Life interrupts work on the sequel

Writing the sequel to Forsaken is going slower than I ever imagined. I have no one to blame, really, except myself and the choices I have made.

The last couple of years, I have chosen to spend a lot of time riding my bicycle. Two years ago, 2012, I rode 5,200 miles on my bike, including week-long rides in Colorado (Ride the Rockies) and in Europe, the Dolomites in Italy. In 2013 I rode 5,600 miles including a lot of riding in the Denver area, rides in New Mexico and and in Europe, the Tuscany region of Italy.

I have also been traveling more. My wife retired in 2012 and we have traveled to many great spots around this country and a trip to Italy last year. And, given she has much more time than before, we make frequent trips around the Denver metro area and the Front Range of Colorado.

I also am still involved as a board member on two non-profits in the Castle Rock area. This two worthy entities, a land trust, the Douglas Land Conservancy, and Rotary do a lot of good things for the communities they serve. My work there has also been satisfying, but does take up a good deal of my time.

The bottom line is, I have not given writing the priority it needs to make much progress on the sequel to Forsaken. I wish I could promise more, but I best just leave it as it is and let my actions speak for themselves. It is not that I do not know what to write. I've got about 30,000 words written and have developed several different plot lines that keep the action moving and should serve to introduce some new characters, some new, for me, philosophies and some new conclusions that should provoke some thought among my readers.

For example, why to humans most often tend to look up when seeking answers to the fundamental question of who we are and where we come from. Why is Heaven "up" there and not down, or in the branch of a tree or in the wave of an ocean? Is it just that the stars have lighted up the sky and given us something to stare at? To try to figure out? To attach symbols of living things to? Or is it more?

And what would happen if we did solve the time and space problem, to be able to travel faster than the speed of light? That would change our relationship to other solar systems and the way we look at other places where planets could be favorable to life.

All of these things are working there way into the sequel to Forsaken. Now I just need to keep writing. I'll keep you posted on any progress being made.