I'm Not Quite Dead Yet

Isn't it funny how the holidays and real life can keep one secluded from certain social aspects in life? In my case, it turns out it was the upkeep of this blog, once again.

Yes, the Holiday season has come and gone once again, as has Valentine's Day, and my day job has kept me quite busy as of late. Some days, I confess it has been a struggle to actually sit down and write. Mind you, it can be tough to concentrate on such a task after working an 8-hour day when you have two small dogs barking for constant attention. Don't get me wrong, I love them to death, and I know they miss me like crazy when I'm gone, but it does put a crimp in a creative muse's style. But that's not to say that it hasn't been active during my prolonged absence from this page. (What has it been this time? Almost 3 months now? Oy!)

First off, before the holiday, I quickly whipped up my fifth poetry collection. Entitled, A Little Box of Poems, it continues my trait of "reflective poetry" with a hodgepodge of 49 poems detailing my thoughts and feelings over the past few months. Some of them have a message of homesickness, which I do confess I have from time to time, but while I might be miss my former homeland, I've taken a relatively firm root down here in Florida.

Shortly after, purely on a whim, I quickly merged my four Gary Celdom stories together into one handy-dandy digital download. If you haven't had the opportunity to read any of my tales about my hallmark aging Toronto detective, his partner-cum-girlfriend, the ghost of his former fiancee, and his best friend who moonlights as a writer, Gary Celdom Case Journals Anthology: Volume 1-4 is the e-book you should purchase. No worries about downloading all the stories in 3-4 separate tomes. Here, you can get them all at once. Plus, I think the purple cover with the Toronto skyline at night is pretty freakin' sweet. Sorry, paperback lovers, this anthology is for digital download only, but you can still get the stories in paperback by picking up Gary Celdom Case Journals: Volume One, which contains the first two of Gary's stories, Rouge Numbered Week, and Kawartha Christmas Caper.

As for what is currently on tap for yours truly, writing-wise, there's a couple projects I have on the horizon. I'm currently toiling away on a contribution for an anthology being composed in conjunction with the Show Me Your Books author signing event I'll be appearing at this September in Kansas City, Missouri. This event will be my second signing event in 2018, as I will also be making my return to the Tampa Indie Author Book Convention happening this July in Florida.

My other project, which I hope to start writing in May once I finish my anthology contribution, is something I've been toying about for a couple weeks now. I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say I've been following the weather reports lately, and there seems to be a "Dirty Red Cloud" forming off the Pacific Northwest Coast. ;-)

That's all I have for now. Time to get back to my day job. Thank you everyone for understanding of my absence, and I hope to be back again soon.

- DJM