William L. Stuart

author of The Gemstone Chronicles Series

Book Reviews, Thoughts, and Random Interesting Ideas

Celebrating the Wonder of…Duct Tape!

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Duct tape!!

Duct tape

The humble duct tape:

Duct tape. Staple of many a tool box and indispensable aid in household repairs. But, it is so much more than that. As a former submarine sailor, I can attest to the fact that my boat, USS Sandlance (SSN660), didn’t go to sea without a supply of EB tape (the US Navy term for duct tape – allegedly the EB stems from Electric Boat, the builder of many submarines). In fact, there is an urban submarine legend that a submarine was in the shipyards and the workers covered over an opening in the pressure hull with EB tape so the hull could be painted. Of course, the paint went right over the EB taped area and everyone forgot about it. As the story goes, the sub went to sea, dove to test depth, and the taped area held. Now, this didn’t likely happen, but it illustrates the confidence submariners have in the tape!

Duct Tape USS Sandlance (SSN660)
USS Sandlance (SSN660)

Not that I ever participated in one of these activities, but I heard rumors of NUBs (non-useful bodies), non-qual, DINQs (delinquent in qualification) getting taped to various parts of the boat. I imagine it would look something like this!

Duct tape

Duct tape and The Gemstone Chronicles:

Besides keeping submarines floating and taping the occasional person to the wall, bulkhead, stanchion, or nearby handy chair, duct tape has tons of other uses. In The Gemstone Chronicles Book One: The Carnelian, Beebop uses a duct tape to restrain the troll Yul. Yul had been Findecano’s guardian in the fairy cross and was released when Aidan and Maggie smashed the stone to free Findecano. Yul busted through the door of Nana and Beebop’s house and Nana clonked Yul on the head with a cast iron frying pan. it was then that Beebop was able to tape the troll and keep him restrained. In keeping with the legendary stickiness of the tape, Beebop tore out lots of Yul’s arm hair when he finally freed the troll.

Other uses:

What other uses are there for this wonder repair device? Believe it or not, there are books detailing the uses (and you can make a book cover with it if you like), but here are some of my favorite ideas.

  • Don’t have a lint brush? Just make a loop of duct tape (sticky side out, of course), and viola, lint remover!
  • Got a nasty cut while working in the garage? Cover the cut with a clean cloth or paper towel and wrap it in duct tape. Makes a great temporary bandage until you can get some medical attention.
  • How about taping a spare car key to the undercarriage of your vehicle?
  • You can repair a vacuum cleaner hose by wrapping it with duct tape.
  • You can repair a leaky car hose with duct tape, too, but it only a be temporary fix. It may hold long enough to get you to a mechanic.
  • If you are a camper, you can repair a hole in your tent, make a rope, fashion a clothesline, or catch flying insects (think flypaper – just hang a few strips and then roll them up after catching the bugs).
  • Car repairs of many other types (body work, holding windows in place, etc.), See the picture below!
Duct tape car repairs

There are many more uses for the tape than I can ever begin to list here. I did want to add a picture of duct tape clothing. I think some people may have way too much time on their hands!

Duct Tape Prom Outfits

There you have my tribute to duct tape. An amazing thing and people find new uses for it every day. Which leads me to ask, what are your favorites uses for this versatile tape? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Connect with me:

If you want to connect with me, find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads, or you can simply email me at bill@williamlstuart.com! Duct tape stories happily accepted!

My Next Book – And The Research Is Killing Me!!

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Research

As my many loyal readers know, I spent quite a bit of time researching the magical and mystical properties of gemstones for my fantasy adventure series The Gemstone Chronicles. I wanted to be sure I was true to the legendary characteristics that have fascinated people for millennia. I just think accuracy is important. Hence, I do the research!

Along those lines, I have been researching (and slowly writing) my next book. It’s going to be a thriller (at least it is now – you never know where the characters will take you) that has absolutely nothing to do with gemstones, Aidan, Maggie, Nana, elves, of any of the other familiar characters from Celahir. No, this book will be set in current times and focus on a conspiracy. And part of it involves research into cool technology. Nanotechnology to be exact. And that is where the research is killing me!

Many of you know that I’m a big nerd and geek. I graduated from the US Navy’s Nuclear Power School (a kingdom of nerds and geeks if ever there was one), served aboard a nuclear powered submarine (very cool technology and engineering) and, if given the chance, will spend a day watching The Science Channel on TV. I like to read about quantum mechanics, and follow CERN. If there is going to be a black hole created during the search for the Higgs boson, I want to know about it!!

Nanotechnology:

Now I’m researching nanotechnology and it appeals to my nerd/geek side. When I start reading about the technology, I want to keep reading about it. What exactly is nanotechnology? According to our friends over at Wikipedia, a general definition is the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension between 1 and 100 nanometers. The definition reflects the fact that quantum mechanical effects are important at this quantum realm scale.

What does all that mean? A nanometer (nm) is one billionth of a meter. By comparison, a DNA helix is 2 nm in diameter. Or, for you chemistry fans, the carbon-carbon bond lengths or the spacing between the atoms in a molecule is 0.12 – 0.15 nm. We are talking small!!

The book:

How does this fit into the research for my next book? As I mentioned above, nanotechnology figures prominently in the story. I can’t tell you much as it would be a spoiler, but I can describe some of the areas of nanotechnology research.  Nanomaterials include carbon nanotubes that can be used to make stain resistant fibers, nanopillars that can be used in solar cells (and help lower the cost of traditional silicon cells), and nanoparticles that can possibly be used for displays, solar cells, lighting, and other such applications.

Medical research with nanotechnology is also progressing. Ideas of using nanomachines to fight disease, cure illnesses, and other such possibilities are mind-boggling. Imagine a tiny machine that destroys cancer and then disappears. It could be possible in the near future.

But, I digress (as always happens when I do research). Nanotechnology isn’t the focus of this post. It was supposed to be about how research distracts me from writing my next book. I guess the key is discovering how much research is enough! I’m not writing historical fiction, so I think if I can get the gist of the idea across, that may be enough. On that note, I think I will try to stay away from the internet and do some writing!

Does research distract you from your writing? If not, what distractions do you encounter and how do you deal with them? Leave me a comment and let me know! I might be able to avoid some of them in the future!! 🙂

Connect with me:

Want to connect with me? I’m on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads, or just email me at bill@williamlstuart.com. I look forward to connecting with you.

Dragons!! Fine Fire-breathing Friends!

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Readers of The Gemstone Chronicles know that I didn’t use any sparkly vampires, werewolves, or zombies for the guardians of the stolen Elven Bow gemstones. In spite of the popularity of the common monsters, I wanted different monsters. In Book One: The Carnelian, a kelpie guarded the gem. Book Two: The Amethyst had the most familiar creature, a giant named Brendan. Book Three: The Emerald had a strange combination creature, the cockatrice. The final book of the series, The Ruby, the cherufe, a fearsome lava monster, protected the gemstone. However, I like dragons, and had to find a way to get them in the story. I didn’t want the dragons to be necessarily bad or good, and they didn’t even have to be a major player in the books, but they had to be there!

Dragons - Black Dragon

Dragon Lore:

First a little background on dragon lore and history. Dragons have been in the mythology of the world for thousands of years. They permeate Asian and European stories and literature. Who hasn’t seen the dragons as part of Chinese New Year celebrations? Or St. George slaying the Dragon? So where did dragons originate? According to Wikipedia, the word dragon entered the English language in the early 13th century. However, the concept of a serpent being overcome by a heroic figure was part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the mythology of the ancient Canaanites, Hittites, and Mesopotamians. Dragon depictions have been found on artifacts in China dating back to the 16th century BC!

Dragons - Chinese Festival Dragon
Chinese Festival Dragon
Dragons - St George and the Dragon Window
St George and the Dragon St. George’s Hall, Liverpool

Dragon types:

Despite the same name, two distinct groups exist. The European versions are often winged and the Chinese counterparts typically resemble snakes. Most often, the beasts are snakes or reptilian and hatch from eggs. Dragons are often shown as being wiser than humans, have speech capability, have great longevity, guardians of treasure, and many can breathe fire. Heraldry incorporates dragons in Coats of Arms. Even Oliver Cromwell had a winged European dragon in the Coat of Arms of the Protectorate.

Dragons Protectorate of Cromwell
Protectorate of Cromwell Coat of Arms

Dragons around the world:

There are tons of examples from other cultures, too. Dragons exist in the legends and myths of Japan, Bhutan, Greece, Russia, India, Persia, Korean, and Vietnam, among others. In the Norse Poetic Edda, the wyrm (dragon) Nidhoggr is wrapped around the roots of the One Tree (Yggdrasil).

Nidhoggr Gnawing at Yggdrasil
Nidhoggr

Modern manifestations of the beasts abound, too. From Tolkien’s Silmarillion and The Hobbit to Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern, and the fantasy roleplaying game Dungeons and Dragons, the creatures have captured the imaginations of millions. One of my writer friends (Colin Rutherford) has a fantasy series called Tales of the Neverwar that features dragons. I’ve read the prequel and the first book of the series and they are great! What dragon inspired books do you like?

Dragons are allies of the Drow in The Gemstone Chronicles Book Four: The Ruby. The first dragon in the book is a red dragon, which, in my story, is not the most intelligent of creatures. He breathes fire (and burns trucks, but you have to read the book to discover how it all comes about). Other dragons appear in the story, but mostly play a minor role. One exception to that, but no spoilers from me!

There you have my homage to dragons! I think they are cool and, in the words of the cartographers of old, “Here Be Dragons!”

What are your favorite dragons? Are they treasure guarding beasties? Misunderstood creatures given a bad rap? Truly evil creatures? Leave me a comment and let me know. Share your dragon lore with us!

Connect with me:

Connect with me on social media! I’m on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads, or email me at bill@williamlstuart.com! I enjoy meeting new friends!

Inspirations and Ideas for My Books (or What Do I Write About)!

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One of the more interesting questions I get asked when someone discovers I have written 4 novels is where I got the inspirations or the ideas. For The Gemstone Chronicles, it’s a very easy answer, but for my latest WIP, the inspirations and the ideas came from an entirely different source. I will talk about them separately below.

I have been an avid reader for as long as I can remember, although I can’t remember the first book I read. Money earned from my paper route in Lakewood, Colorado bought every single Hardy Boy book available at the time (early to mid-70s). I bought Nancy Drew books, Alfred Hitchcock and the 3 Investigators, and a myriad of others. The Science Fiction Book Club got a lot of my money. I read Tolkien, Piers Anthony, Roger Zelazny, Isaac Asimov, Terry Brooks, Stephen Donaldson, Ursula K. LeGuin, and the list goes on and on.

Gemstones:

Why do I mention that? Well, as many of you know, I developed a fascination with gemstones after moving to North Georgia in 2007. While out hunting gemstones one summer afternoon, my grandson, Aidan, and I were discussing the “magical” and “mystical” properties of gems. Aidan, who loves playing World of Warcraft and similar games, told me I should write a book about gemstones, elves, and magic. Though I hadn’t aspired to be a writer, I agreed I would write a book. I knew a few things about world building from my reading of the authors mentioned above, I love to read fantasy, and I already had a plan on what to write. Thus, I had my ideas and my inspirations and the series was born! I even incorporated the gemstones on the covers of the books.

Inspirations and Ideas The Gemstone Chronicles Book One: The Carnelian by William L Stuart Cover

On the cover is the carnelian (first gem in the Elven Bow) along with the stones in the hilt of the Elven Sword, which include a sapphire, a garnet, and aquamarine, and a topaz. You can read all about the gemstones on the cover here.

It did take some time to research which gems would be integral to the story and which would have minor roles. I wanted to have gems with unique properties and I wanted the gems to tie to the personalities of the characters. This meant, of course, that I could draw inspirations and ideas from them. A win-win!

The Georgia Guidestones:

For my current WIP, I used to watch a program on History Channel called Brad Meltzer’s Decoded. One of the episodes was about the Georgia Guidestones. Lana, my lovely and adorable bride, and I visited the Guidestones one sunny afternoon. After the visit, I came away with new inspirations and ideas for my next book. The Guidestones are mysterious. and have a fascinating history behind them. The stones are the subject of conspiracy theories and have been almost since the day they were erected. They lend themselves very nicely to what I have in mind. The book will be unlike The Gemstone Chronicles. It is a thriller (or at least it is now…who knows how things will change during the writing process).

What inspires other writers?

This got me wondering what other writers use for inspirations and ideas? Do they get ideas from listening to the news? Do they have hobbies or interests that lead them down a certain literary path? Is it a current event? Something they witnessed or lived through? Ideas raised by other writers? All of the above? If you are a writer, please tell me what gave you the inspirations and ideas for your own works. I would love to hear about them!

Connect with me:

As always, I enjoy connecting with readers, writers, and anyone else who wants to leave me a comment. I can be found on Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook. Email me at bill@williamlstuart.com!

If you’ve read any of The Gemstone Chronicles, leave me a comment and let me know how you liked the books. If you want to let the world know what you thought, leave me a review on Amazon , Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, or Goodreads! I look forward to hearing from you!

Graves Mountain – My Next Gemstone Hunting Trip!!

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I’m taking a gemstone hunting trip on April 25 to Graves Mountain, Georgia!! What? I’m not going to my normal spot at Gold n’ Gems Grubbin’? That right! I’m headed about 2 hours east of Atlanta to Lincoln County, Georgia to one of the premier crystal hunting spots in the entire United States, Graves Mountain!

What is Graves Mountain?

What exactly is Graves Mountain? According to the Georgia Mineral Society, Tiffany’s originally mined Graves Mountain for rutile used to polish diamonds. It was sold a few times and mining finally ceased at the site in the mid-80’s. Now the mountain is open by reservation and a couple of times per year for an open mining days. The next open mining days event is April 24-26.

What can I expect (hope?) to find at Graves Mountain? How about some of the following?

Minerals and crystals:

Graves Mountain has lots of Rutile (titanium dioxide. Rutilated quartz is one of my favorite finds and looks like gold threads inside the quartz. Rutile is also the mineral that makes the star in star sapphire. Below is a picture of rutilated quartz and a star sapphire. I don’t expect to find a star sapphire. Sapphires aren’t usually found at Graves Mountain, but it would be cool!

Rutilated Quartz Graves Mountain
Rutilated Quartz
Star Sapphire Graves Mountain
Star Sapphire

One of the coolest stones I could find at Graves Mountain is the iridescent hematite. If you remember from The Gemstone Chronicles Book Three: The Emerald, the heroes of the story arm themselves with hematite as it is supposed to make a warrior invincible in battle. I’ve found hematite at Gold n’ Gem Grubbin’ before, but it was the dark grey version. Iridescent hematite is completely different in appearance and it’s beautiful!

Iridescent Hematite
Iridescent Hematite

Lazulite is another mineral that is sometimes found at Graves Mountain. A cool blue color, it reminds me of the lapis lazuli used by Alatariel in The Gemstone Chronicles Book One: The Carnelian to test the intentions of the humans before they enter the Northern Forest.

Besides the rutile and hematite, other minerals to find at the site include pyrophillite, pyrite, quartz, blue quartz, and many others. I plan on bringing home a ton of crystals!! The last pictures are of pyrophyllite and pyrite.

Pryophyllite
Pyrophyllite
Pyrite Graves Mountain
Pyrite (Fool’s Gold)

I will, of course, post pictures of my finds after the dig. Hopefully, it will be a good haul and make me want to go back in October, when they open the mountain again for a public dig.

Are there any good mineral prospecting sites where you live? I would love to know about them! Who knows? I might have to take a road trip!

Connect with me:

If you want to connect with me, I can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads, or email me at biil@williamlstuart.com. I look forward to meeting each of you!

Gemstone Hunting Secrets – The Process Revealed!!

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Gemstone hunting! One of my absolute favorite pastimes and one that led to the writing of The Gemstone Chronicles. I have talked about it in previous posts and even posted some pictures from the trips. Today, though, I want to walk you through the steps I go through when I pursue this hobby of mine! Yes, my gemstone hunting secrets revealed!

The location:

All of the pictures were taken by me on Sunday, March 15 at my favorite spot, Gold n’ Gem Grubbin’ in Cleveland, GA. If you have read any of my previous posts on this topic, you already know some of this, but let me summarize for new readers. Gold n’ Gem Grubbin’ is part of a commercial gold mine in the North Georgia Mountains. The property was part of the Loud Mine and continues to produce gold today.

For gold prospectors and gem enthusiasts, it is a great place to go for a fun (and sometimes profitable) visit. The site offers buckets and a covered sluice for sifting through the dirt to uncover treasures. They also offer mining at the creek – which is my favorite part. Gold n’ Gem Grubbin’ puts dirt dug from the mine pit next to the creek that runs through the property. Diggers can then fill buckets with dirt from the pile, take it to the creek, and sift through it. Whatever you find, you get to take home!

The dirt pile:

When we arrived (we being my brother John, his daughter Simone, and me) on Sunday morning, we had a fresh pile of dirt to dig through. However, it was wet and heavy dirt from recent rains, and it made for some heavy buckets!

Gemstone Hunting Secrets Dirt Pile

Our process is to fill 5 gallon buckets with dirt from the pile and lug the buckets down to the creek. Trust me when I say that after 4 hours of toting buckets of dirt, you will be pretty tired! Here are my 4 buckets ready to be screened.

Work smarter, not harder:

Gemstone Hunting Secrets Buckets of Dirt

I like to stack my screening boxes on top of one of the buckets and fill from another bucket. Why? Because I can let the dirt sift through the screens and sift out larger rocks. This way, by the time I get to the last bucket, I have some sifted dirt I can put into my sluice box. More on that in a minute. First, I wanted to show how the boxes look when full of dirt and placed in the creek to begin the washing process.

Gemstone Hunting Secrets Screening boxes

I try to let the creek do most of the work in the process. I tilt the boxes up on each other to get good water flow through the dirt. Most of the dirt simply washes away and leaves a box full of rocks. In the box below, I found a pretty sizable ruby. It’s always a bonus to find something so easily!

Gemstone Hunting Secrets Screen Box with Ruby Outlined

As I mentioned above, I like to work through all the buckets and then dump the sifted dirt into my sluice box. It isn’t necessary to sift it first, but with the sluice box, it makes it easier to run dirt through. Below is a picture of the sluice box in the creek. If there is any gold in the dirt, it will either catch on the black mat or get caught in the green carpet.

Gemstone Hunting Secrets Sluice Box

Once the dirt is run through the sluice, I rinse the carpet off in a bucket and then dump the contents of the bucket into my gold pan. I didn’t find any gold on this day, but I have found a few flakes before. It’s a bonus when you find the gold!

Gemstone Hunting Secrets – The results:

So, what did I find during my first gemstone hunting trip of the year? I found a few nice rocks, but the take wasn’t as good as some trips. Nevertheless, any day of gemstone hunting is a great day! Here are the results. The first picture is some of the gemstones I found.

March 15 gemstones

From the upper left moving clockwise, we have rubies, garnets, quartz, citrine, and aventurine. Remember the ruby in the picture above, well, here is another view. The scale is set for grams, so doing the conversion, the stone is about 35 carats. Unfortunately, I don’t think this one would be a candidate for faceting, so it isn’t worth much. I still like it, though.

There you have the process we use to hunt for gemstones. I did find a smaller ruby (about 20 carats) that I plan on sending to my gem cutter to see if it is a good stone. When a stone is cut, you lose about 75% in the cutting process, but, if the stone is a good one, I could end up with a 5 carat ruby. Not bad for $15 visit!

What do you think about our gemstone hunting secrets and the process? It really isn’t secret, but it is tons of fun! Any suggestions on making it more efficient? If you hunt gemstones, what do you do and where do you go? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Connect with me:

You can also connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.  I can also be reached by email at bill@williamlstuart.com. I look forward to meeting you!