These are tough times. Not happy times. We worry for ourselves, our loved ones, the world.

It feels like yesterday, the anticipation of baseball. The blossoms on the cherry trees, the joy of being together outside, at parties.

It feels like a million years ago.

We are all trying to do our part, and I’ve never been prouder of my fellow authors. There are so many options of things for you and your kids to find on line, that it quickly becomes overwhelming. I do think about those who don’t have internet access (where I’m spending my “retreat”, access is spotty, so I can commiserate.)

But we’ll keep trying. I’m part of a collective of authors over on Twitter called Stuck at Home Book Chat (https://twitter.com/ArtistChat). It’s a series of short videos of authors answering frequently asked questions. It’s fun and you can pick your favorite authors to watch. And please ask us questions, too – we’ll answer.

Take care, be safe, stay distanced. Listen to the doctors. We’ll be back to normal one day and this will feel like a nightmare that is over.

There still are cherry trees.

In the next weeks I’ll go back to sharing writing craft tips because that’s what I love to do.

I suppose now is as good a time as any to mention that hidden away in my catalogue is a YA sci-fi novel that I wrote a few years back and published on line, just because. It describes a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by not a pandemic but close – an invasion of nanotech.

I’ll add that it has an optimistic, hopeful ending. And a love story.

So, here’s a sample of the opening two chapters. (Click through the small script on the next page you see to open the pdf file.)

If you like, I’ll serialize the entire novel because we all need entertainment. Let me know what you think – I’m open to suggestions!

(If you can’t wait, you can find it on Amazon here for only 1.99.)

Enjoy.

And, again, stay safe.