Feels like we haven't talked all year...

Happy 2020. I hope the holidays were nothing short of spectacular for all of you.

I know it’s been a while since I’ve connected and I apologize for my lack of interaction, but the time allotted to do this sort of thing these days for me has been limited. It started that way near the beginning of last year and has remained such even to this point, and I do not see that changing in the near future.

My day job has been keeping busier than I’ve ever been in my life. My company has more work than we know what to do with, while at the same time, we’re suffering—from a lack of manpower and talent. It’s my understanding, though, that my trade isn’t the only one suffering from this vacuum of technically-inclined workers. There doesn't seem to be enough properly trained, educated personnel looking for this sort of work. Companies are actively seeking to hire, but the pool of available workers has dwindled into nothingness. Demand has been exceeding supply for some time.

Of all the things in the world to complain or worry about, being gainfully employed and having too much work shouldn’t even register on my anxiety barometer. My chief complaint, or rather my only one, is that it simply limits my time to follow other pursuits. I won't allow my work situation to interfere with the personal time I spend with my family, which is limited already enough as it is. And I flat-out refuse to allow my junior high schooler the daddy time she rightly deserves of me. So, the sacrifice most, unfortunately, must come from other time allotments; like my writing career.

I know, it sucks to hear that. Believe me, it sucks admitting it. Many of you are voracious readers, capable of devouring a 100,000-word book that takes me months to write and publish in a manner of hours. I know this all too well. It’s given me an inadequacy complex before and it’s doing so right now, as I type this. I’ve started something here and it needs to continue come hell or high water. I owe all of you for being fans of my stories and sticking by me.

In other news, though I’ve never been comfortable carrying negative feelings, lately, I’ve been off my game. I’ve been very much caught up in nationwide events and especially, those affecting me locally, as of late. If you’ve read my books, you’re aware of my feelings on the future. It is vehemently unpredictable. I write about a world devoid of stability and I find it both fascinating and terrifying that the one we know is accelerating in that direction, possibly nearing terminal velocity.

Unless you live in a complete vacuum, you’re probably already aware of the goings-on in my state. Virginia has been changing for years, but after this last election it appears as though those newly elected wish nothing more than for our beloved Commonwealth to become the communist California of the East Coast. Over many years, the voters here have become complacent; comfortable in the belief that their freedoms could ever be threatened. Yet, here we are. Almost every God-given right we’ve ever had has come under fire and citizens are rising up like never before—even me. I’ve always considered myself an activist of sorts, but recently that activism has taken on a different face. I’m attending rallies, making my voice heard, gathering allies and getting an overall feel for what’s about to go down in my home state. What I believe might happen is irrelevant, but what needs to happen is for everyone to wake up and come together and fight. And, thank God that’s what I’m seeing. So far, the only thing we’re lacking is coordination.

Virginia isn’t the only state coming under fire, these days. Kentucky, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana New York, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, Tennessee. The rights bestowed to us by God and our Constitution have come under attack. And while a large majority seems ready to fight over it, there also seems to be another majority that is perfectly fine with allowing this tyranny to exist and become our way of life, and that scares me more than anything. Once tyranny is successfully installed, there is only one way to delete it. History has proven this and it goes without saying that I think about it nearly every second of every day; as if I didn’t have enough on my shoulders already.

I’m still behind on getting books out, the same as I was last year. My normal schedule had been publishing two books a year; one in the summer and one around Christmas time, and that did not happen in 2019, primarily due to lack of time and pushing myself a little too hard. I wanted to try something new, like publishing once every three months like most successful authors do. I started a new venture with the Gunplay series and though I believe they contain some of my best writing to date, I’m not satisfied with their success. It’s something I must work on. Consequently, while splitting my activities and augmenting my schedule to get out two books in that series rather quickly, I'd allowed the What’s Left of My World series to lag behind, and unfortunately, it has remained that way.

My goal this year is to return to that schedule of two books a year and hopefully start plugging two other series that I’ve been wanting to deliver to you. The Heart of War is still underway, though it's far from being finished. In light of recent heinous attacks on our rights, I felt that certain parts deserved some re-writing. There's a message I wish to drive home and my original storyline did not do so adequately. Rest assured, though, you will not be disappointed with anything except for the wait.

In closing, I've been working on another project recently related somewhat to my books and the message behind them. In my next blog post, I'll make the formal announcement.

Prepare, gear up and stay ready. Zero Dark Armageddon is closer than you think.