Waiting for My Copy of ‘Reunion: Coda’ – and Thinking of a Promise Kept

Late Afternoon, Thursday, April 17, 2025, Miami, Florida

Well, two years and eight days after I began working on what I briefly called “The New Story” in another writing room in another part of Florida, I can now say that tomorrow I will hold a hardcover edition of Reunion: Coda in my hands.

For me, this is thrilling news. Completing the Reunion Duology is not just a milestone; it’s the realization of a dream I’ve nurtured since junior high school – to write a novel.

I was 15 years old when I made a promise to my mother – one of the many remarkable adults in my life who fostered my passion for reading. I vowed that somehow, someday, I’d write a long narrative story in the novel format. Back then, I imagined my novel would be an action-packed adventure set during World War II, perhaps one of the few modern wars with clearly defined “good guys” and “bad guys,” or in the cold, hostile vacuum of space (Star Wars had just been released the previous year, and I was swept up in the irresistible tide of its fandom).

Never in my wildest dreams did I foresee that I’d end up writing a novel blending elements of coming-of-age angst, bittersweet romance, and an exploration of the profound power of friendship and how it shapes our lives.

Interestingly, Reunion: Coda became precisely that.

So…at some point tomorrow, I’ll be opening an Amazon Prime cardboard box…and holding my copy of Reunion: Coda. As I do this, I wish my mom could be here to see it, but I know that she’d be proud of me for keeping that promise.