Something happened to me this summer that took me out of commission.

Grief.

I haven’t posted in a while because I recently lost my dad.

I really didn’t want to come here with that news. I wanted to just come back with a post that was on topic. But I couldn’t reconcile side-stepping the truth and just waltzing back in here without placing a marker right in this place that states how much the impact of losing him has had on my life.

Gearing up to do this took a while.

I’m not so sure what I was afraid of. In the end, losing a loved one is one of those things that most everyone can relate to, sadly so.  Yet grief, feels like a private, closed up space a person can find themselves hiding in. At least that’s how it went for me.

My truth is that I’ve been paralyzed to move forward until I did this.  Sending out a proclamation to any and all that read here that – my dad was here with me for a long time, loved me, was a pal, protector, example, a hero. Having had him in my life is how God has prepared me to go on without him now. I can only go on to live out my dreams, as I was a front and center witness to the humble, quiet, unassuming, faithful, powerful and out of the box ways that he went about reaching his. The man was a wonder.

So yes, I go forward. Not because I must, but because I’m blessed to. To write, to be a writer, to self-publish.

I may go on to question my talent (hmm, on a daily basis) or my ability to finish my projects —but I can never question my make-up—as I had loving souls who raised me. My parents gave me life (the world, really). They taught me by doing and being the example, and let me watch them so I could learn how to conquer the tiny piece of the world God’s gifted to me.

Here’s the lesson they taught me–

Work for what you want, don’t wait for other people’s permission to go after what you want, have Faith, love those around you, give, be a blessing and believe.

Time for me to put all of this good advice into action!

So while grieving might slow me down some—I’m getting back to work here, my friends.

I hope I haven’t been gone so long that those periodically checking this blog have lost interest and moved on. Still, the work, the writing, will go on.

I’m here, and will continue sharing with you my journey to self-publishing, tidbits from soon (that’s optimism speaking!) to be published novels & novellas, my thoughts and interest on the IR genre.

Thanks to you all in advance for your support! 🙂

When I’m having difficulty writing a post, I often find that locating the right picture to accompany my words can be the final shove of inspiration I need to cross the finish line on completing it.

The picture below made that happen for me as I struggled with this one.

All is not lost –

While he’s not here—my father will always be with me. There’s enough comfort in that to take with me as I keep making my way to reach my own dreams.