What’s up?

On the writing front, I’ve had a very busy 2013—and it’s only the middle of July. I not only had two new books released this year, The Zealous Star and The Mirror of the Soul, but I also released new, revised versions of my first two books, The Hidden Sun and The Waxing Moon. In addition, one of my short stories, “With Bells On” was included in Carol of the Tales and Other Nightly Noels: An Advent Anthology (Volume 2)

Currently, I’m roughly 40,000 words into a Young Adult novel, as of yet unnamed, which takes place in the late 1980’s and is about a young baseball player who gets into a car accident and subsequently moves from North Carolina to Utah. Baseball had been his life and now he has to discover what he is going to live for now that his dream is gone. It’s quite different from my other books as far as setting, but like my other books, it’s very character and plot driven. It’s been fun to write, but sadly, for now, it’s been placed on the back burner.

Why?

Well, I’m currently in the middle of working on my Master’s degree in Creative Writing which is a boatload of work. As of this moment in time, I’m in the middle of writing a screenplay (you read that right! A screenplay!) for one of my classes. I can’t say much about it aside from it draws a lot on my experiences when I was an operations manager at a 24 hour news station in Connecticut.  

My final project for my Master’s degree is to write a book. As of this moment, I have a few ideas kicking around, but I’ve not settled on one.

But that’s not all!

I do have a new book coming out in the next few months. It’s called Wall of Faith. It’s based on my experiences of being an LDS (Mormon) missionary. I understand everyone who serves a mission has a different experience, but not many can say they were sent to a foreign land, hit by a car, locked up for weeks, and then…well, you’ll have to read the book to find out what happens.

While I feel the book has a positive message, it also doesn’t pull any punches. For the parents who tell me, “All I want to hear from my missionary son or daughter is that they are having the best experiences of their lives.”—this book isn’t for you.

For those who are thinking, “Finally! I can learn all the stuff the Mormon church keeps secret!”—this book isn’t for you.

Then who is it for? Anyone who wants to read a compelling story about one young man’s journey to deal with challenges and experiences he’s not prepared to face. It’s depressing, it’s heart breaking, it’s frustrating, and ultimately, it’s uplifting. At least that’s my goal.

And for 2014? Stay tuned…