Jason Knightman
I'm a 40-something aspiring new author in the Houston, TX, US, area, with a husband who is an over-the-road long haul truck driver. Ultimately, I hope to write three trilogies with my first set of concepts, along with a few short stories.
Englishly
As a native American English speaker, I believe I have noticed a slow but accelerating decline of the English adverb. (I cannot say whether similar results are occurring in British English.) Authors are advised exclusively to use ‘strong verbs’ and to rely less on adverbial adjustment. Younger generations ever-increasingly accustom themselves to social media shorthand and slang. Many people fall into perpetually repeating the familiar, misspoken phrasings that they grew up hearing and that everyone around them uses, despite being educated otherwise. Prominent among all is the rampant misuse of adjectives occurs where adverbs are needed.
Jason KnightmanPublished about a month ago in EducationLethal Cargo
(The following is an excerpt from my manuscript-in-progress for A Thread of Waking Light, a fantasy novel, the first book of Volume I: Omens of Dream and Shadow, in my planned triple-trilogy series, The Bonds of Faith and Blood.)
Jason KnightmanPublished 2 months ago in FictionThe Secret Admirer
Ambient, late summer sunlight illuminated the high school science wing teacher’s lounge, and birds flitted from tree to tree just outside. “So, now that you know I am a Libra, what is your sign, Laura?” The speaker was the senior biology teacher, Mr. Jenkins, and the only other occupant of the lounge was the young Miss Haley, the junior chemistry teacher. At that moment, in walked the newly-hired physics teacher, fresh from college, Mr. Shaw.
Jason KnightmanPublished 4 months ago in HumansFlower Child
I had helped Mrs. Wickham a few months ago when her children first settled her into our nursing home. A widow now, her four children wanted nothing much to do with her. She wasn’t extraordinarily wealthy, or anything, from what I understand, but she was well-off enough that they could make some sort of trust to pay her way to stay here, and that was that.
Jason KnightmanPublished 4 months ago in HumansEarth-ball, Corner Pocket
January 11, 2049 Tokyo: Dr. Yumi Shima, JAXA Adelaide: Dr. Colin Nesbitt, ASA Bangalore: Dr. Jiera Chakrabarti, ISRO
Jason KnightmanPublished 4 months ago in FictionA Slice of Heaven
It’s your birthday tomorrow. I know you do most of the cooking, but I want to surprise you. With the kids out of the house for a few years now, I have more time on my hands, and I want to make use of the time alone since you will be working late tonight. I got all the ingredients together as listed from my mother’s old recipe card box, and I made sure I had all the right pans. I picked out my design for the two frostings, using a fudgier, darker version of chocolate for the lettering than the lighter base frosting, and I have all the utensils ready.
Jason KnightmanPublished 5 months ago in HumansOh Say, Can You See...
We drive upstate in your car. I assume it’s a nice car. Now that I am over eighty, and I don’t see so well anymore, I give up trying, sometimes. It helps me to picture that it’s quite grand, and that you’re doing well.
Jason KnightmanPublished 5 months ago in HumansIT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT...
When I was a child, perhaps pre-teen, I had the opportunity to watch a few old horror movies — the black-and-white ones that came from a simpler time cinematically and from an equally pre-adolescent society with now-outdated mores. In these films, there would almost always be a scene similar to this:
Jason KnightmanPublished 5 months ago in Humans
