It has been twenty-two days since my last blog post, and I would like to think that some of you have been wondering Just where the heck is he? 

And there’s a simple answer: I’ve been working on the final touches to my new novel. My wonderful new editor, K, returned my novel to me over the Christmas holidays with suggestions/revisions, and I’ve been pounding away at the keyboard working the critiques into the book.

If you’ve ever written a book before, you certainly understand the anguish that comes with revision. If not, I’ll try and explain it to you.

Imagine your child. Reared and raised with love. You’ve done everything you can think of to make her as perfect as possible. You’ve given the child love, taught your child manners, revealed the diversity and wonder of the world through stories and explanations, and then you send that perfect little angel to school.

And she comes home with a note pointing out deficiencies: she doesn’t play well with others, she’s bossy, she interrupts the teacher, she has problems with math, and she bit someone.

That’s when you ask yourself: how could this be? I’ve done everything right, haven’t I?

But as good parents know, our children (though we love them dearly) aren’t perfect. They must be redirected and disciplined to make themselves the best possible people they can be.

This holds true for writing. Though the author may think their creation is perfect, when it is viewed through the eyes of another, problems invariably rise to the surface. And though we want to deny such problems, authors (like good parents) cannot. If we don’t see the flaws in our writing or in our children, they we are setting them both up to fail.

And that’s not what any good author or parent wants.

So, in order to make my novel stronger, I had to break from blogging in order to do what needed to be done. And I think I have. My new novel is in the process of being read by another, hopefully objective reader, and when that read through is done and when more corrections are made, it will be time to present my latest child out to the publishing world.

And in case you’re wondering, this new novel is a departure from Moral Authority. After writing a dystopian novel (even if it’s part one of a series), I needed something different to get my creative juices flowing. So I penned a gay romance with a modern day twist tentatively titled 3.

And, yes, that’s the number 3!

So, for the time being I’m back to blogging and reading and researching for the next novel. I’ve written most of the follow up book to Moral Authority, but there are several things that need tweaking before it will be ready for public consumption.

In the meantime, I hope to blog with a bit more regularity than I have these past two weeks or so. I’m anxious to get my opinions out there on the Republican primaries and other news from around the world.

See you in the Blog-o-sphere!