Hiya Gang:
I’ve been busy with the last few weeks of school, so that’s the most likely reason why you haven’t heard much from me. I teach my very last class of the school year in about an hour. Then finals are next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Grading tests shouldn’t be much of a problem; everything these days is computerized. On the other hand, three of my classes are requiring final papers. Two have ten-page papers due, and my Narrative Writing class is requiring the first 50 pages of a proposed novel. I estimate that I have about 400 pages of reading to do next week as part of grading. Fortunately I am a fast reader. I have told my students that I am tempted to do what other professors have told me they do and take it to a nearby stairwell and toss the papers down the stairs. Whatever step it falls on determines their final grade. Shall I? Naahh.
Right after grades comes graduation the next weekend. The week after that, my department is moving across campus. Why? Because we have been told to by our university president. It’s all part of getting us back on the mall with the rest of the academic departments. So I am finally leaving my office–the largest one on campus–for a teeny one on the second floor of the main academic building. At least I won’t have far to go to get to class.
In the middle of all that, it’s time for me to start a new book. I kinda put all that on hold because there was a strong rumor that I was going to have to take over as department chair, but that didn’t happen. And I’m just as happy to keep doing what I know. But now I need to decide what book to start writing.
At this point, it looks like I have three projects planned. First, I plan on writing the first three chapters of a new book on Jacob, the Biblical character, which I intend as part of the series that I started with my Jonathan book a few years ago. Pacific Press picked up that book for publication, and I want to put together a proposal and see if they will pick it up.
Once that’s done, I will switch gears and start working on the sequel for Tesla’s Ghost. The sales have been pretty poor for Tesla, but then I haven’t really done much to help that, focusing mostly on promoting The Key of Solomon. As I get going on The Last War, I think I will probably start promoting Tesla more, and maybe that will help. In any case, it’s a story I want to continue, and I hope my readers will buy into.
Finally, I have started working on podcasts with the eventual goal of doing some audio books. It’s a work in progress, and I am learning how to make myself sound more professional. So I will share that as I go along.
Now that school is over, I will try harder not to be so much of a stranger. Sorry about that.
The Great Adventure 