Welcome to my first blog. Today, I will be discussing my journey as a novelist.

Growing up, I was inspired by many science fiction films and books. I was 15 years old and my creative writing started to flow onto paper. I hand wrote my first book, Lightyears, a little at a time, starting August 1984. I remember sitting outside one summer afternoon at my grandparent’s cabin near Kaleva, Michigan, writing Lightyears, while I enjoyed the sunshine. Soon after, in 1985, I purchased a typewriter. It was able to hold an entire page! I typed and printed all of my handwritten pages. In February 1986, I finalized Lightyears. For Lightyears, I didn’t really have a structured outline. I just wrote as it came to me, pantser-style. I wanted it to be on a galactic scale, but it ended up being much larger than that. The novel included two galaxies and even mentioned a third one, as well as time travel. When I finished Lightyears, I immediately knew that I wanted to write a sequel to it. In fact, the original manuscript also said “To Be Continued…”

In December 1987, I started writing my second book, Lightyears II: Intragalactic Terrorism. I used the term intra—meaning within—because the terrorist problem was only within one of the two galaxies in the Lightyears universe. With Lightyears II: Intragalactic Terrorism, I was able to tie up some loose ends and was very satisfied with the outcome of the novella. There is a dedication at the beginning of Lightyears II: Intragalactic Terrorism for my late cousin Heidi, who I sought advice from during the writing process. I finished Lightyears II: Intragalactic Terrorism in August 1988.

It could have easily stopped there and become the Lightyears Duology, but in August 1989, I decided to write a short story that took place after the other two books. Lightyears III: Ominous Intervention (formerly Bi-Galactic Peace) was a short story that I completed just a month later in September 1989. I did not dedicate enough time for the writing process and was not happy with the short story. I felt that I should include the third story in the final work because it was, after all, a part of the Lightyears universe. For this to happen, the revision for Lightyears III: Ominous Intervention was basically a total rewrite, using only some of the original framework, making my third book a novelette.

The original typewritten manuscripts needed to be scanned. Using OCR technology, the text was converted and edited, which was a lengthy and tedious process. The Lightyears Trilogy is the result of compiling the three stories into one published book. It took me two years, but in 2018, I completed the revisions to my original manuscripts, which have enriched the stories to a whole new level.

I began writing my fourth book, Treasures From Afar, in April 1991 on my new word processor. I settled into a more structured, plotter-style of writing than previously done on the Lightyears Trilogy. I finished the novel in March 1992. I was very pleased with the outcome of Treasures From Afar.

The original manuscript was stored on obsolete 3 inch proprietary disks from that old word processor. In 2011, I sent for these to be converted and had text files sent to me in return. It took me two years, but in 2018, I completed the revisions to my original manuscript, which has added some great improvements to the story.

After brainstorming my latest novel for a couple years, I have over 10,000 words to put together the framework for the novel. The structure is definitely plotter-style. I began writing the story in June 2018. I took one of my favorite metal subgenres and I am weaving it into the story with a symphonic metal band.

Unlike Lightyears Trilogy and Treasures From Afar, the latest novel is a galactic erotica novel. It should be released in 2019. The plan is for the story to be a duology. The name, description, cover artwork, and book trailer will be revealed in the near future.