The Long and Winding Road

And before I knew it, almost a year had passed, and no updates to my blog…

Where Have I Been?

The last several months have been very busy as, with my sister, we cleaned out our childhood home and got it ready for sale. It’s been a long process, but I think we see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I’ve been slowly working on the new novel, spending my time revising the next Reluctant novel. I still don’t have a title yet because I can’t find one that resonates with me. The revision process has been slow and arduous, but I have completed a draft that is fairly readable. I spent most of the time on my annual fall writing retreat revising it.

Right now, I’m shopping for an editor to help me whip the book into shape because I’m at the point where I honestly do not know if it’s good or not. I enjoy reading it, but I’m looking for an objective opinion on the book because I can’t judge it at this point. I will say that in my search for an editor that the initial response has been encouraging.

As a result, it’s likely that the book won’t be ready for publication until later this year. I usually try to publish in June, but I hope I can have it ready in the October – November timeframe, but don’t hold me to that. I’m also looking at refreshing the covers for The Reluctant Captain and The Reluctant Agent, which I will probably do with the launch of the new book. While I love the current cover art, they don’t really match the style of other books on the market and I hope that a new cover will make them more attractive to new readers.

While I wait to get the new book edited, I’m going to start on the next Reluctant book. My original plan had been to start a new series featuring Nigel Sinclair from The Reluctant Agent, but I have an idea for Malcolm’s further adventures so I’m going to strike while the iron is hot.

What Else Have I Been Up To?

As the pandemic restrictions have loosened, I’m back to playing trumpet again. Right now, I’m a member of four concert bands and two big bands. I know that if I wasn’t at band rehearsal as often, I would have more time to write, but playing regularly honestly helps keep my sanity. In my current job, I work from home so band rehearsals are a chance to get me out of the house. And I’ve rekindled my love of swing and jazz which I’ve realized I missed playing.

The other project I worked on this year has at least a tentative link to Malcolm. In my dad’s garage, he had an old radio (an RCA 5T1 complete with vacuum tubes) that my great-grandmother had painted canary yellow. The radio had been in my dad’s garage for as long as I could remember. I stripped it and refinish it. Since my electrical engineering skills have long since atrophied (and I’m pretty sure we never covered the vacuum tubes in Electrical Science), I decided against trying to repair it. Instead, I turned it into a Bluetooth wireless speaker. I gutted the internals and replaced them with a Bluetooth amplifier and a single speaker capable of stereo output. I’m thrilled with the result and frequently use it while I’m working:

That’s the current news for now. My cat reminds you that my books are available (see the links on the right):

Until next time,

Happy Journeys!

Mike