I am afraid I must confess something unfortunate: due to a temporary setback, the much-anticipated release date of my newest novel To Mask A Soul has been pushed back to a date that I am not able to give out as of yet. We have been having some technical difficulties and the work is still in the last stages of editing. I had hoped that this would be finished much earlier, but, alas, sometimes these things happen, and at this point we just have to wait and see what is going to happen.
In light of the current situation, I have been taking the time to get down and dirty with my writing flaws. By this I mean that I have been taking classes on not only fiction writing, but non-fiction as well. I believe that there is always something new to learn.Without realizing that I am not already F. Scott Fitzgerald or J. K. Rowling or whichever famous author is preferred, I cannot change my flaws to become better. And that is an important truth in life as well, I believe. A huge part of writing is admitting that you aren't as great a writer as you thought you were. A huge part of life is admitting that maybe you weren't right in everything. This is still something I struggle with on a daily basis, but at least I can admit that it's a problem. As my father always says, "It's a strength to know your weaknesses." In fact, this is one of the themes of To Mask A Soul - that if you know what your problems are, you can better understand yourself and how to correct them.
These next few months are going to be very busy for me, as the beginning of summer always seems like life is starting over again - to paraphrase The Great Gatsby. This summer includes not only To Mask A Soul's release and the hype and advertising that comes with it, but I am also physically, mentally, and emotionally preparing for my move to New York this September. Uprooting is very difficult for me and will probably involve a halt in my writing for a while, as my mind will be more focused on getting settled and finding a new routine. The next few months will be, for me, a chance to get To Mask A Soul settled, and to wrap my mind around the adventure of free-falling into a new life. I would appreciate it if you would keep me in your thoughts and prayers for the next few months.
And, last but not least, since you are all waiting so very patiently for To Mask A Soul, I have decided that I could include the very first few paragraphs of the unreleased, unedited version on my website. I've already posted some other "sneak peaks" of this version, but hopefully this will get everyone as excited as I am for the official release of this novel. Check out the "EXTRAS" page of my website for this very special disclosure!
As always, God bless!
Sincerely,
