An ending and a beginning

It's said that when one door closes, another opens. That's hogwash. One does not correlate to the other.

My service with Red Sun Magazine has ended. Although the magazine only published three extremely well-regarded issues in its first year of operation before closing due to lack of funds, I treasure the experience. Being the fantasy editor of a literary magazine gave me interesting and valuable insights into that aspect of publication. I'm proud and grateful to have been a part of it. Ben Richards, the editor-in-chief, intends to launch a crowdfunding campaign to relaunch the magazine, and I wish him good fortune in that endeavor, even though I am no longer able to uphold the commitment to serving on the magazine. We've become friends in a weird, long-distance sort of way.

That said, I have begun working on the next story: Iron Sun. This "New Adult" romance will follow Pure Iron, focusing on Kristoff, the bass guitar player of Iron Falcon. His heroine is Rachel, a high school teacher who witnesses the suicide of a bullied student. Some deep emotion dredged from my own history went into that scene. Anyway, you know the book will end with an HEA: the fun is in getting to it.

Daughter of the Deepwood is in the hands of my editor, who has taken my exhortation to be ruthless to heart. Her critical insight will definitely improve the book. I have set the release date for this book at March 31.

TCK Publishing notified me recently that The Falcon of Imenotash was nominated for their 2018 Reader's Choice award in the fantasy category. I've been spreading that news all over social media. It will keep popping up for a few more weeks, along with pleas to vote for it, because this is a popularity contest that I really want to win. Your support means a lot--and costs nothing. To vote, go here: https://www.tckpublishing.com/2018-readers-choice-voting-page/.

That said, not much is happening on the home front. My younger son graduated from tech school and now awaits orders. As soon as he receives his orders, he'll be on his way back home in Ohio for a visit before heading off to his first duty station, Elmendorf in Alaska. I'm leaving in less than two weeks to take care of family matters, so I hope my boy makes it home before I head to South Carolina. I expect to be out of the office for a month, so blog entries may be delayed or missing altogether. Your patience is appreciated.

Of interest, my parents' neighbors invited me to join them in the Passsover sedar. I am honored and excited to accept this opportunity to participate in an intimate family celebration. This will be added to a growing bank of treasured memories. Since I never take selfies, you won't see pictures. But you might get descriptions.