COVID has impacted all of our lives. In my case, it has limited my ability to interact with my audience and participate in teaching classes, hosting book events, and everything I did as part of my author routine that wasn't part of staying at home. 

However, it looks as if the mandates are being removed. I had an event at the local library on Saturday and completely forgot to mention it on social media and specifically here on my website. A friend mentioned the gaff on my part, and I am going to make sure to keep all of you informed of upcoming events from now on. 

My next event is on March 9th, at the Red Mountain Mesa Community College campus. I am teaching a class on Memoir Basics. Sign up for the event. It's free. And come out and take the first step in writing your own memoir or family story. 

Sign up at New Frontiers for Lifelong Learning. Here's the link. 

NFLL Classes Offfered (mesacc.edu)

I'm looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible, this year. 

     I had just enough time for one book signing in Gilbert before the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down. And if I could only have one signing, then I'm glad it was this one. The staff at Deseret Book were wonderful and set me up in this beautiful spot with a huge, gorgeous table. I felt like a celebrity.
     Even though me and my family are riding out this disaster inside the house most of the time, I'm still keeping busy. Like . . . incredibly busy. I'm working on several projects with Write House Publishing. The launch of our first product is expected to be later this week. More on that later. But this is just one of a series of great ideas that I've been working on with Deb and Dave Eaton. 
     The seminars I was teaching on writing memoirs and family histories are on hold until the pandemic situation clears up. Then I plan to offer the classes to audiences in the cities of Mesa, Tempe, and Gilbert. The material from the seminars is from my next book, The Easy-Peasy Method For Writing Memoirs and Family Stories. 
    I promised several people that I'd start work on the fourth book of The Gathering series. And with all the craziness going on, I'd be crazy not to write about it. The fourth book will be the last story in the series. 
     And I'm also working on writing a novel with my daughter. (She has an amazing author voice and is going to be a better writer than me.) We're working on a romantic-comedy set in the Old West. That's right. A romantic-comedy. I can hardly believe it myself. Lucy will be writing the chapters with the female main character and I will do my best to write the male chapters from a guy's point of view. 
     Busy, busy, busy. But I will try not to be too busy to check in here on a regular basis. Hunker down and stay safe.

I want to say thanks to Reuben for reminding me that I haven't been active on the website. However, that doesn't mean I haven't been busy writing. Or with other author stuff for that matter. 

Two years ago I started a blog on writing. I invited my good friends, Janette Rallison, Brock Booher, and Adrienne Quintana to join me. If you have an interest in writing then you should check it out. Here's the link. 

http://www.readysetwritepodcast.com/

Then about a year ago, the Ready-Set-Write team started a game show on the YouTube channel. It is still focused on writing, but involves buzzing entries when we think an agent or editor would stop reading their first page. It's entertaining even if you aren't interested in writing. You can see for yourself at this link.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUIAbuihdn0jHaRTkb8OBGA

I'm still teaching classes at the local writing conventions, but have also taken a leadership position in the American Night Writers Association. This is a non-profit organization with the goal of helping writers reach their writing and publishing goals. I am currently the president of the organization and that keeps me fairly busy.

The point of mentioning all of this is to let everyone know I'm still here and still writing. But I often forget to make the time to post on this website. You can help me out by leaving a comment and let me know what features/posts interest you most and I will make sure to keep current with those.  

Thanks, everyone.

It has been a while since my last update. Sorry for the absence, but I was feverishly working on my memoir. I hear the groans out there. Randy, you're just not that interesting. Get over yourself. But the memoir isn't so much about me as it is about my experience, one that is becoming very common in recent years. 

Two years ago, I submitted my DNA for testing to help my family history research. When the results came back, I found that my dad was not my biological father. The memoir deals with the thoughts and emotions that accompany that kind of discovery. It also chronicles my journey to come to terms with a new family dynamic and meet a father I didn't know existed. I am currently in the process of submitting that for publication and hope that one of the editors sees the value of that kind of story in today's society. 

It's good news that I'm still writing. But it is better news that I am preparing to start on book four in The Gathering series. The Return: Millennial Dawn will be the final book in the series. It also promises to be a monster of a book. 

If you have questions about my books or suggestions for The Return, please don't hesitate to drop me a line or leave a comment here. And thanks for accompanying me on my writing journey. 

The Ready-Set-Write experience has expanded. We held our first mini-conference at the Tempe library in preparation for NaNoWriMo. And we will do it again next Saturday at the Mesa Red Mountain library. 

Jill Brenner, program director for the Tempe library, really knows how to make a bunch of authors feel welcome. Look at this beautiful sign she setup for the conference. Plenty of people came out to hear the Ready-Set-Write crew talk about writing. Then afterwards, we recorded three sessions of our podcast, taking questions from the audience and having fun answering them.

I could tell you who presented at the conference and what workshop they offered, but the sign says it all. This is a great opportunity for writers to prepare themselves for the month long writing marathon in November. Participants had the opportunity to develop a new story idea, make some decisions on what characters needed to be in their story, decide whether to take the "Plotter" or "Pantser" route in writing, think up some wicked conflict, and throw in a little romance. All in one day and all for free.

Thanks Jill and thanks to all the people who came out and made it a success.