This is it. This is the end. 

         
No, silly. I don’t mean this is the end of my website or the end of my
writing career. I meant that this is the introduction to a new feature that I am calling End Signs. Had you going there for a moment, didn’t I?
             
It should be totally cool. There will be frequent hashtag use. You can
expect me to post articles intended to make you think the end of the world is upon us. And then there will be a bunch of stuff related to the apocalypse. Have I got your interest yet?
             
If you’re anything like me then you were hooked as soon as I mentioned it’d be cool. But for those of you need further convincing let me explain the concept a little better. 
             
Every day, television and newspapers present stories that are hauntingly familiar to the events I portrayed in The Gathering. Events that I used to illustrate how close society is to an apocalyptic ending. Much of what I wrote about four years ago has already manifested itself. 
             
Does that make me psychic? 
             
Unfortunately not. It just means that I got lucky with the news items that I picked out and dramatized for my story. And that is what this feature is all about. I’m going to look at the events in the news and then do that thing where I turn it into a believable scenario, suitable for nail-biting entertainment.

            
The current situation in Arizona is a good example of this. I actually wrote two versions of The Gathering, with the first one being rejected because it dealt with this issue. Originally, I had wanted a political issue that had the potential to divide the nation. Not just divide them ideologically, but a topic that carried enough emotional energy to divide the nation into armed camps ready for a second Civil War. 

             
Could the fight over this bill in Arizonabe the first battle of Civil War II? 
             
I hope not. However, as I did with my first manuscript, I could certainly paint a realistic scenario where conservative Christians seek to protect their religious freedoms, the gay community is concerned about unlawful discrimination, and along the way one person’s zeal for doing the right things allows him to step across the line. 
             
Then, BOOM. You have a storyline of Americaat war that is uncomfortably realistic, because really it’s only a couple of steps from where we are right now. My intention isn’t to scare everyone. I just want to take the current events and present a scenario for your entertainment. 
              
How do hashtags fit into this?
           
I’m glad you asked. Along with the articles I post on my website, I plan to comment on the daily craziness that is the news. I figure that this is best done through Twitter, where I can throw up a link to the news bit, include the #EndSigns hashtag, and make a quick comment about it. 
              
Not all of my End Signs news flashes will be dramatic events meant to scare your socks off. Some of them will be stories that are so bizarre that it makes me think that the end of rational civilization is near. Actually, most of them will probably fall into that category. 
             
And there you have it, my new End Signs feature. I hope you enjoy it. 
 

During the course of marketing The Gathering I started posing a question to my readers. “Are you ready?”  That is the essence of the novel boiled down to three simple words. I
sign the books that way. I plan my speaking engagements around that question. I 
gear my interviews, as much as possible, around that theme. 
             
It makes sense that it should be the focus of this website as well. Sure, I plan to post any news about The Gathering and about me as an author, but expect the many of the articles I present each week to reflect this important question. 
            
In the weeks ahead, I hope to capture your attention with articles on emergency preparedness and my observations of news events that may represent signs of the end. I plan to interview a few authors of apocalyptic novels to compare notes on where all of this is going. Basically, anything that I can think of to help all of you answer the question of Are You Ready? 
              
And what better place to start than the questions I have in the back of The Gathering. These ten questions were intended to give book clubs a starting point for their discussions related to the events in my novel. If you happen to be standing around the water cooler at work tomorrow, try one of these out for an interesting and unique discussion with your co-workers. Or if you happen to be on a date and can’t think of   anything to talk about, feel free to try one of these. It may not make the date any more successful, but it should make it interesting. 
 
1. During a disaster, would you be willing to share your food with your neighbors?
 
2. Could you bring yourself to help people who had previously attacked or robbed you?
 
3. What would it take to get you to fight for your beliefs or your loved ones?
 
4. How would you react to society falling apart all around you?
 
5. Are you willing to endure the horrible events before the Savior’s arrival to experience His return?
 
6. Are you willing to give up your home and treasures in order to survive? 
 
7. What concerns you most about the end of times?
 
8. What cheers you most about Christ’s return?
 
9. What do you do in a situation where not everyone can be helped?
 
10. How can the hardships of the apocalypse bring you closer to God?

             
On the lighter side, you can also expect more fiction and fiction related articles from me. This includes: taking excerpts from The Gathering and discussing how I approached the material and how I could have handled it differently; interviews with the characters on any topic that catches my fancy (whatever that means); and bonus scenes where I write up an event that wasn’t in the book. 
             
If any of those ideas really appeal to you, please, drop me a line and let me know. Until then – Are You Ready?