It’s been a while since my last blog post – over a year, to be exact. That’s largely because I’ve been busy with life, work, and – yes – writing. Not the best for “building my brand”, I suppose, but hey, you gotta prioritize.

Life has been going well, Graham is a full blown toddler who turns 2 in November and keeps us laughing and smiling daily. Work is still rewarding, but intense. I’ve also been diving into AI headfirst (not for writing, mind you) and taking some courses, building tools, etc. Suffice it to say, life has been busy.

That said, despite having limited time and really needing to plan the time, I have continued to write. I think I always will be working on some writing project because I love it so much, and despite the pressures to find time, I believe I’ve made good progress in the last year worth sharing.

As the influencers say: “SO MANY of you have been asking, so I wanted to provide an update!”

Big Love (working title)

This is a story that I hope goes on for MANY more years, and one where I’ll diligently have to remember documenting stories when it makes sense. It’ll be across his entire life, so I anticipate it’ll be humorous, yet emotional (it’s hard to make a dog story that isn’t), but my main goal is to share about Barley’s antics and bond with our family, and the impact having a good dog can have on your life. As mentioned, I hope updates on this are sparse so that I can fill out more content!

Killer in the World After (working title)

In 2026, after catching up to present day with Barley’s story, my attention has shifted significantly toward my serial-killer, horror novel tentatively titled “Killer in the World After”. It follows FBI agent Alexandra Sloane in a world several years removed from a pandemic that killed a third of the population. The pandemic – and her job – has taken so much from Alex, and she’s in a dark place. After a gruesome body is found with a detailed calling card, featuring an unbreakable cipher, the FBI believes a serial killer is on the loose. Perhaps the first in a post-pandemic world. The story will follow Agent Sloane and her team as they attempt to stop and catch the killer while she finds a way through her trauma and hopes the two don’t come into conflict.

This book has been really exciting to write, largely because it’s the first time I’ve used the approach I outlined in my Writing Process post from last year. It has helped me write faster and more efficiently, avoiding writer’s block, while having clear character motivations. So far, I’m 100+ pages in and ~30% complete. I reached a good stopping point – as of the date of this post – and am doing an edit of this chunk. Given my writing time tends to be more spread out, I like to edit big sections along the way, as opposed to waiting until the end. From there, I’ll send this first “teaser” to a couple trusted beta readers and continue on the remaining writing.

The book likely won’t be done for several years when I factor in the full process, but I am making progress and continuing to write. If anything, I wish it was my full time job so I could also indulge in all the other writing ideas I have…but alas!

Reach out if you have any questions about either of these projects!