Dearly Beloved You Guys,

It has been an embarrassingly long time since my last post. Since then I’ve finished medical school, the subsequent licensing exams, applied to residencies, watched some of the Spellwright books come out in more languages, and tried my best to make progress on Spellbreaker, however slowly.  It has been a hectic and rewarding time. The thing that has suffered the most has been my correspondence. (If one of your messages is languishing in my inbox, bless you for your patience and hold on; I’m working my way through it.) The academic medical year starts and ends and July, so as we near the halfway mark of my last year of medical school, I believe I have correctly recognized this year as one of endings and of choices about the next round of beginnings.

Regarding medicine, I am currently on the interview trail for residency. So far, I have met some inspiring people and toured some wonderful hospitals. In a few months, I’ll form my rank list of desired programs and cross all my fingers that the concerned hospitals place me highly on their rank list. Sometime in the spring a computer somewhere in Baltimore–or so I have been told–will grind through all the medical student and hospital rank lists and try to match each to each. On March 15th, at the same time all across the country, med students will gather together to be given their match letters. At the same time, we will all open our envelops to discover where we will restart our lives, this time as doctors…

Regarding writing, I am also facing an ending. Twelve years after penning the first line of Spellwright, I am ending the trilogy. It seems to me that each book in a series presents unique problems. A first book has to tell a complete story while at the same time sowing the seeds for more books. A second book continues the series but must tell a complete tale unto itself even though it lacks a definitive beginning or ending. A final book has to tie up all loose ends but cannot do so in any predictable way. I have known since I started Spellwright what will happen at the trilogy’s end; however, my ability to portray that ending and what that ending means to me has evolved. For those who have followed the series, I very much hope the completed book will be both satisfying and more than a little surprising.

Of course an ending requires a new beginning. As I wind this series down, I have put one or two things afoot for my fourth book. At this point, I can say only that it will be something different than the Spellwright Trilogy. I’ll be sure to report more details later…possible much later…