A Word of Thanks to My Readers

          The 2021 release of Babylon’s Fallen Star was a special time for me. I remember sitting at my computer watching the title go live on Amazon and feeling that same sense of anticipation one feels as the rollercoaster car they are sitting in leaves the platform. Excitement with a touch of urpy trepidation seems to be my preferred state. I was proud and flattered by every review and sale, I was amazed that my story had found a core audience. It was my first success and I was flying. My manuscript for the follow-up book was in the hands of dear friends helping me keep the information and the format on the rails; but then the ride ended.

          I should have expected it. No story worth telling exists outside the parameters of conflict. I just wasn’t prepared for these life events to knock me so completely down. I was unseated; emotionally I was left with my head ringing and my chest screaming for air while life bucked on without me. But instead of standing back up as I should have, I took my time laying in the dust and for that I am sorry. Personal pain has a way of filling every space you will give it, flooding every open cavity, and tainting every interaction. It makes us forget that our pain is personal; a unique privilege known only in the wake of personal joy. It makes us forget that “Everything that happens, happens as it should,” and we are “ridiculous and strange” to be surprised by the twists and turns fate sends our way.

          To those of you who have been patiently waiting for me to get back on my feet… thank you for your patience and grace. It is greatly appreciated and I hope that Ash on the Veil of Caanan and the continuing story was worth the wait. Or at the very least worth a few hours of your time while you take a respite from the real to walk among the daydreams.

          To my husband, Mike, thanks for hanging in there when it looked like I might never recover. You held the light even when I was fighting you to stay in the dark.

          To Glenn and Lynn, thank you for the love and attention you have put into my work and the never-ending faith you have had in me. I needed a rock to cling to and heaven sent me two.

          And to Mark, thanks for kicking me square in the ass and telling me to stop being a pussy. You may not have known that’s what you were doing, but I am thankful for the “So… we’re not writing anymore? Really?”

I’m up, I’m battered and dusty, but I’m about to make this life my bitch.