JENNIFER LIEBERMAN ..................................... 48

from the publisher

Talent Lies Everywhere!

Welome to the July issue. The more I publish Books & Pieces Magazine, the more I realize that talent lies all around us. There is no shortage of talent, people gifted in a wide range of abilities, each with a story to tell, a journey they’ve taken, filled with rises and falls, successes and failures. Each interview offers something slightly different. I want to know how these people tick. What’re their fears. What drives them. And, more importantly for me, what can I learn from them. Life is a journey of learning. Death is when you stop learning. And even that is debateable.

Michaelbrent Collings is a well known, award-winning, bestselling, creative force of nature who has pushed boundaries in his life to reach a place of relative stability. I say ‘relative’ because, as you will hear in his own words, life is an unpredictable journey that one has to adapt to, weather, survive and hope for fairer days ahead.

I heard of Michaelbrent through a circuitous route: one day while looking up people from my past, I searched for a creative writing teacher of mine from decades long gone. I knew at the time that he was a published author and poet, with many books under his belt. I found him and realized that he had moved to Idaho, where I live. His name is Michael J. Collings, and his son is Michaelbrent.

And then I received a message from Michaelbrent. He was also in Idaho, not far from me. A lunch interview was in order. And what did I learn? Many things. He is a pragmatist who puts family first, values honesty, and despite the image of a horror writer, is a very decent and genuine person. Read the interview for an in-depth look at the man and his writing. Greg Goodell hails from Emmett, Idaho, a rural community well known for its cherries, fruits and vegetable harvests. He is a man with many talents, although he humbly denies most of them. He has played in bands with many notables, written songs, recorded albums, performed live, taught all manner of instruments, and, most recently put together Dynamic Arts Studio where he does everything from sound management, recording, producing, teaching youngsters as well as adults, mostly as a one man organization, although friends help out along the way. I met Greg some years ago when I decided it might be nice to learn to play the acoustic guitar. I’ve watched him disassemble, repair and reconstruct old analog multi-track devices, guitars, you name it. What did I learn from Greg? You’re everything you allow yourself to be. And