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My name is James Walter Miles Cornelius. Originally from Porterville California where I grew up, I moved to Oregon in 1988. I joined the Navy in 1990 and was a cook for four years. I began my love of writing at an early age. Actually in the third grade I wrote my first story, dont ask me to remember what it was, as now I do not remember. While in high school I used to love to write short stories and stage plays, often using my friends and myself as inspiration. After being in the military I took odd jobs working as a cook for the local hospital. Later I worked for Blockbuster and Movie Gallery. In 2001 I decided to go back to school at Eastern Oregon University where I earned a Bachelors Degree in Science in Liberal Studies with minors in Anthropology\Sociology and Health. I now work for the State of Oregon as a eligibility worker. Before I worked for the state of Oregon I was a drug and alcohol counselor for 13 years. I worked in two different state facilities working with inmates. I have taught different curriculum's that used Cognitive Behavioral Therapy that included, Thinking for a Change, Moral Recognition Therapy (MRT), and other material that included TAP 19. I worked at Powder River Correctional Facility and Idaho CAPP. It was my job not only to teach them how to be successful, but to help them find their motivation to have that success.
Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite
Don’t you just love a good story that suggests a ‘once upon a time’ plot? Imagine a dragon and an evil knight who sets out to destroy all that is good in the land. The good consists of a king and his daughter, as well as the court jester who is hopelessly in love with the princess. The dragon has threatened communities in and around the infamous Black Forest and the evil knight has been locked in a magic chamber beneath the castle until one day everything changed and the battles between good and evil intensified.
Miles Cornelius’ novella, The Black Forest, is a fantasy/ fairy tale complete with all that one would expect: magic and countless battles between the powers of good and evil. The main characters, the protagonists, are exemplary in their goodness. The king and his daughter care about their people while the Jester, also good, cares about his princess. Pitted against evil beings, the plot is powerful and forward-driven – very engaging. For a novella, the characters are well defined and developed and the setting is described with good attention to detail. The plot rounds up with a conundrum that will have readers wondering if there will be a sequel, though the author does lead the story forward to the present day when an archaeologist sets out to prove if the recently discovered castle remains are, in fact, the location of this legendary, epic fairy tale. This was an interesting read and will certainly appeal to fantasy readers.
