Painting With Light

What’s on Your Writing Horizon in 2016?

If you’ve been around here a while, you know I quit making New Year resolutions a long, long time ago. I never managed to keep them anyway (particularly those related to exercise and weight loss), despite my best intentions.

The only resolution I’ve ever come close to keeping was my promise to go on writing stories, as long as I could.

I’m happy to say I’m approaching another significant birthday number (at my age, every birthday number is significant) … and my storytelling muse is still going strong.

Thankfully, no special equipment is needed beyond the ability to use words … and a whole lot of imagination, and my long-suffering bride tells me I’m still doing well in both of those departments. She can tell just by the way I answer her when she has chores for me to do.

Imagination and Words
Powerful stuff. I continue to practice my storytelling because well-used words are like magic … and meaningful communication is an art. Besides, it makes me feel good.

About this time last year I was mired in another spell of writers’ block but, by summertime I had finished my novel STREET LIGHT. I’m delighted to say it received a 5-Star review from Readers Favorite, who said “… it was hard to put down …”

There was even more excitement in my house last month (from me, anyway), when the online review site Shelf Unbound made STREET LIGHT one of its Notable 100 Books for 2015.

I honestly thought STREET LIGHT finished the story I began years ago with my novels REICHOLD STREET and ONE WAY STREET but, you know, a funny thing happened.

A few weeks ago when I sat down to write, as I usually do every day, some of the trilogy characters appeared and decided they had more they wanted me to say.

They were so insistent I couldn’t tell them no. So, I’m about 8,700 words into a new book right now based on what they were telling me.

A book I didn’t think was going to happen.

New Work Coming
I’d be further along with it but, at the same time, I’m also more than 22,000 words into a completely new novel.

This one will have a strong touch of fantasy, but it also draws a lot on real American history. I got the idea while researching my family tree.

Look for it next summer.

Advice
For every writer and soon-to-be writer out there, there is a great piece of advice I discovered a long time ago that is still relevant, and worth passing along again.

Keep reading and keep writing … and, by all means, have fun.

I know I will. Call it a resolution, if you like. It’s one I intend to keep. Someday I may even get it right.

Best Wishes to Everyone for the New Year.

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My books have all garnered some terrific reviews, and you can see the ones I have available by using the Amazon link below.

You’re invited to visit my web site, BROKEN GLASS, or like my Book of Face page. You can also follow some of my shorter ramblings on The Twitter.

The Official Book Trailer for “Street Light”

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Comments posted below will be read, greatly appreciated and perhaps even answered.

Tags: self-publishing, storytelling

This entry was posted on December 30, 2015 at 4:02 pm and is filed under Award-Winning Fiction, Book Promotion, Storytelling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.