Is this an opening volley or a warning shot?

Now that I've returned to my writing on a serious basis, I thought I would establish this blog to let any interested parties keep track of my progress.

I've been writing since I was four years old, and while I certainly wouldn't vouch for the quality of that early wordsmithing, the enthusiasm was undeniable. My writing carried me through an adolescence and young adulthood shadowed by illness and clinical depression, among other vissicitudes of life, and it was my lifeline until 1999, when I finally achieved a life-long dream and saw my novel, Nightchild: A Clans Novel (available on Amazon.com), emerge as a printed work.

That was when the wheels came off.

The book itself was a joy, and I still love it, but the business end of publishing was brutal. After unfair expectations and crashing disappointments, I was heartbroken and demoralized. I turned my back on my writing and embarked on the darkest, most spiritually parched period of my life.

Rescue came in a most unexpected guise. In September and October 2008, I had a very serious illness and nearly died. I came out of the darkness with a determination not to waste my second chance, and from that determination was born Irish Horse Productions, a company through which I can finally let my writing see the light of day again. With the encouragement and assistance of a very talented web designer at Time Scribe Designs, I now have a webpage under construction that will hopefully allow me to release my stories, poems, and more importantly, my sequels, in my own way and under my own control.

Me, a control freak? Whyever would you think such a thing?

Yes, this is sort of an exercise in control-freakery, but it's more than that. It's an attempt to reclaim my writing and thereby myself through authentically attempting to share my work without (much) regard for business or any illusions about success. My books are the only children I'll ever give birth, and I want to see them take their first steps. That's the real impetus here. I was given a second chance to let my "children" live. I want to take on the challenge.

I hope I'm equal to the task.

The first step is refining and finalizing the second Clans book, Sacrifice, which is over halfway finished. Once that's done, and once I have the registered copyright in hand (can't be too careful), I'll do the same with my short stories and whatever poetry I've written as of this date that's worth inflicting upon ... er, showing... other people.

One step at a time, but ever onward toward the horizon. As Tolkien wrote, the road goes ever on and on. At least this time I'm on the road and not sitting in the ditch and watching the traffic go by.