I’ve always liked the term summit fever. It captures the feeling of putting a significant amount of work into a project and finally seeing the end point. It’s a feeling that I chase in many aspects of my life. And I am excited to report that I am starting to feel that with my current novel.

I spent a weekend “Writing Retreat” in Portland with a writing friend. Although i spent a great deal of time just writing that weekend, something more important happened. I sat down intending to write an in-depth outline for the coming chapters…and ended up doing an in-depth outline for the rest of the book.

That was enough for me to feel it. I can see where the story is now and where it ends and now I have a solid link between those two. In the two weeks since, I have felt a shift in the atmosphere of the novel. I have been building up a character who I intend to be the main character of the rest of the book. Their presence alone has shifted the atmosphere–exactly the way I hoped it would.

I cannot wait to keep going.

Three projects.  Past.  Present.  Future.

On the Record: An Oral History
100% – Now available

When I was 22, I wrote my fourth novel, The Stagner Chronicles. It was the strongest work I’d produced at that point in my life. On the Record is the result of a comprehensive overhaul and reimagining of that book — a chance to revisit the core ideas with better tools and a wider perspective. I’m proud of how it came together and of the new life it found in the process. It’s now available for purchase.

Continuity: An Oral History of a Generation Ship
60% Done with Rough Draft – Rough Draft will be completed by end of 2026

I went to Portland with a writing friend for a “Writing Retreat” where I wrote five chapters and *more importantly* outlined the rest of the book in depth. The ability to give myself a solid throughline from where the story stand and where it will end has reinterrogated me. My goal is to have the rough draft done by Thanksgiving, but I am giving myself the grace to use the whole year.

Untitled
Trying to narrow it down

I want to try my hand literary science fiction. But that only narrows it down so much. I will explore how previous ideas I’ve fleshed out will fit in this model in the coming months. I expect this to be my major project for 2027.