(Slightly) Ahead of Schedule

Strangely enough, this is my first blog post for 2019. In terms of news, I am happy to report that I finished the first draft of a new book of short stories on December 30th, approximately twenty-six hours ahead of my target, which was the stroke of midnight on January 1st. The new book will include the 2018 Texas Observer Short Story Contest winner, "Ink Upon the Furrows," as well as several other published or forthcoming works, and a number of stories that are still in draft form.

The new collection is set in Waylon County and will include familiar characters such as Ivy Lee Jones, the protagonist of a story that was named a finalist for the 2015 Northeast Texas Writers' Organization's Short Story Award. There are, of course, plenty of new characters, but I will let them introduce themselves some other day.

Martina and I also took a trip to West Texas to get some fresh air and inspiration, of which there was an abundance. On our trip, we camped at Monahans Sandhills State Park and in Big Bend National Park, stayed at the historic Gage Hotel in Marathon and at Indian Lodge in the Davis Mountains, and even spent a little time in Marfa and Terlingua. We met a bear and her cub while hiking and rode across the Rio Grande in a rowboat to have lunch in Boquillas, a village in the Mexican state of Coahuila. I anticipate bits and pieces of these adventures will find their way into a story or two.

Here is a picture I took on my phone at the Chinati Foundation in Marfa on the solstice. I love the way the sunbeams provide an "extraterrestrial effect." The second I snapped the shot, I knew I had a fun photo to share.