible. Soon I exited on I4 and headed west toward Orlando. It was a 70 mile ride on a highway very reminiscent of a New York suburb; a bit too built up and congested for my liking. After an hour or so of this I came upon the heavily congested exit for Kissimmee, which was where I was supposed to get off, but the signs said otherwise. I ignored the GPS and followed the signs to Disney itself.

After riding in circles until I finally found where my resort was I pulled in and locked up the GPS and the Sena communicator. Then I walked in and stood in line to secure my room. Soon I was rolling toward where my room was within the complex of the Coronado Springs Resort.

One of the highlights of the trip was the guy who came to take my bags to the room saw my license plate and was amazed that I rode down to Orlando from New York. That was cool.

The next day I met up with my brother, his wife and their kids and spent the day in the Magic Kingdom. I have to say it was great. I didn’t realize how much I missed that place. I had a great time.

The next day they left and headed home and I went to Hollywood studios on my own. I saw a great auto stunt show and the Indiana Jones stunt spectacular. Then I took the Hollywood movie ride and finally I took the Star Wars Star Tours ride. It was also Star Wars weekend there with actors dressed in Star Wars costumes wandering around. It was a very cool day.

On Sunday I had breakfast at the resort and headed out. Of course after three very dry days at Disney, as soon as I was pulling the cover off of the motorcycle it started to pour. I took off anyway. I was already checked out and it was after 11AM  so off I went. The rain stopped after a few minutes and I entered onto I4 and ran quickly into a traffic jam. It turned out there was a minor fender bender a few miles up, but the rain started again while I was standing there on the highway stopped.

The rain passed quickly and I began heading east on I4 for 70 miles. I entered I95 and hesitated about going to Daytona, but I figured I was still some miles away from it. Boy was I wrong! As I passed on the highway I saw the racetrack from 95. I was kicking myself for not getting off and checking it all out, but it was already about 93 out and I wanted to get out of Florida as fast as possible. I exited after a total of a hundred miles and grabbed a quick bite at a cracker barrel. I spent an hour there, not planning on doing more than 500 miles on Sunday, so I was taking my time. After lunch I rolled out and gassed up again. I was averaging almost 46 miles per gallon on the FJR, which is the most I ever did with it. I had switched to high test for this trip, just to see if there was a difference, and there was. I was getting almost 7 MPG more with the high test.

Now I was rolling. There were few cars or trucks around me and I was making great time. I entered Georgia and went most of the way through it before I hit my 200 mile mark. Once there I searched out gas and filled up. I took a short break in Burger King and rehydrated.

After a half hour I was astride the mighty steed once again and heading back to 95. Now I was making time along 95. Within minutes I was back in South Carolina. I rode a bit further than I wanted to. I had come upon a town whose name escapes me, but it had lots of hotels and restaurants there. I should have called it a night there but instead I kept going.

I passed ‘South of the Border’ once again and was entering North Carolina. I rode now looking for either a Holiday Inn Express or Hampton Inn, and passed a Hampton that did not have a sign on the road. Cursing, I continued on as the next exit to turn around at was some miles away. I just kept heading north. Now I was using my GPS as I rode to find a hotel. I was almost at the 600 mile mark for the day when I came upon Fayetteville, NC. I saw there was a Hampton Inn off of the exit according to the GPS and headed for it. Once there I found there was a ‘Ruby Tuesday’ in the same lot. I locked the bike up after emptying the bags and covered it for the night. I walked over to the Ruby’s and started talking to the bar tender. When I asked about how safe the area was I got an odd look. I was told that it was not so safe. He pointed down the road and told me it was kind of sketchy in that direction. Great. That meant sleeping with one eye open and on the bike all night.

But I had nothing to worry about. The night passed quickly, I checked outside my door several times and never saw a problem. Monday morning I was on the road by 10AM after breakfast, and heading north toward Richmond. The plan today was NOT to go through DC and then Jersey, but instead to head North West on I64 to I81 and then end up in Pine Grove, Pa for the night.

Mother Nature had different ideas though. I ended up running into on hell of a downpour on 95 going through Richmond. Of course there was an accident ahead so I was trapped and unable to go anywhere for cover. I pulled off at an exit into what appeared to be a ghetto. I rode for several blocks and the area cleaned itself up visibly. The rain had also stopped, even though I was soaked at this point. I found my way back to 95 and finally veered off at 64, heading away from Richmond. 64 was a nice two laner with trees and good views of the surrounding mountains. I headed toward 81 at a good clip and after a few hours ran back into another soaking storm right around Waynesboro, Va. Enough was enough, I had only covered 300 miles for the day, but that would have to do. I pulled off and found a Holiday Inn Express that I had stayed at a few years ago with some friends and parked it for the night.

Tuesday morning I ate inside the Holiday inn and was on the road by 8:45.  I headed up 81 and continued for hours, crossing first the West Virginia state line, then the Maryland and finally the Pennsylvania border. I continued on for another 200 mile leg and stopped in Pine Grove, Pa for lunch and gas. After a half hour I was back to it. I had approximately 90 miles to go to get to the 81/84 interchange and that was my destination. I kept checking the Sirius traffic reports for NYC and as usual crossing into and through the city was a disaster, so screw it I’d take the long way that I never had to stop moving on.  I was soon rolling onto 84 and heading east. I was 75 miles from 684 and moving. The countryside up this way is beautiful with lots of mountains and great curves in the highway.

After a short while I was heading down 684 to the hutch which was a mess as usual. But it cleared up past Scarsdale. Soon I was crossing the Whitestone Bridge and then on to Cross Island Parkway which was at a dead stop. I moved across the parkway slowly and finally came upon the Long Island Expressway. It was rush hour, I was screwed. They had the overhead signs lit up telling about the road being closed at exit 56, and I was at exit 30.

Traffic was heavy up to exit 41 and then it cleared up. I rolled until exit 52 where it began to slow down. I exited at 53 and headed south to the southern state parkway and then the Sunrise Highway and continued east to Nicolls rd. and home.

It was a 2700 mile adventure that I loved every minute of (Well, just about every minute of. The down pours really sucked.)

I can’t wait for the next great adventure!

Videos from the ride  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSH6uA9IPOHvn6_3O7-3Oo02duJty4-bo

Photo's from the ride https://www.dropbox.com/sh/72x8r9hwokombs2/AADAncz4vPKk6_ztTh_fMVgBa?dl=0

 

Ralph’s Rants interviews Chuck Dixon

 

This week on Ralph’s Rants we have the pleasure of interviewing a man who really needs no introductions if you’ve read comics or novels in the past 20+ years. Chuck Dixon wrote Batman and many of the titles in the Batman family (Nightwing, Robin, Birds of Prey etc.) for many years. He and his equally well-known artist/collaborator/friend Graham Nolan created Bane, the villain who broke Batman’s back in the early 90’s.

Bane has since gone on to be featured in ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ as well as the deplorable George Clooney Batman movie, ‘Batman and Robin’.

Chuck also wrote many comics for Marvel comics including extensive runs on the Punisher and Moon Knight.

Chuck currently writes an exciting and action packed novel series called ‘Bad Times’ which features a group of time traveling ex-army rangers. Chuck also continues to write comics for companies such as IDW and their GI Joe series in particular.

 

Hi Chuck, how are you? It’s a real pleasure to talk to you today.

 

Good to talk to you, man!

 

 

Chuck, what was your first scripting gig in comics?

 

Other than my fanzine work the first paying job was doing the writing and art for an eleven page story for a heavy Metal knock-off called Gasm. It was back in ’78. The first time I got paid just for scripting was on Evangeline for Comico.

 

 

 

What comics did you grow up being a fan of?

 

Batman, Sgt. Rock, lots of monster comics. I fell in love with Ditko’s Spider-man and the fantastic Four were big favorites.

 

 

A personal favorite of mine, which I felt was overlooked, was your Moon Knight series. To me it was the last great Moon Knight run. What were your thoughts on that series?

 

It was fun when Carl Potts was editing it. Mercenaries were big in the news at the time and Carl wanted to ditch the multiple personality thing. So I doubled down on Marc Spector being a former merc turned urban vigilante. It was fun action stuff with an attempt to keep it topical like my work on Airboy. When Carl left the book I butted heads with the new editor until he finally fired me. Or, as we say in comics, “he decided to go in another direction.”

 

 

 

 

Your Punisher run is considered one of the best. Looking back how do you see that series?

 

I still wish I’d come up with a cop character who pursued him. An Inspector Javert to his Jean Valjean. It would have provided the kind of continuity that a recurring villain usually provides. But Frank was always killing his villains!

 

But I loved my time on the character.

 

 

Let’s talk Batman and friends; when you took on that book, did you think you’d be writing pretty much the entire Bat-universe?

 

 

Never. I recall telling Denny O’Neil that I wasn’t sure I had all that many Batman stories in me. I wound up being the most prolific writer ever to tackle the character.

 

 

How did that come about? Did they (DC) just really like what you were doing and decided they wanted more?

 

Denny (and later Scott Peterson) simply found me easy to work with. I was the Batman go-to guy. They needed material and I had tons of ideas. It was my Elvis years. It all ended when Archie Goodwin pass and Denny retired.

 

 

Some of your best Bat universe stories were done in Robin’s series, in fact you actually returned to that at a later date and re-introduced Stephanie Brown (The Spoiler). She was obviously a favorite of yours; if I remember correctly (and I think I do) she was your creation, right?

 

Tom Lyle and I created her as a one-time plot device. She was the Cluemaster’s daughter. We wanted to do a story showing a villain’s private life and how that impacted those close to him. Especially a screw-up, back bencher like Cluemaster. But she took on a life of her own and the fans just assumed that she was here to stay.

 

I know you’re no longer working for DC on anything, and that just surprises me because you (and Graham) had such a rich history with the company. Did they just move in another direction with the characters or did you decide it was time to move on to other things?

 

We grew apart, as divorcing parents tell the children. My contributions were no longer sought after and I had no real interest in the kind of comics they were doing and continue to do? I mean, have you seen their “new” Superman? He looks like a sissified gym rat.

 

 

Today you’re doing more work for IDW with GI Joe and a new project called ‘Winterworld.’ What’s Winterworld about?

 

It’s about the near future, a generation or two away, when the entire planet is frozen over. It’s really the story about Scully and Wynn; two people who form a bond in a world hostile to them. Oh, and a pet badger. It’s bloody, down stuff for the most part with some dark laughs here and there.

 

 

You wrote a series of novels called ‘Seal Team Six’, are those based in fact?

They’re based on my own research and whole bunch of stuff I made up. It’s what I imagine those guys do and what they’re like.

 

Are you still writing anymore Seal Team Six novels?

 

We’re talking.

 

Let’s move on to ‘Bad Times.’ This has been a personal favorite of mine since you started writing them I think almost two years ago. They are a quirky action packed series of books about these ex-soldiers who are hired by a brother and sister team of scientists that have created a time machine and are able to traverse the past. These are great reads full of danger and action/adventure. How did they come about? What made you think “Hey time travel and soldiers, that’s gotta be fun?”

 

I love time travel stories with a passion. And I have a toy soldier fascination with anything military. And I’m a history nut. It seemed like a no-brainer. Though my wife hates it when I write time travel and alternate universe stuff. She says it makes me schizoid. She might be right. The Bad Times books give me an excuse to do research and imagine the world of the past. They’re problem solver stories both for me and the characters. The logistics of small unit ops in the past fascinates me. Apparently others share that fascination as they sell steady.

 

 

 

 

There are three books in the ‘Bad Times’ series so far, the most recent being ‘Avenging Angels.’ When will the fourth be out? After that amazing ending I know I’m waiting for it.

 

I’m two weeks from completing Bad Times Book Four. It’s called Helldorado. The Rangers go back for a man they left behind. It’s their longest exposure yet to the past and especially prehistory. It gets nasty and bloody and primeval. I’m dedicating it to Edgar Rice Burroughs. I rarely dedicate books but couldn’t help myself this time.

 

 

So what have you planned for the future, beyond more ‘Bad Times’, anything you can share with us at the moment?

I have the first of my Levon Cade books out. It’s called Levon’s Trade, It’s a return to the kind of vigilante action stuff I used to write on the Punisher and my fastest selling novel to date. There’s also Joe Frankenstein by me and Bane co-creator Graham Nolan. It’s our 21^st Century take on the classic monster genre.

 

 

I'm really looking forward to reading both of these! They look fantastic!

Chuck, it’s been a real pleasure chatting with you. You’re one of the great ones. Best of luck in whatever you do and thanks very much for agreeing to do this interview.

 

Thank you, Ralph!

 

You're very welcome Chuck!

 

 

As always all of my own books are available at http://RLAngeloJr.com or http://tinyurl.com/ralphsamazon

 

 

Subscribe to my blog! Click on the link at the top of the right hand column to get my daily rants delivered to your inbox.

Your Daily Ralph- Review of Legacy Book Four- Trial and Terror

Legacy: Trial and Terror By Gerald Welch-A Review

 

 

I just finished reading the new ‘Legacy’ book yesterday, the fourth in the series, and I have to tell you all to rush out and buy this one. It was great. This is by far my favorite since the first volume in the series, and may actually surpass it.

In this new addition to the series we find the children of ‘The Destroyer’ still learning their way in both Sinanju and their new lives as enforcement arms for CURE. Both are still rough around the edges and are really in the early phases of their training.

But there is a dangerous new adversary on the horizon, one who has an inkling of what Sinanju is all about. He is a man who has spent years as a seasoned foreign spy. Will the young trainees to Sunny Joe know what to do against this man? Can they possibly prevail? You’ll have to read it to find out.

‘Trial and Terror’ changes focus for the most part back to Stone, Remo William’s son with less on Freya, his daughter, though she definitely gets her fair share of focus throughout. One of the very few complaints I had was that the last few books seemed to focus primarily on Freya, and not on Stone as much. This book changes all of that, and that was much more to my liking.

This to me was the perfect novel. The length was perfect, the story left you wanting for more, and there was plenty of action and excitement as well as advancing the overall story.  This was just a solid, solid book. I can’t recommend it enough. If I could give it 10 stars I would. Go out and buy it today!

 

Check it out on Amazon at the link below

http://www.amazon.com/LEGACY-Book-4-Trial-Terror-ebook/dp/B00P1E5HUI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419142036&sr=8-1&keywords=legacy+trial+and+terror

As always all of my own books are available at http://RLAngeloJr.com or http://tinyurl.com/ralphsamazon

 

 

Subscribe to my blog! Click on the link at the top of the right hand column to get my daily rants delivered to your inbox.

Your daily Ralph- The 2014 International Motorcycle show at the Javitts Center in New York City

The 2014 International Motorcycle show at the Javitts Center in New York City

 

This past weekend I attended the International Motorcycle Show, or IMS as it is warmly referred to in Manhattan. This show every year showcases the newest, the brightest and the most exciting new motorcycles from every manufacturer in the world. It’s basically like being a kid walking through a big Manhattan toy store for adults.

You get to see all the newest machines and all their great new upgrades.

This year I had the pleasure of talking to the beautiful and intelligent Lorraine from Suzuki who went out of her way to chat with me about the new bikes Suzuki had coming out this year. Out of all the manufacturers’ representatives, she was the only one who saw my press pass and went out of her way to discuss the new models Suzuki had on tap for the coming season, so Lorraine and Suzuki are going to be the focus of this blog post.

Suzuki has added a new sub line to their lineup, the almost naked GSX-S line. These are motorcycles based on their GSX-R line of sport bikes but with more upright riding positions and very little fairing coverage. They are basically standards. These new machines come in two sizes, just like their more sport oriented brethren, 750CC and 1000CC. There is also a 650CC twin with a very similar look based on the old SV650 motor.

These new motorcycles are for the everyday rider who doesn’t want to in a racer’s tuck all day long but still be able to have some fun on back roads. With versions of the powerful GSX-R750 and GSX-R1000 motors installed in both these machines they should be fun rides in sensible and more importantly affordable chassis. The GSX-S750 will sell for $7,999 and the GSX-S1000 price will be announced at a later date as this is a 2016 model and will not be available until sometime in the summer.

Once again I want to thank the beautiful Lorraine from Suzuki for talking the time out and personally walking me through the Suzuki display and telling me all about what Suzuki has in store for the New Year. Job well done!

Other manufacturers including Yamaha, Honda and Triumph had much to offer at the show this year as well. Yamaha’s new FJ-09 offers an adventure tourer look with real world ergoes and for only $10,490 it’s a bargain and destined to be a big motorcycle for this coming year.

Check out my pictures and tell me what you think about this year’s IMS.  

 

 

As always all of my own books are available at http://RLAngeloJr.com or http://tinyurl.com/ralphsamazon

 

 

Subscribe to my blog! Click on the link at the top of the right hand column to get my daily rants delivered to your inbox.

Your Daily Ralph 12/9/14 The year in Review (Sorta...)

Hey it's been  a while, I know. But there's been a lot happening here in Ralph-land. To summarize: I continue to work on the new 'Cagliostro Chronicles' book which I had hoped to have out by now but its nowhere near ready. Then of course there's  new releases I had a hand in. This weekend saw the release of a long awaited project I had a hand in called 'More Blood'. It's an anthology of stories about Remo Williams and his mentor, Chiun, the series is known as 'The Destroyer' for the past 40 years. It's all stories written by fans, of which I'm one. I have a story in those pages and it just went on sale this past weekend in paperback. Kindle version to follow soon.

Next up I had a book come out that I also wrote a story for called 'Sinbad the New Voyages Vol. 4.' This was a fun story I wrote about the iconic sailor and his crew. There are other stories in there by other great authors like I.A. Watson and Joe Bonadonna,  It's a really fun book that everyone who enjoys swashbuckling fantasy will enjoy.

 

 

 

Then in late September I had my novel 'Hyperforce' come out. This was probably my favorite book of the year that I wrote. Fledgling superheroes thrown together against impossible odds-it was just fun to write and see come together. I love this book! A young alien prince makes a crash landing on Earth with his terrible enemy right behind him. When he does he triggers an event that will change the face of humanity as several nascent super-hero's-the first of their kind-must band together to stop this deadly threat. But this is just the first of many that will push these young heroes to their limits and beyond!

 

 

Another book I had a story in was 'Rat-a-Tat' An anthology of hard hitting short pulp stories. My contribution 'Caliber' is about a female former soldier who discovers her husband's been murdered. She knows who's responsible and she knows what she has to do. It's an action packed thrill ride through a sleazy town named 'Riverburgh' that will feature prominently in future pulp stories I have in mind. Check it out for some tough chick action.

 

 

And of course in early July there was the second Cagliostro Chronicles book. My sci-fi  Space opera seems to be everyone's favorite of my books, I'm fine with that. I love writing these. They're larger than life and I know it. They are huge space operas written for fun and excitement, and that's the way they are going to remain. The next one coming soon is no exception. This one deals with the Cagliostro making an emergency landing on an uncharted world  where an incredible amount of danger is discovered, not just to the Cagliostro and crew, but to Earth's continued survival as well! It's a thrill ride of cosmic proportions!



 

The first book I had come out this year was the sequel to 'Redemption of the Sorcerer.' 'My Enemy, Myself, the Crystalon Saga, Book Two' is a magic filled journey to other worlds and other universes with the worlds most powerful sorcerer and his all too mortal friends. It's a thrill ride through dangerous worlds to a final confrontation with an all-too familiar evil with the fate of two worlds hanging in the balance.

 

As always all of these books can be found at my amazon authors page http://tinyurl.com/ralphsamazon

Or at my home page http://RLAngeloJr.com

They're all available in softcover so they'll make GREAT gifts under the Christmas tree!

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I'll talk to you all soon! Rock On!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your daily Ralph- Just a reminder



While I'm toiling away on the new Cagliostro Chronicles novel, I figured I'd give you all links to find me and my books all over the internet.

My Website is http://RLAngeloJr.com You'll find all the latest updates on my novels there. It also has links to purchase all of my books at whatever outlets they are available at. It's the readers first resource to learn about what I have going on including a page dedicated to what I have coming up next.

 

 

On Facebook you can find me at https://www.facebook.com/RalphLAngeloJr That's my facebook authors page. It's another great resource to keep up with what I have going on.


On Twitter I'm @RLAngeloJr

My Email is RAngelojr@aol.com


and finally my amazon authors page is http://tinyurl.com/ralphsamazon


Enjoy!