Hey everyone, I just wanted to let everyone know that I've decided to push out my Offworld Chronicles book 7 today, a full 6 weeks ahead of my hard publish date of February 1st.  That date was set both as a motivation, and sort of a hard cot off date for releasing the book.  IE, if it wasn't done, and fully ready to publish by then, it was going out anyways.  That didn't mean it'd be of any less quality than the others.  It just meant that I'd be forced to stop micro preening the story and actually get it out the door. ^_^;;  So, that being said, OWC7 is now released.  It will take a few days to propagate out to its usual locations, but it'll get there soon enough, and with plenty of time before Christmas.

Now, that being said, due to things I have coming up over the next several months (which is part of why I'm releasing OWC7 now) I will be stepping back from all writing to focus on those things.  But, do not despair.  I'm not quitting writing.  Not by a long shot.  Life is simply getting in the way too much for me to successfully write, and produce a proper story.  I mean, you guys wouldn't want me producing sub standard books, right?  In order to ensure I maintain my writing quality, and my sanity, I have to take this time out, and away from writing completely to get all these life issues sorted out.  But it'll only be for a time, and they're nothing bad.  In fact, what I'll be doing is very good for me, and for others.  But they require my undivided attention during that time.

Now, that being said, I will be returning to writing sometime early next year.  When exactly, I don't know.  My next publishing target is mid-May as I have one book that's already fairly far along, and simply needs some expanding and improvement to be ready for release.  What book is that?  Well, I'll let you guess. ;)  Either way, here's the books I have on deck next to be worked on and published.

Grumpy Ned - Don't let the title of this book fool you.  It's actually a really fun and entertaining story I originally wrote as part of my Storyland Chronicles short story anthology.  But, later on, I decided that it really deserves a full novel treatment, so I will be expanding it more than it already is, possibly as much as 2x's what it was before.  As for the story, Grumpy Ned is about an old name named Ned who hates everything and is grateful for nothing.  He is taken through a series of trials and tribulations that transform him from a grumpy, ungrateful old man, to a wonderful, kind, and considerate gentleman who is grateful for all he has.  The story is written as a parable to illustrate the importance of being grateful for all you have, and to remind you to always be thankful for all you have, because it can very easily be taken from you at any time.  Therefore, we should constantly, all day, every day, be grateful for all God has given us.

The Man Who Reached For God - This is another parable novel that I plan to write, and it too is built from a short story I wrote.  However, unlike Grumpy Ned, the short story this is taken from is, well, quite literally short.  It started as a Facebook short story I posted about 6-8 years ago, and has been so cherished over the years that I decided to finally turn this into a full novel that was worthy of the original short story.  It's a tale about a man who one day asks God to expand his ministry, and expand his faith, but doesn't realize just how far God is about to go to fulfill both of those requests.  It is a story of faith, trust, God's blessings, and the depth of God's love to wards us, and how far our faith will take us if we just trust the Lord for everything.

The Giving Spirit - This book will be the 4th in my pocket guides series, following Manna, Love - God's Greatest Gift, and What does it mean to be a Christian?  In this Christian pocket guide, I don't plan to teach you how to give, but rather how to build a spirit of giving, where giving ceases to be a struggle, and just become a natural part of who you are, and an extension of yourself.  God wants you to give joyfully, and have a giving spirit, that gives shrewdly, and circumspectly, but also joyfully, and gladly.  That's what I hope to teach you in this book.

The Unreachable Continent - This is sort of a swashbuckler "pirate age" type novel that's meant to be a parable about the human condition, and how we can never achieve perfection, even though we are called to be perfect by God.  Now, that's obviously an over simplification of the story, but I think you'll like it when you read it.  The story is a LOT of fun, and it will both be fun to read, and fun to write.  So stay tuned for it. :D

Planetfall - Many of you have already heard about this book series, and I'm glad you have.  This series will be a follow-on to my Offworld Chronicles, and will pick up the stories of Simon, Aria, Trevor, Yurg, and may other of your favorites from the original series, as well as a number of new faces, new adventures, new love, new families, and so much more.  However, unlike Offworld Chronicles, that was scifi survival fantasy, this will be colony building with much of the same scifi/fantasy background and story framework as Offworld Chronicles had.  But, with this series, I plan to go in a variety of new directions, and not just rehash old things.  There will be lots of new to go with the established, new characters, new plotlines, and so much more.  It'll be well worth it.

Anyhow, that's my update.  Unless things change, I'll be seeing you guys in about 2-3 months, and we'll pick up there again, and begin moving into new worlds, with new heros, new characters, and so much more! :)