New Year, Same Writer, Slightly Fewer Dramatic Sighs

Thursday, January 1, 2026 — Orlando, Florida

“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”
— Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

Well, here we are again—another year behind us, another one already tapping its foot impatiently. Time never pauses for a coffee break; it just keeps marching forward, dragging us along whether we’re ready or not. And somewhere in the dusty, shadowed corners of my mind, there are still stories waiting to be dug up—preferably with a shovel and a flashlight, if you’re offering.

It still surprises me that only a year ago, I was holed up in a rented room in Miami, hammering away at a novel I’d begun back in March 2023 in yet another rented room, that time in Tampa Bay. Add in ten months in Madison, New Hampshire—idyllic at times, chaotic at others—and you’d think I’d earned frequent‑traveler miles for all the room‑hopping. But when the calendar flipped to January 2025, I knew, deep down, that I would finally finish Reunion: Coda in the spring. I’d hit the 60% mark just before leaving the Granite State on October 17, 2024—my late mother’s birthday—and despite the stress of packing up my life yet again, I was more determined than ever. This time, unlike all those earlier attempts at writing “My First Novel,” I was committed not just to finishing, but to finishing well. And maybe with fewer dramatic sighs.

If you’re expecting some grand master plan behind my stories, I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you. I don’t outline every twist or catalog every character. Organization has never been my strong suit, and I’ve never cared for stories that feel engineered to fit a formula. I’d rather let the words spill out and see where they take me—even if a few beers get spilled along the way.

A year ago, I knew I’d finish the book before summer. I’d already wrapped up the crucial Jim‑and‑Marty storyline before I left Madison and tied off a major subplot about Jim’s academic life at Columbia. All that remained was braiding those threads together and guiding the novel toward a logical—and hopefully satisfying—ending. Did I know exactly how Reunion: Coda would conclude on January 1, 2025? Not really. I had planted a few seeds early on that needed tending, and Jim still had unanswered questions lingering from Reunion: A Story. I also needed to find a believable way to bring Mark Prieto—Jim’s childhood best friend—back into the finale. The rest was still up in the air.

(And I certainly didn’t know that in June 2025—just two months after publishing Reunion: Coda—I’d write and release a companion story, Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen. That one snuck up on me. There’s a solid Author’s Note in the novelette if you want the full tale.)

Now, a year later—on a chilly‑for‑Florida afternoon in my rented room in Orlando—I can say with pride that I finished Reunion: Coda four months after New Year’s Day 2025 and published it soon after, though admittedly a bit too quickly. A handful—too few for my liking—of fans of Reunion: A Story picked it up, along with a few adventurous readers who took a chance on this indie writer’s debut novel without reading Book 1. The reviews have been positive, thankfully, though I wouldn’t mind more of them to help spark interest.

A good read! The author does a very good job of telling a story in which the characters feel natural, and the themes are relatable. I was struck by how genuine the thoughts and emotions in the story are; it reads and comes off like the characters are real people, with unique personalities and human thoughts, and aren’t just used as plot devices. A good story and easy read to get lost in. – Scott Dickert, Amazon review

What’s on my agenda for 2026?

Despite the occasional bouts of self‑doubt and depression, I’m still hard at work on The Jim Garraty Chronicles, an omnibus collecting Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, and Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen in one volume. All three manuscripts are now bundled in a Kindle Create file, and most of the textual edits—especially in Reunion: Coda—are done. The last major hurdle is fixing the subheading formatting. Kindle Create is decent for assembling e‑books, but it’s not built for editing. No spellchecker, inconsistent capitalization… let’s just say the programmer and I would have a spirited conversation about style guides.

Once I finish tidying up Book 2 of the omnibus, I’ll move on to the front and back matter. With luck—and a cooperative brain—I hope to finish the project by Summer or Fall 2026. I’d have preferred to release it sooner, but those pesky blues and creeping doubts have a way of slowing me down. Still, I’ve invested too much time and heart into this omnibus to abandon it now. It will get done. I just can’t tell you when.

One thing I do know will happen this year—the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States—is the release of the Reunion: Coda audiobook on Audible. My producer, Stefan (Steve) Lee, has already submitted many of the chapters, including the ending. He tackled those before recording the middle sections. He assures me the audiobook will be ready sometime next month.

And future stories?

That part is still nebulous. I have fragments of another Jim Garraty tale buried somewhere in my subconscious, waiting for the emotional archaeologist in me to excavate them like shards of an ancient Egyptian urn. I need to re-read Reunion: Coda—not as an editor, but as a reader—to sift through Jim’s memories for clues. That’s how both Reunion: Coda and Comings and Goings were born: tiny details, quiet moments, and a few well-placed “What if?” questions.

And, of course, I need to find the right song or classical piece to ignite that first creative spark.

As Jim Garner and Mariette Hartley used to say in those old Polaroid commercials in the Land of Ago:
“We’ll see what develops.”

Happy New Year.