Greetings, readers.
Consider this your “postcard from the lockdown” for the month of March. ☺
It has been a whirlwind of a few weeks, that’s for sure. I, along with my family, am braving all of the latest and (not-so-) greatest developments with regard to the COVID-19 outbreak that has gripped the world. I am sure the same can be said for all of you, and I pray that all is well with you and your families.
Times like these are challenging, but not insurmountable. For my part, balancing new realities in terms of family, scheduling, and the like, has brought about plenty of difficulty, but has also ushered in new opportunities at the same time. And this is particularly true as it pertains to the writing projects that I have started, procrastinated on, “pecked at,” procrastinated on, pecked at some more, procr…you get the idea. Suffice it to say, I have managed to get a LOT done in the weeks since the Coronavirus began making its presence felt.
On this particular positive note, let me just say that I’m proud to announce that I have FINISHED the first draft of a new novella that I’ve been working on. ☺ I started this project several months ago, and am currently in the revise/edit stage. Once this is finished, I’m looking forward to moving on to the proofreading stage for necessary correction of any final (hopefully minor) errors – grammatical and the like – before submitting to a contest strictly for novellas that is being held this year. Hopefully, I’ll win and will be awarded a publishing contract for this one. High hopes!
“What is a novella?” you ask. Best way I can describe it is as a “stand-alone” story with a page count that is somewhere between that of a novel (usually 200 + pages) and that of a short story (generally no more than 50). Mine is currently hovering around 70 pages.
While I haven’t fully settled on a title yet, the working title I’m going with for now is “Treasure On The Bridge.” It is the story about a young high school kid who is bullied and is thinking of taking his own life, as a result. As the story unfolds, he encounters two people who will change the way he views the world, and himself. And that’s all I’m telling you at this point. Stay tuned!
I’m also proud to announce that I have finished editing and revising 110 of my newest poems, which I plan to combine into my second book of poetry! I am very excited about this, as poetry is a passion of mine, and I look forward to putting the finishing touches on this project by the time summer gets here. More to come on that for sure.
Additionally, I am looking forward to kicking off my weekly web TV series soon – hopefully this month. This is being done largely at the behest of my publisher, who thinks that it could lead to more publicity and book sales going forward (which I agree with). However, I also am excited about the prospect of using it as a platform to deliver words and messages of hope in the midst of all the swirling uncertainty we face. My current plan is to spend about 10-15 minutes on a devotional thought from the Bible, followed by some discussion about literature that I’m reading. Need to crystallize the specifics a bit more, but that is where things stand as of this moment.
Some sad news: again because of Coronavirus, it almost goes without saying that the author events / book-signings that I was planning to host – both in April and the summer – are temporarily postponed. April likely won’t happen at this point, and we’ll see how things unfold as summer gets nearer. Thus, I will be maximizing distance and technology to promote my work going forward, at least for the near future. Again, this is a challenge, not a set-back.
I won’t end on a negative note, so let me say in closing that I TRULY appreciate each and every one of you; my readers. Please continue to stay abreast of my author news, and please share it as you get it, so that more people can experience my work. Remember, they can access it all via this website, and they can also contact me directly with questions, concerns, ideas, rude remarks, etc. ☺
Prayers are with you all. Be safe out there and God bless!
John
