List of Books by Fantasy Author Charles Moffat

The Adventures of Wrathgar

The Assassin's Trail

The Blizzard's Daughter

The Coven's Wolves

The Demon's Sacrifice

The Exorcist's Dagger

The Sunken Castle

The Adventures of the Bogatyr

The Bogatyr & the Cursed Inn

Dark Shadows in the Moonlight

The Bogatyr & the Rusalka's Lament

The Bogatyr & the Gentle Giant

A Bag of Silver, A Bag of Bones

The She-Wolf of Eraska

The Midnight Dragon

The Bogatyr & the Cursed Parcel

The Adventures of the Bogatyr: Anthology Collection

The Lilith Bloodstone Series

The Black Rose

Rise of the Red Moon

The Baby & the Village

One to be Reckoned With

The Night of the Dead

On Death's Door

The Emissary of Darkness

The Astral Plane

Out for Blood

The Lilith Bloodstone Omnibus

Wulfric the Wanderer

Portal of Destiny

The Cult of the She-Bear

Born of Blood and Ice

The Scarlet Arena

Shifting Shadows in Iztark

Black Monoliths of Al-Kazar

The Unbreakable Arrow

The Raven's Feast

Chronicles of Korovia

A Hound Named Hunter

The Hab & the Witch

Alt-Earth

A Dark Road in Louisiana

Folly of the Forlorn

Hunting Hitler

The Dragontree of Kaŝe

The Dragonslayers of Kaŝe

The Quorum of Kaŝe

The Girl in the Red Hoodie

Korovia Myths, Legends and Fables

As part of Moffat's world building process for Korovia he created a number of myths, legends and fables set within the fictional kingdom.

The Korovia Creation Myth

The Myth of the Dark Eclipse

The Legend of Dark Maya

The Legend of Nordica

The Fable of Sir Fartsalot

The Fable of the Boring Dwarf

The Fable of the Crow and Raven

The Fable of the Dragon's Bank

The Fable of the Graverobber and the Cursed Cutlass

The Fable of the Ice Mephit

The Fable of the Incubus of Izhamet

The Fables of the Jackalope

The Fable of the Sibilant Snake

The Fable of the Wolfkin

The Imp's Arrow

The Princess and the Foxalope

The Turkey Vulture's Tale

Poetry Books by Charles Moffat

a dream of unfettered roses

Dreaming of Zen Archery

Ancient Stories Dreamt Of

List of Unavailable Books

Some of Moffat's older works are no longer available, due to a variety of reasons, but mostly because he has plans to rewrite them.

Paladin Assassin

Ice War

King Culprit

Rise of the Blade

Brutus & Avianna

The Demon's Pawn

Sword & Sorcery and "Manly Books for Men"

 When it comes to fantasy sub-genres there are certain ones that are more likely to be read by men, and certain ones more likely to be read by women.

For example:

• Romance Fantasy = Mostly women.
  
• Sword and Sorcery = Mostly men.
  

And you can pretty much tell which is which by looking at the book covers.

Below is two book covers from the Sword and Sorcery series "Wulfric the Wanderer" by fantasy author Charles Moffat.

Just looking at the cover for "Shifting Shadows in Iztark" and you KNOW this is a book aimed at men. And the description hammers that nail into the coffin. Similarly "Black Monoliths of Al-Kazar", while it doesn't have a woman on the cover, makes it pretty clear that this is a manly book.

Same goes with other books in the Wulfric the Wanderer series like "The Cult of the She-Bear" The crouching woman with a roaring bear behind her? The men wearing the heads of bears / bearskin cloaks? Yup, this is a book that is definitely aimed at men.

Nor is this considered a new thing for Sword and Sorcery.  Behold an old "Conan the Freebooter" book, published in 1967.

Not one, but two scantily clad women on the cover of the book by the legendary Robert E. Howard (and L. Sprague de Camp).

Moffat's book covers look comparatively tame. His book covers have a distinctive sketch appearance, but if you look at the book description for "Shifting Shadows" you will note he is also listed as the illustrator, and the other covers are done in the same style so he must be the illustrator for them too. So evidently he's making his own book covers.

But if you want books aimed at men, honestly you cannot really go wrong with Sword and Sorcery books by either Robert E. Howard or Charles Moffat. Enjoy!

Fake Amazon Reviews at Work and why YouTube Reviews make more sense

If you are reading reviews on Amazon and you see certain combinations of words, it usually means the review you are reading is probably fake. Amazon is especially guilty of this. Over 90% of the reviews you see on Amazon are fake. Some products that might be the only reviews even shown. Just 100% fake reviews, with not a single genuine one.

It is a problem that is plaguing the advertising world, as well as shopping/commerce. You can see them on Google, Yelp and other websites too... But Amazon is the biggest culprit.

And for my purposes I am going to use fake book reviews as an example.

If someone writes:

"Wow. I honestly couldn't put this book down!"

That means they didn't actually read the book and don't know what to write.

"This guy is a really good storyteller."

Notice how it doesn't tell you anything about the book? It is just short and completely bogus.

"I just ended up wanting to read more."

or

"Wow. This book should be made into a movie!"

Again. Nothing about the plot or the characters. The person writing doesn't know what to write because they didn't actually read the book.

So what should a real book review look like?

"I really liked the characters and the plot. I didn't care so much for the one character, Mordechai, he was a real jerk, but I suppose he is meant to be. I am not sure if I will buy the next book in the series. I really don't like it when books end on cliffhangers, but I did really enjoy the book so maybe I will after all. Four stars out of five!"

Yep. Notice the difference?

The reader actually complains about the book, even though they still liked it. That is when you know the review is definitely genuine. They also didn't give it a perfect 5 star rating. If it was a 5 star rating and they had no complaints, the chances are much higher that the book review is fake.

"This book caught me off guard at first because the main character is Muslim, but after the fight scene in chapter two it really picked up the pace and I enjoyed myself. I did think that some of the characters were overly complicated, and wishy-washy, but they also have their good points. Kudos to the author for making a superhero book that feels realistic, but without making the superhero rich like Batman. If you like movies like Unbreakable or Red Dawn then you will probably enjoy this book."

Pop culture references, hmm? Complaints about the character being wishy-washy and too complicated, but also praising the book for its realism. That is a good way to spot a real book review. (The book in question is "The Girl in the Red Hoodie" by Charles Moffat.)

Speaking of Charles Moffat, you should check out his YouTube channel where he posts fantasy book reviews.

Which brings us to the next topic...

Why YouTube Reviews Make More Sense

Amazon, Yelp and Google reviews are very often fake. We get that. Capitalism is so rife with fake reviews these days that for every real review there are 9 fake ones. This is because the people selling their products NEED reviews in order to get sales. Even if they're fake, a fake review is better than no reviews when your goal is to make money.

But on YouTube it is a lot harder to fake a product review or a book review.

In the example of books you actually need to READ the book in order to do it. You can't just say:

"Hello! It's Bob here and I want to talk today about Stephen King's book "The Shining". I, uh... Uh, um... I didn't actually read it so I just watched the movie version instead."

Yeah...

That isn't going to work. Trying to make a fake book review for something you didn't actually read will be pretty obvious within the first minute of making the video and trying to talk about it.

Physically reading the book is important, and video reviews like those you find on YouTube means they cannot be faked. At least not easily. There is a huge measure of authenticity when you watch a video review where the author starts talking about the character, the plot, and while there is the chance for spoilers, they can't really fake it in the normal sense.

Someone would have to go through a lot of effort to fake a book review for something they didn't actually read. Possibly by watching the movie version. But since many books don't have a movie version I suppose someone could also read a synopsis of a book (sometimes available via Wikipedia) and then fake it using that so they at least know something about the characters and the plot.

Plus at the very least the person needs to BUY the physical book so they can show it to the audience. I suppose they could read an ebook version, but when you're making a video you want something physical like the actual book that you can show in your hands.

In Charles Moffat's case he will also often compare different books to one another, so you're not just looking at one book, but also getting an idea of other books which are similar to it. Like in the video below in which he compares the Witcher series by Sapkowski to similar books by Charles Saunders and others.

The point I am trying to get at is that maybe this is what Google, Amazon and Yelp should be doing... Video reviews!

If everyone doing a product review or a book review had to post a video of themselves with the actual product then it would be far more useful to people looking to buy said product or book.

It would be way more honest and Amazon would finally shed their reputation for having so many fake reviews. Video is the perfect way to fix this problem.

And notice also, for privacy reasons, that Charles Moffat doesn't actually show his face in the above videos. Just his hands/arms and the books he is talking about. So if you do it right there is no privacy issues to worry about if people don't want to show their face when making a review.

Cowboy Hats at Work

FASHION - There is nothing manlier than a cowboy hat. At least insofar as men's hats are concerned.

Cowboy hats are manly, adventurous, heroic, rugged, have that can-do mentality, honest, hard working... Whats not to love?

When you imagine someone wearing a cowboy hat its usually a man, an actual cowboy perhaps, and if not you're thinking of a construction worker, or a lumberjack, or something equally masculine. You think leather and sweat (and occasionally Marlboro cigarettes), the kind of rugged manliness that you expect of such men.

Lets say for example you hire a handyman to install commercial roofing or metal panels on your shed, barn, garage or whatever you happen to be building/renovating. Its not hard to imagine such a man showing up driving a pickup truck and wearing (oh my) a cowboy hat. (I was tempted to say motorcycle too, but they really should be wearing a helmet instead.)

And there is no shortage of cowboy hat styles for me to choose from.

True, women can wear cowboy hats too... but the topic of cowgirls should really be covered in a different blog post because that is a specific type of tomboy... or at very least, a different kind of woman who is more adventurous.

I think however that the cowboy hat is seeing a revival. Perhaps because it is so manly and adventurous. I am not the only one who thinks this either. See Cowboy Hats Back in Fashion.

I predict that during this summer and summers to come more people will begin wearing cowboy hats simply as a fashion statement, to "keep the sun and rain off", and be doing all sorts of non-cowboy-esque activities whilst doing so.

While hiking in the woods, camping, visiting your Muskoka cottage (<- Check out the outrageous price on that cottage!), going to the beach, attending baseball games and football games... and day-to-day activities like shopping or running errands around town, using printable coupons, opening the doors for old people, going on dates, business meetings, picking up the kids from school...

Or going to the movies, in which case you should take your hat off inside the theatre...

Cowboys and Aliens


Rango


Meek's Cutoff


And in 2013 The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (by Stephen King) is coming out, the first part of The Dark Tower series. Stephen King is currently penning an 8th novel in the series, and there is also a comic books series and a novella in the works.

And if you can't wait, you could also go see those films which are already out...

Including

True Grit


The Warrior's Way (which really should be called "Cowboys Vs Ninjas")


Gunless


Jonah Hex (for those of you who like Steampunk)


The Last Rites of Ransom Pride


6 Guns


Funny how Westerns are almost always about revenge.

THE RULES at Work

SEX - The following is a list of relationship rules (which you may have seen on t-shirts in the late 1990s). The list is humourous and not meant to be taken seriously, but if you have a funny bone its worth a laugh. I should note there are different versions of The Rules floating around, but this is the version I've chosen to show here.

THE RULES

1. The female always makes the rules.

2. The rules are subject to change at any time without prior notification.

3. No male can possibly know all the rules.

4. If the female suspects the male knows all the rules, she must immediately change some or all of the rules.

5. The female is never wrong.

6. If the female is wrong, it is because of a flagrant misunderstanding which was a direct result of something the male did or said wrong.

7. If Rule 6 applies, the male must apologize immediately for causing the misunderstanding.

8. The female can change her mind at any given point in time.

9. The male must never change his mind without express written consent from the female.

10. The female has every right to be angry or upset at any time.

11. The male must remain calm at all times, unless the female wants him to be angry or upset.

12. The female must under no circumstances let the male know whether or not she wants him to be angry or upset.

13. Women have a better sense of direction than men. Accept it.

14. Shopping IS a spectator sport, and you are the lucky spectator. Accept this harsh reality, as will we when the roles reverse, say, at the local sporting goods store.

15. We already know what you are thinking. Sometimes we just need clarification.

16. Shorts and black socks with sandals is NOT sexy.

17. Towels dry faster when they are hung up on the towel rod, not crumpled on the floor.

18. Cut us some slack when we ask you questions about how sports, cars, etc. Consider it your civic duty to help us learn.

19. Finally, don't show us where the oil goes, or the washer fluid, or even how to fix a car. YOU DO IT. This is one of the many reasons we are with you.

20. When in doubt ask the woman. But don't expect a straight answer.

:)

Editor's Note: A man could dedicate his entire life to trying to understand women and never come close to fully understanding how they think (especially when hormones are involved)... in theory we would better success if we met a woman who is seeking to understand men and then we would need an honest and truthful debate about what's going in our brains.

Sometimes trying to get people onto the same mental wavelength is like two teams digging a tunnel under a river. In theory they'd meet in the middle, but only if they properly communicated which direction and angle they were digging both sides of the tunnel.

Its not a perfect system, but communication makes a big difference.

Saving Money at Work

CANADA - I am thinking of getting a business phone for my Toronto website design business... The thing however is that I don't like the plans being offered by Bell, Rogers and other phone companies.

What I WANT is an unlimited calling plan for both local and long distance. And I want it relatively cheap. Frankly I think that is the future of telephones, but the companies are really dragging their feet at offering it.

But there is a way... Vonage (VOIP = Voice Over Internet Protocol) gives you a local phone number, but allows you to call locally and long distance and all you pay is $39.99/month.

If you sign up with Bell for a business plan its $54.95/month... and its NOT unlimited. You pay extra for calling long distance. What a rip off.

The whole premise for a business plan for phones is that you can claim it on your income tax. Frankly I firmly believe people are getting ripped off by charging companies double what home user pay for the same service. Its a complete rip off designed to gouge companies... in theory they get it back because they can claim it as a business expense, but really its just gouging.

My argument however is that Vonage/VOIP is a logical route to go, especially if you're running a business. And who is to say you can't just register it under the business name instead of the person's name? That way you can still use if for income tax purposes.

My next issue I want to talk about saving money via is home heating (in theory you could do this for an office, but you'd need to OWN the building instead of renting it)... the idea here is Geothermal Heating Systems which is a VERY cheap way to heat your home, but your first stumbling block is the price of installing geothermal. The startup cost may seem like a lot, but what you quickly realize is the price of running a geothermal fan (about $15/month) is way cheaper than running an oil or gas furnace for 6 months or so of the year (and running an air conditioner for the other 6 months or so).

The beauty of geothermal is that it can both heat and cool your house and dramatically reduce the costs of heating the place. My sister and her husband are currently having geothermal systems installed in both their house and their cottage up north (the other benefit of geothermal is its off the grid and ideal for cottages and cabins in the middle of nowhere and the fan for cycling the air can run off a car battery).

The point I am getting here is that people and businesses can make lots of cost-cutting measures, especially during a recession.

Lets say you own a company that has a lawn out front. In theory the cheapest way would be to pave over the grass and not worry about how stark and unfriendly the company looks. A better solution I think is to install a concrete logo in the grass or flower beds and then hire a local grass cutting company to cut the grass / do flower maintenance. (I also favour the idea of using moss / ivy / ground covering plants that require zero maintenance.)

That way you're outsourcing the lawn maintenance (less worry, less cost for the lawnmower, gas, paying an employee to do it) and better yet the logo looks really good for advertising purposes.

A bit like the logos shown here beside the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto.

Another idea I've learned about is for companies looking to give their employees a dental plan, but don't want to get charged an arm and a leg.

The solution is to cut out the middle man. You find a local Toronto dentist (or wherever you live) and then negotiate with them a bulk rate for your company employees, cutting out the dental insurance company as the middle man. This may sound bizarre, but it ends up working well for both the company and the dentist...

The only disadvantage is that all your employees have to go through the same dentist... if you consider that a disadvantage. If you pick a good quality dentist that everyone ends up liking it won't be a big deal.

Next lets imagine you're trying to save money when planning a big business conference, annual office picnic, wedding, Toronto party rentals or whatever. Usually in such scenarios its best to bundle these options. Get one company to do EVERYTHING for you under a budget. If there are any extras you want not listed under the bundle get those separately. Less stress, less money, done by professionals.

Looking to Save Money? See Also:
Buying a New Computer at Work
Wind Power at Work
Cheapness at Work
Car Options at Work

Buying a New Computer at Work

TECHNOLOGY - I haven't bought a new computer in fives years. I haven't needed to buy one because in 2005 I bought a really sweet computer in South Korea with 2.4 Ghz, 80 GB hard drive, 512 RAM, etc, etc... and Windows XP.

OPERATING SYSTEMS

There are three main operating systems out there:

Windows : Produced by Microsoft, comes in various versions including XP, Vista, Windows7. The program is bloated and huge, new versions often have tonnes of glitches that haven't been removed yet and its waaaaay overpriced to buy a copy.

Apple OS : All Apple (Macintoshes or "Macs") come with the Apple Operating System. The most recent version is OS X. Macs have their own brand of glitches, even though fans of Apple will swear up and down that they don't get glitches I know from 9 years of experience using Macs in highschool and university that they DO get glitches, lag and have just as many problems as Windows.

Linux : I've never tried Linux but would like to try it sometime. The problem with Linux is what programs it can be used with... the advantage of Linux is that its very customizable (open source) and its designed to be more basic, faster and less glitchy. Simpler is better.

I opted for Windows7 because new computers are no longer compatible with Windows XP (waaaaaah!)... Vista is too bloated, Apple OS is overpriced and I want to learn more about Linux before I think about installing it...

What I wish there was is a "Windows Lite" platform which has all the basic functions a person could possibly want, none of the glitches large bloated programming has, is super fast and only installs what you need.

Google is still designing its own operating system known as Chrome OS and will be publicly available sometime later in 2010. The idea is to create an operating system which has the primary function of accessing the internet, playing music/videos, word processing, etc... no gaming. Its being specifically designed for netbooks.

Chrome OS is essentially a version of Linux, but unfortunately will only run on hardware that supports Chrome and is being specifically designed for netbooks. The idea is to create a laptop which anybody can use anywhere which requires less memory and hard drive space because its no where near as bloated as Windows or Apple OS.

Remember the $100 Laptop project from MIT?

Well the plan is for Google to come out with its own line up netbooks that run on Chrome OS for people who like to check their email, surf, play on Facebook, YouTube, etc. while on the go... all for super cheap... like $199.99 or so. (Google has yet to give precise prices.)

But that doesn't help me because I like to play games occassionally... and I need all my extra programs for my website design business.

HARDWARE

If you know anything about computers you know RAM stands for Random Access Memory, a hard drive is where you store things and computing speed is measured in Gigahertz (Ghz). Essentially you want a computer which is fast enough to support your needs. Companies vary in quality, but generally speaking you want something with a warranty so you know you can return if something isn't working the way it should.

If you're smart and capable you could build your own computer by buying the necessary parts (which is what I plan to do with my old computer tower)... but you'd better know exactly what you are doing because not all computer parts are compatible with each other.

Thats it. Make a budget, try to stick to it, consider all your needs, shop around and compare prices and don't forget to find a way to save all your old files so they can be backed up and saved on your new computer.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEN & WOMEN

Men are stereotyped to be quite cheap, but they also want speed and power... but ultimately I think it depends both on the person and their individual needs. Some men are just plain braggarts who spend thousands of $$$ per year on the latest and best hardware, software, games and gadgets. Others are much more frugal and only buy what they need. Some women might be really into violent video games (this statistic is going up faster than you might think) and want a computer with a fabulous graphics card, memory and everything they need for their favourite game. Its all about balancing practicality, budget and your expectations.

Cheapness at Work

Are men cheaper than women? Or are we just more practical sometimes?

I think it varies from person to person. True, men do tend hunt more often whereas women tend to be gatherers (insofar as shopping is concerned), which thus begs the question... do men hunt for bargains?

I'll give you an example.

Yesterday I went downtown to the Eaton's Centre, shopped around and eventually found a backpack i liked for $49.95 + tax. In theory I could have kept looking and maybe found a cheaper one for say $30, but I didn't bother. The backpack I found was pretty good quality and I figured it would last a long time (considering I take pretty good care of such things, this is very true of all my previous backpacks, satchels and whatnot).

HOWEVER, I utterly refused to spend a penny more than $60 on a backpack. There were quite a few backpacks are saw in the $80 to $100 range and it was a struggle to find one large enough that I liked in the $30 - $50 price range.

Thus in essence I was hunting for something very specific. ("Oh no, I can't shoot that deer. Its too big. Lets shoot a smaller one!")

I've noticed in the past there is also the time element. I don't want to waste too much time looking for one thing, especially if it will only save me $10 or so. Spending 2-4 hours looking for something and buying roughly the same thing for slightly less isn't my style. If I find what I like and its in the right price range I will probably take it.

Does this make me cheap? No, I think it makes me discerning and practical.

Lets pretend I was looking for car insurance quotes... Now if I was driving a cheap old Ford I probably wouldn't look very hard and I might take the first car insurance company I find without really shopping around because: A. Its a cheap car and the insurance isn't going to be a lot. B. Its not really worth the time and effort shopping around for what is likely roughly the same quote anyway. C. When it comes to car insurance YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. This means some companies have better reputations and are less likely to rip you off when it comes time to actually use it.

Lets pretend I have the option between two pairs of shoes:

1. $120 Nikes: They will last a really long time, they're super comfortable, easy to clean, look good and we're probably made using child labour in India or China for all I know.

2. $20 Crappy Shoes: I have no idea how long they will last, and they were also made in India or China (and again probably using child labour).

Obviously I want to choose the Nikes, because in theory the cheap shoes are more likely to be made using child labour, but also because its a significantly better product. Furthermore if something happens to the shoes in the first week or so and I complain to Nike about it they will REPLACE THE SHOES. When you buy a brand name product, even though it doesn't come with a warranty, the company is committed to quality and will replace it.

Now lets pretend I want to lose weight... do I:

A. Go out and get liposuction for $5,000?

B. Join a gym and maybe buy Creatine pills from a natural medicine clinic?

Chances are likely the answer will be B. Because in this scenario $5,000 just seems unreasonably expensive and I would much rather ADD muscle weight and tone up the natural way instead. (See also Protein Supplements & Creatine at Work.)

Sometimes cheapness is directly connected to LAZINESS (either in conjunction or in opposition, because both are possible). For our next example lets say I am entering Lenzr's photo contest (they hold regular photo contests online). Do I:

A. Pick out a photo already on my computer, fill out the online form and send it in?

B. Go outside, take a couple hundred new photographs, waste a whole day (or several days) taking lots of photographs and send in the best ones? With no guarantee I will win.

You can pretty much bet it will be option A. Not because I am lazy, but because there's no guarantee I'd win anything anyway and its too freaking cold outside to be taking photographs anyway. I wanna stay inside where its warm!

Next lets pretend I want to do something expensive... like make a new application for my iPhone (I don't actually own an iPhone, this is just an example)... I get this really kewl idea for an app, but nobody else has thought of it yet so there's nothing remotely similar to it on the market (or maybe there is, but its too freaking expensive)... do I:

1. Hire some techie guy who may or may not know what he is doing?

2. Hire a professional mobile application developer?

In this situation I think its better to hire the professional. After all would you really want to hire an amateur to work on your Lamborghini, your house's plumbing or (egad!) open heart surgery on your mother? No, you're going to hire someone with training, experience and they're guaranteed to know what they're doing.

Its not going to be cheap, but the situation demands a person be practical.

Of course then there are some idiot men out there who think they can fix a car, do their own plumbing and you can guess what happens. They make a mess of it and end up having to spend even more on a professional to fix it. Thank god they draw the line at open heart surgery.

In conclusion are men cheap? No. But some of them are really stupid and arrogant.