Watch Out for Those Waves!

There were waves of tests last week - comprehensive blood work, full-body PET scan, brain MRI - prior to my meeting with my oncologist for my four-month check-up.

The result: I remain in clinical remission. YAY!

I was hoping for a clean bill of health because I had been feeling healthy and was exhibiting none of the symptoms that hit me in May 2016 with such devastating power. But you never know.

I feel very fortunate, not just for my health, but for the full life that Elvira, the boys, and my family and friends (and Olive the Corgi) provide. Not to mention the Dodgers. Plus, I get to write, which is my segue into the commercial segment of this program.

I've been nominated for an award! My 2018 novel, A Grain of Sand, has been nominated for the Peace Corps Worldwide Maria Thomas Fiction Award. The winner will be chosen in August. The story revolves around a groundbreaking humanitarian initiative that emerges following a regional conflict known as the African Summer. As usual, politics, corruption, and the threat of terrorism get in the way of progress, but no one who believes in a more prosperous and peaceful future for West Africa is giving up.

Including me!

I'm also happy to announce that my latest novel, Xanadu and the Waterstick, the seventh in the Priority Series, is due out in late August or early September. This story is a little different because one of the primary figures is a narcissistic icon of business who somehow gets elected President of the United States. His clumsy efforts to assert America's global prominence lead him to confront China about its far-reaching One Road, One Belt program. Before long, President Nathan Steele's attacks on China become political brinkmanship and alienate much of America, including the main characters from the Priority Series.

And yes, in case anyone asks, this is fiction.

COMING AUGUST 2019