My friend and fellow blogger Andrew Ian Dodge has been fighting cancer since last fall. Many of you that read my blog, may know Andrew via the Blogosphere. Andrew, sometimes known as lagwolf in various forums is a blogger, musician (latest CD from Growing Old Disgracefully - $4), podcaster and political consultant.

$14 on Amazon

"The Sage of Wales' adventures continue in this exciting new collection by Andrew Ian Dodge . In a short novel, The Sage must help his friend, Reginald Wiggenbottom, discover strength out of legend in order to save his unborn son from a nasty conspiracy . Followed by three additional short tales . First, the Sage must help a man come to grips with a dangerous family legacy. In the second, he must stop an overly detailed writer from accidentally freeing the Elder God, Cthulhu, from his watery cave and so bringing about the end of mankind. And finally, he must devise a way to keep an evil offshoot of Islam from raising a bloodthirsty pharaoh."

He has been very helpful for to many bloggers and podcasters across the internet for years. He's got some strong opinions and a great sense of humor, which is a good combination for a blogger podcaster. But the cool thing about the blogosphere is that even when we disagree with people, the discussion and the evolution of that discussion is the important result. Andrew definitely helps advance the discussion for many of us.

Surviving Cancer

He went through surgery to fight cancer late last fall and has been following up the fight with months of chemo therapy that will last through the summer.

He's going through both a physical transformation, and has been focusing more and more attention on the important things in life, including the release of his most recent novella.

I'd encourage everyone to check out his new novella, and possibly help him a bit by passing on a recommendation or review on your own blog if you find the book interesting and engaging. For us freelance writers and bloggers there is normally no time off, not even if you are fighting cancer, but the reality is that Andrew could definitely benefit from our support today.

Excerpt from a great little review on the Blogger News Network by Simon Barrett

His latest literary adventure is a rather dark satirical science fantasy novella joined with three other short stories using the same main characters. This is Harry Potter meets drugs, booze and Rock’n'Roll!

Our hero is The Sage Of Wales, a mystical figure who in a pseudo official capacity fights evil. Interesting that The Sage’s real name is Andrew, but I am sure that is purely coincidental. The novella The Gathering Dark is 120 pages of fun. The style of writing is nothing short of unique, and one I have a problem pegging into a style. The heroes battle demonic forces one moment, and next moment they are sharing genteel cups of tea or Port wine and cheese. Maybe the most surreal aspect is the use of computers, The Sage is hip to ICQ, IRC, and the web.

This is a really fun little read, the three extra short stories flesh the book out to almost 200 pages, making it an easy read.

» Book Review: The Gathering Dark & Other Tales by Andrew Ian Dodge - Blogger News Network

As a quick follow up, proceeds from sales of textbooks and other items today will be donated to Race for the Cure.