This journey began as a rough idea I had bouncing around in my head. After several discussions with my brother, who was writing his own novel at the time, I had the outline of a story and started writing. Long story short, after three years, many dozens of rewrites, and several professional editors teaching me how to actually write a quality story, my science fiction novel: Hegira, was picked up by Solstice Publishing, a mid-size publisher in Missouri.
I have no illusions about becoming the next Arthur C. Clarke or anything, but this is something amazing, and I am hooked. Not only is the writing process fun, but I am intrigued by the editing as well. The challenge of taking what I started with and making it better is really a lot of fun. It gives me another opportunity to visit the world of my characters and see it even more clearly. I am now in the editing process of the sequel to the original story, and have an idea for how to complete a trilogy. Who would have thought... me... a published author. Will wonders never cease.
As of this blog, I have received a dozen wonderful reviews from people all over the world about my book (check out the link to Amazon under the "My Book Hegira" tab above). Retirement has proved to be a true adventure filled with new challenges. In addition to writing, I am also becoming an actor... sort of, in my role as and educator performer (edutainer) at the museum of nature and science. Maybe I'll talk about that adventure next time.