Hello everyone.

Yes, I know it’s been a long time. As I sit here in my living room in sunny Las Vegas, Nevada, I wonder how the year raced away so quickly.
The year has been an interesting one as the world continues its attempts to return to some form of normal but I think we’re all starting to realize it’s a NEW normal, not the one we clung so tightly to in the past.
It’s been a year of chaos, change, political battles, and actual battles.
Financial woes have held sway over much of the populace and let’s not even mention the culture wars that have been heating up everywhere.
BUT
The year is winding down and as always happens at this time of year people begin to look to the future, hoping that they can find a new path to a better life in the year to come.
I know I”m thinking about the change needed to make 2023 a better year for me and my family.
My mother has moved in with us and I am working toward making her golden years a little easier – it’s what a good son is supposed to do.
I got a new puppy (named Homie) to be a buddy for my wife when I’m off at my day job. He’s a rescue dog so we’re giving him a loving home he wouldn’t have had otherwise.
As for my wife – well, whatever she wants. Nuff said.
For myself, I’m realizing that I’m not getting any younger and my waistline isn’t getting any smaller on its own. I’ve begun eating healthier and have been going to the gym.
My physical health is now a work in progress.
Contrary to my forward motion on my health, I haven’t created anything in months. The last thing I wrote was back in April under my other pen name. I have a stack of ideas written down but have yet to attack them.
I have some art projects I was working on that have sat untouched for almost four months. Life and mindless distractions all conspired to get in the way.

I want to change that.

I am going to TRY to get back to writing on a regular basis. A couple of years ago I did two straight years of weekly flash fiction on the website which resulted in the books Flashes of Darkness, years 1 and 2. I want to try that again.
Starting with the new year I intend to TRY to put up a new flash fiction every week.
This story will live on the website for one week before moving to my Patreon page for future viewing by patrons.
My goal is weekly with the new posts going up on Sunday. I’m a bit rusty on this pace but will do my best to not miss a deadline.
I already have half a dozen flash fiction ideas jotted down to get me started and I think you’ll like them.

So, look forward to new stories every week. The first one will drop on Sunday, Jan 8 (since the first Sunday happens to be New Year’s day, I hope you can forgive the hung-over writer who was up late celebrating the new year for not having the first story ready on the first Sunday of 2023)

I also have the plot for the final Spacefarer story figured out. It came to me while driving cross-country this past summer. I was so engrossed in plotting and seeing the story in my head that I think I blanked out about 100 miles of the New Mexico countryside I was driving through.  This third chapter of the Malbane saga will be her final outing and I’ve got a doozy of an adventure planned for our favorite Free Agent. I hope to start work on this sometime in 2023.

I also have ideas for another collection of stories and alcoholic drinks called 12 Tastes of Yule. This -obviously- needs to be written BEFORE next Yule/Christmas.

Anyway, I’ve bored you long enough. I want to leave you with warm wishes for your holiday season – whatever holiday you celebrate (or don’t).
I hope your New Year brings joy, health, and prosperity.

I’ll see you on the website!