You can tell — by looking at the date of my previous blog entry — I haven't been writing much in my blog lately. To be more correct, I haven't written ANYTHING in my blog lately. That's because I vowed my blog would be about my writing, and nothing but my writing. And, since there hasn't been anything to say about my writing, I haven't said anything.

About anything.

Today, I'll break my silence and say a few things. With (most) every day that passes, I get a little closer to publishing my next book -- which, for the purpose of this blog, I'll refer to as Ashes.

It has taken me a lot longer than I thought it would take to get Ashes ready for publication. Perhaps a little history about my writing will help explain the delay.

I drafted a one-page outline for Ashes at the age of 16, while sitting (and not paying rapt attention) in math class. Fast-forward to age 40, when I decided to become a published author and started taking my writing more seriously.

It should be noted that, in the interim, I drafted several plot ideas; I have written first drafts for many of these and hope to eventually publish some of them.. But we’re not talking about them; we’re talking about Ashes.

As mentioned above, at age 40 I decided to become an author, and chose Ashes to be my first publication. But it was not to be, because I got side-tracked by one of my plot ideas — which grew into a short story — and then, after several rewrites, became a novella — and, eventually, a full-length novel. So, I put Ashes on the shelf and concentrated all my effort on Anchor, to which you will find a link on my Publications page

Which brings us back to Ashes. I justified putting Ashes on the shelf because I thought it was 99% polished and could be rushed to market hot on the heels of Anchor.

Boy! Was I ever wrong!

I quickly discovered Ashes was nowhere near polished. During the years I worked on Anchor, my writing style had matured a bit and, at the risk of bragging, my skill as an author matured, as well. It turned out that Ashes needed lots of work, and becomes more polished every time I reread it. But — it’s not quite there yet.

So, please be patient.

And please come back to visit my blog every week or so. I promise I’ll blog more, and I promise I’ll blog about more than my writing. (Hint: I’m about to take a 6,000 mile road trip.)