Website: 6th anniversary

Hello from America! Speaking on behalf of my blog, I must admit to another year of inactivity. Speaking for myself as a writer, though, it has been a marvelous year. I completed second drafts of two new novels, tentatively titled Writers on the Storm and August. The first is an attempt at a humorous take on writing, and the second is a somewhat more serious exploration of love in the twilight of life.

I also continue to work on book six in my science fiction series, The Time Well, which began as as a National Novel Writing Month project in November 2022. This is the first time I have had a novel grow out of control on me. It is currently north of 311,000 words. My tentative plan is to break it into three books, although they will not be self-contained units.

I have found that the writing community in Utah, where I now live, is quite active. I have not settled into a writing group yet, but I have so many more potential groups than I had in Japan. My wife and I are even volunteering for a local writer’s conference.

Perhaps the best news is that I am still writing full bore. Unfortunately, I am also writing just as obsessively as always, which still concerns me. Maybe this year I can find better balance in my life. While I have not lacked for writing projects, I did skip National Novel Writing Month last November. With as many novels as I have unpublished, it didn’t seem wise to use that month to produce yet another first draft.