Welcome, November!
I sat silent in a tree stand for a couple hours this morning, thinking about the fact that it’s November. It’s been a full summer and fall, and it’s so good to take a deep breath.
As I’ve documented here and elsewhere, we moved a house onto our property this summer. That project has dominated our lives in a fierce way. It’s gone very well, and it’s a credit to Lisa’s hard work that the place is cozy and comfy. There are a few odds and ends to finish yet, but we’re close to ready for winter. Heavy sigh of relief!
We’ve done a few writing-oriented activities along the way as well. We spent a couple days visiting libraries in northern Iowa in September. The Deep Valley Book Festival in October was fantastic. And I was very excited to speak at my hometown library just a couple weeks ago. We continue to ship books direct to customers as orders come in.
One of the big transitions for me it turning my energy back to writing. I got mightily distracted this summer. But in the last few weeks I’ve turned again to the work of writing, and it’s been wonderful. Here are a few hints about where that’s going.
Lisa and I took a research trip up north, near Lake of the Woods, to nail down settings for the next book to follow Death on Disappointment Mountain and Fair Game. I’ve done a lot of outlining and character development for this one. Working title is “Lost River,” and it will deal with a story that unfolds along the northern Minnesota border with Canada. I’m excited to start writing the actual draft soon!
I’m continuing to work on my next biblical book, which takes on the complex issues around the last book of the Bible, Revelation. This one will be a little like Wait for the Lightning. Currently I have about 20K words written and a clear idea what needs to happen next. Just need to put in the hours to get the words down.
I’ve promised Lisa that I’ll publish Altered Vows this winter. AV is a fantasy story that I started writing back in my college days. It became a project to pull out whenever I had a spare hour over the years, and I finished the first draft back in about 2015. It’s been mostly sitting since then, waiting for me to edit. Look for this one to be completed by late winter.
Over the years, I’ve written a lot of reflections about my love of hunting. These essays are deeply personal and contain some of the most significant life lessons I’ve ever written. I’ve narrowed down this manuscript to about a dozen different reflections, each one just a few pages long. I’m hoping to get this published so it’s available to give as a Christmas gift for the hunter in your life.
Thanks so much to all of you who offer feedback, words of encouragement, and so much more. I love connecting with you through stories! When any of these books come out, you’ll hear about it here. And if you’re not receiving my email newsletters about once each month, please sign up! That’s the first place I share upcoming news