Now and again, a book comes along that demands to be written. The Abalone Shell was one of those books. For that matter, the books to follow are the same. I'm having a hard time remembering to do the managerial tasks required of a full-time author because I'm so lost in the story. I'll tell you, it feels great. The Abalone Shell started out as a get-it-done-quick novella for a multi-author box set, and morphed into something else. Something far more meaningful to me.

Way back in the...