An Update…

I was on my way home from work the other day and it dawned on me, it’s been almost if not an entire year since I’ve posted anything regarding this whole series. For that, I apologize; I did not intend to go this long without anything new, not even an update, and to that end, I proceed.

First thing’s first: I have not stopped. I have not abandoned this project. My silence is not a result of losing interest in this, or feeling as though it was pointless and therefore moving on to something else. I believe too much in this whole endeavor to abandon it, even if unpopular. My passion for storytelling, and this story that I have so much planned for, is too great for me to let it go, just as it was for Paul, even in the midst of so much struggle and pain and frankly, discouragement from the opposition he got, he never took his eyes off the prize of Christ, because it wasn’t about whether or not it was popular or trendy, it was about what his conscience told him.

So why the long hiatus? There are several factors, and they can all be summed up in this: Life. I’ve been pretty busy over the last year, and I don’t say that begrudgingly. It’s truly a wonderful blessing to be very busy, and this year–2023–has been a particularly interesting one. I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions, but I remember at the beginning of this year, saying that I had a feeling this year was going to be different from the others, and it has been. That wasn’t prophecy, it was more like forecasting the weather. I was already in the midst of changing things in my life at the beginning of this year, and that has continued in various ways.

Basically, my week is filled with work, or working out. If I’m not working out, getting exercise, I’m either at a church Bible study, in an online Bible study, writing, reading, spending time with family, friends, or frankly sometimes taking a quiet evening to myself to rest. The ability to write is not as available today for me, but again, I’m not angry. Because I know that even though I don’t always have as much time to write, I am doing things that are worth my time. If I had been wasting time like I used to do, playing video games all day, that would be discouraging. But thank God that’s no longer something I indulge in.

Work has also gotten real interesting. Without going into all the details, my work has new management that, let’s just say, has big ambitions for our shop. I’ve been making a considerable amount more money than I was just a few months ago, and it’s been an incredible blessing, and with our new management, I think things will only look further up for us.

And as much as writing is a passion of mine, I cannot rely on this endeavor to be my future. Only around 2% of writers ever really make a career out of it. I can’t demand of God that I be blessed like that; God will do what he will, and my job, ultimately, is not to seek out my ambitions, but to do God’s will, which include what he’s put on my heart (which is this story), but more importantly, be a man that can provide for a family, should I be blessed with that some day. Even though I don’t have my own family right now, my job as a man remains the same: provide. I can’t count on my storytelling to be that, so my work is extremely important to me, and in light of all the cool things going on at our shop, I’m very excited to be part of our little team.

One other important thing to note is that I have found an editor for my work! The Lord has always been so good in providing me the things I need to get things done. I don’t even have to go looking for it, it just falls right into my lap, as it were. Her name is Prisca Bejjani, and she’s been wonderful. Of course, because of the business of life, I haven’t been able to consistently read through her edits, but I’m grateful nonetheless. She is currently editing The Master of Gears, which I have already released on here. So, that means there will be changes to the series on this website, as well as the official book when its done.

This leads me to the final reason why it’s taken so long to finally add anything here: Writing is a long, tedious process! Seriously, writing does not get the kind of appreciation it deserves in our society. There is so much time, so much energy poured into a single writing project. Nowadays when I read a book, I am always conscious of how much time was put into each little detail on every page. For novel-writing, the time it takes to develop the story, the characters, plug up plot holes, adapt to any changes that are required, and simply deliver a compelling story that will last generations is a venture that requires so much from you.

Nevertheless, we press forth, and I have not stopped. Things have changed that slow my ability to write more often, but it has never, nor will it ever stop, unless the Lord calls me home sooner than later. Right now, I’m currently working on the manuscript of the third book, which is currently titled The Curse of the Halgoht, while the first one (The Master of Gears) is undergoing edits. The next one to be edited will be the second book, The Arlendene Gambit, followed by The Curse of the Halgoht.

The moment the third book’s manuscript is done, I will do my own edits, and immediately move on to the fourth while the edits proceed for the others. So I am essentially in edits and writing at the same time, because we don’t stop here. Once one is done, we pat ourselves on the back perhaps, but we don’t sit around, it’s time to get to work on the next one! And that’s what I’m doing.

So this is just a little update to anyone who reads my book. Again, thank you so much, it means a lot to me. I’d also like to be able to hire a website editor of some kind in the future, as I am neither talented, nor have the time to become talented in that department. Until then, this is the best I can do. I hope to have the Master of Gears’ editing finished before the end of this year to repost on this website, so we can move on to The Arlendene Gambit and get that one out, at the latest, mid-next year. Until then, God bless!