Where I've Been

And where this is headed

Stay tuned for the end of the message where I issue the call for beta readers….

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I realized that I’d done a video for my Facebook followers about the status of my stories, but I hadn’t bothered to update here on the actual platform that contains my writing. Hopefully, this will rectify that.

A few things — yes, I said I’d be back with new episodes of The Rising River and, of course, that is the intent, but let’s just say that this final year of my MSW program has consumed almost all my bandwidth, and I’m really just trying to get through it. It’s not as though I’m not thriving; I am doing just fine — it’s just that it’s a lot to try to manage on top of all my other projects. That project will be finished eventually but I don’t know when.

To everything there is a season, and this is not that season.

I am excited about my first novel, The Distant Horizon. I have it with my editor now and she’s going back through it for me. Over the summer, I will be doing a major revision of it in hopes of getting a literary agent and publisher who might be interested. In the meantime, what was released over Substack in 2023 is still on the site, but you will have to go back and look for it.

I do want to say that as of June 1, I will be taking it off this site. I will do that so that I can focus on the next draft, and I don’t want that rough version out here when I’m looking for publication.

Now, about beta readers: I am going to need about 10 willing souls who’d be willing to be beta readers of the next draft and who’d be open to having a conversation (either in writing or via Zoom) about the work once you’ve read it. If you’re interested, please just comment below and I will follow up with you. In essence, you will just be agreeing to read it and have an honest conversation with me.

Also, there’s one or two of you out there whom I’ve drafted already (even though you don’t know it yet) and so if that’s you, you will hear from me forthwith.

:-)

Those of you who are interested probably won’t be asked to do anything until Fall 2025. I will also be looking for folks who have not subscribed and who have no idea what this is and what I was trying to do — I will need that feedback as well.

At any rate, I am pleased that I was able to write a novel during graduate school. Unfortunately, I didn’t have another in me, but I am certainly not going to complain about accomplishing a huge life goal.

To all of you, thanks for your support and for your belief in me and my work. It means the world to me.