TV TIME: Seeds of Destruction ( You Tube)

 Okay, the premise of Seeds of Destruction is scientists have very special seeds from the Garden of Eden that have the ability to regenerate plants, trees, grasses, and, yes, humans. In a Jurassic Park-like opening scene, a dishonest employee of this science institute sells some seeds for personal gain. Of course, these particular stolen seeds were not ready for introduction into our contaminated world. 

Bedlam ensued. Great idea. Nice looking cast of characters. But it somehow missed the mark. 

It was not bad, just not good. However, it was free to watch on YouTube.

INTERVIEW: Multi-Genre Author Sean Gallatin

Sean Gallatin

Wasilla, Alaska

USA

Welcome to Vision and Verse, Sean. It's a pleasure to have you here with us this morning. Ready for a few questions?

Q. What have you written?

A:

-Dream Noir and Other Tales

-Pick of the Litter- A Mutt Is Born

-Money and Power

-Winter World- A Mercenary’s Union Novella

-Criminal Intent 9MM- Truth On A Stick

-Union Forces

-The Reluctant Prince- A Fantasy Satire

Q: Favorite genre to write?              

A: I like SciFi, crime, and combining the two. The latest fantasy satire I wrote was a lot of fun! But I am branching out…

Q: Favorite food?                

A: All the good stuff I can’t have…

Q: Tea or coffee?

A: Depends on the day. I’m primarily a coffee drinker, and morning zombie. You know how night zombies want a leg, arm, brain? Just gimme the caffeine and we’ll get along fine. But tea is good in the winter when I’m dehydrated. Below Zero F. can do that to ya!

Q: Pizza or ice cream?

A: Hmmm… this is starting to make me hungry…

Q: Wine or beer or soda or what?

A: Is this a trick question? lol! The occasional beer. I have found that as I age, I’ve become a cheap date!

Q: Where would you like to visit?

A: Africa, Europe, and South America. Been to Asia, Australia, and the Seychelles. Love to go again with a stop in India. Travel opens your horizons and eyes.

Q: Favorite music artist?

A: I’m a musician, so this is a hard question. As a musician, what I like spans all genres. That said, what I play and record is rock and alternative. But add in funk, metal, country rock, hard rock or blues.

Q: Do you listen to music when you write?  

A: Depends on what I’m writing. Union Forces was written listen to hard rock and metal. (Megadeth, Asking Alexandra, Ozzy, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Damage Plan, Joe Satriani, to name a few.)

Justine (a short story in Dream Noir) was written with hard rock. The kinda stuff that makes your foot heavy, and gets you tickets…

Q: What makes you laugh?

A: The crazy things life throws at us. Sometimes all that’s left is to laugh.

Q: This is an Art AND Author website, so I am obligated to ask: Favorite work of art or sculpture?

A: I love the arts, so I had to really think on this one. From the oldest cave art, to NFTs, I went over this… for me, the golden records on the Voyager Probes.

As a kid, I lived in the Lompoc / Mission Hills / Vandenberg area. Watching night launches from Vandenberg AFB was always amazing. It lights up the entire area.

Q: How old were you when you first started writing?

A: 48

Q: Do you plan your book with outlines and note cards? Or just write?               

A: Lol! It depends on the book. Some I have no idea what I’m getting into! Some, I know how it ends, and it’s just a question of getting there. Some I have a timeline for, and the stories are part of an arc. Then it’s just a question of fitting that timeline.

The story itself seems to drive this.

Q: Describe your perfect evening?

A: First, at home with my wife and critters, then jamming or hanging out with any family and friends.

Q: Where do you get your inspiration?

A: Life, and the twisted humor I view it with! lol! I have one of those lives where I have done a lot of things and been a lot of places a lot of people wish they could. I’m lucky for it, and grateful, too. God’s been good to me that way.

That translates to a lot of experiences to apply to writing. I saw an interview with a famous writer where they said to write what you know. I have followed that advise, and it’s gone well. 

Q: What do you do when you have writer’s block?

A: Lol! Take a freakin’ break! Forget it for a while, let it rattle around in my brain for a while, and after it bounces around in there, come back to it with a fresh mind. Rinse and repeat as needed! Lol!

Q: Who is your favorite author?

A: The Bard himself, Shakespeare. To this very day, no author has tapped so deeply into the human soul and psyche.

Q: Best book you ever read?

A: Hard for me to pin down to one book… How about a top 3? 

In no order:

-Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela

-Shogun, James Clavell

-White Fang, Jack London

Q: The last book you read?

A: The 36 Hour Day, Nancy L. Mace, MA, & Peter V. Rabins, MD, MPH

Q: What would you do for a living if you weren’t a writer?

A: Lol! Ummm… yeah… about that…. I don’t make a living as a writer. I make a living as a heart monitor tech in a hospital.

Q: Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life, and why?

A: Mom, of course! lol! She did kinda bring me into this world…

Q: If you could sit down with any one person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?

A: Mel Brooks. To thank him for the twisted humor he inspired to people like me. 

Q: What advice would you give to someone who aspires to be a writer?

A: The same advice I gave recently: write it, and get it out there! 

I feel that in some ways now is a golden age for writing. Like music, there’s no telling what will be a hit. 

It’s better to get it out there and know, than to not, and wish you had. 

Q: Do you have some links for us to follow you?

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Union-Forces-Stories-Mercenarys-Universe-ebook/dp/B0BPMWH6FR

Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/share/vamL4iQBgy9o6WfB/?mibextid=WC7FNe

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BOOK: Fair Game, A Jackson Flint Mystery by Scott Geisel

 

Fair Game by Scott Geisel was a good story. It’s the first book in the Jackson Flint Yellow Springs mystery series. 

A chance meeting of a girl in the rain led Jackson to multi-generational family mystery in a small Ohio town. 

Great characters, a good plot line, and some unforseen twists and turns made this a book that was hard to put down. 

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ART: Austrian Symbolist Painter Gustav Klimt

The Kiss 

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SCHEDULE: August 25 -29, 2025

 Monday, August 25 - ART:

Austrian Symbolist Painter

Gustav Klimt

Tuesday, August 26 - BOOK REVIEW:

Fair Game, A Jackson Flint Mystery

by Scott Geisel

Wednesday, August 27 - INTERVIEW:

Multi-Genre Author

Sean Gallatin

Thursday, August 28 - TV TIME:

Seeds of Destruction 

(You Tube)

Friday, August 29 - BOOK:

Waterfalls Point 

by Carol Ann Kauffman

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TV TIME: Midsomer Murders (Roku)

 

This is my favorite television series to watch when I am feeling under the weather. A cup of tea, a big soft blanket, remote in hand, and Midsomer Murders takes my mind off whatever’s ailing me. 

This well-acted, beautifully shot British murder mystery is set in the picturesque fictional English village of Midsomer and its surrounding area, where the local police are kept busy by a constant stream of murders in the serene, pastoral English countryside. I love the cottages and the gorgeously landscaped properties. If it weren’t for the outrageously high murder rate, I would want to move there. 

The series has over twenty seasons and is based on the writings of Caroline Graham (Chief Inspector Barnaby). 

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INTERVIEW: Historical Fiction Author Parker J. Cole

Parker J. Cole

Detroit, MI 

USA

Good morning, Parker, and welcome to Vision and Verse. What 

have you written? 

I primarily write in historical romance and have about 40+ 

published works out there. (I know, I know. I have no life.)

What is your favorite genre to write? 

Historical fiction but I do dabble in other things.

Favorite food. 

Marshmallows!

Tea or coffee? 

There is no such thing as coffee. 

There is only tea.

Pizza or ice cream? 

I’d like a slice of ice cream pizza 

please.

Wine or beer or soda or what? 

I am a recovering off and on 

Mountain Dew and marshmallow 

addict.

Where would you like to visit? 

Alaska, England, and Greece

Do you listen to music when you write?

I don't usually listen to music, but I listen to old movies or TV shows I've watched a thousand. I may have the TV on behind and then a show on my computer. I don't like silence. The more noise I have, the easier I can tune it out. Recently, I watched Columbo on repeat for a while working on one my manuscripts. I love Columbo.

Me, too. Where do you get your inspiration? 

Honestly, and this is going to sound weird, I get my inspiration when I'm in the bathroom. I don't have to be, you know, using it, but some reason, my mind clears when I enter the bathroom. It's been that way since I was a kid.

What do you do when you get a writer's block?

I usually go and times act out the scenes in the bathroom. When I was a kid, I used to go into the bathroom and act out scenes in my head. I'd stand in the mirror and the characters would play themselves out in my mind. I still do that now when I can't think of something. 

Who is your favorite author? 

Too many to name. 

Best book you ever read. 

That's like trying to pick out your 

favorite children. 

Well, recently, I read an old Harlequin 

romance called "The Passionate 

Sinner" from the 70s by Violet Winspear that I absolutely loved. 

She had such a command of the English language and her 

prose was so lyrical. I loved her descriptions and the way she 

was able to evoke so much emotion in her words. I read that 

book twice. 

See? That wasn’t so hard, was it? 

Last book you read. 

For research for my book I released last month called "A 

Respite for Christmas", I read about the Civil War from the

Confederacy point of view called The Illustrated Confederate 

Reader. It gave me a unique perspective of the Civil War and 

from that book, I learned a lot about how the Union soldiers 

were viewed, President Lincoln's views, and more. It was 

fascinating to say the least. 

What makes you laugh? 

People.

Favorite work of art or sculpture. 

The Arnolfini Portrait and Virgin 

and Child Surrounded by 

Angels, right wing of the Medun 

Diptych. I absolutely love these 

two paintings. I hope one day to 

write a book in this era and will 

use both as inspiration.

How old were you when you started writing? 

I can’t remember. I always had a book in my hand and I was 

already writing. But if I were to find the one moment, it was 

when I was sixth grade and my teacher gave us spelling words 

and told us to write a story. 

Do you plan out your book with outlines and notecards? 

Or just write? 

Just write. I hate outlines.

Describe your perfect evening. 

Sitting in a room with the windows open on a cool night with the 

wind blowing through the house and not a bug in sight.

What would you do for a living if you weren’t a writer?

I would be the host of a cooking show. I love to cook, especially 

for my family. But I am an awful baker. Baking is precise, and 

that is the antithesis of me.

I am the same way! 

Cooking is an art. Baking 

is like Chemistry 

class. 

Who is the one 

person who has 

influenced your personal 

life the most and why? 

My grandmother. She’d 

passed away in 2021 just a month shy 

of her 91st birthday. She taught me how to read and write.

If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE 

person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?

Granny. I miss her. 

What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a 

writer? 

You can’t edit a blank page.

 
Do you have some links for us to follow you? 
 
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Parker-J.-

Cole/author/B007ZSEDE4

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parkerj.cole.7

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