I always wanted to be a writer but have been too busy to do anything about it but dream. Or so I told myself. Now I’m retired and I decided to dive down the rabbit hole of writing. Like Alice, I’m constantly amazed about what I find.
When I was working and giving presentations, where other speakers mentioned their careers I alluded to my checkered past. Since adolescence I have been, at various times, a firefighter, a Jesuit novice, a Naval Aviator, a medical school professor, a university administrator, a manager of a state-backed venture investment fund, an entrepreneur and, most recently, a retiree. I did learn one thing from my time flying off aircraft carriers at night in bad weather. If you know you’re going home alive at the end of the day, whatever you’re doing isn’t high risk. If you try to publish your writing there is the risk of rejection, failure, ridicule. See above
I started my first novel, which is now IX New Millennium, over thirty years ago. It’s the story of Ignatius Xavier Ryan, SJ, who is banished by his church to the future in cryosleep over a theological controversy. He awakes a millennium later to an Earth with a pristine environment but little sign of humanity. A couple of years ago I resurrected a faded print copy (all my 5-1/4″ disks were unreadable) and restarted the effort. It’s now available for preorder on Amazon.
Buy New Millennium here.
I also wrote another novel, Asteroid Gambit, the story of two prospectors in the Asteroid Belt who become embroiled in the second Martian rebellion. It’s available in paperback and Kindle formats on Amazon.
Buy AG here.
I’ve learned a lot about writing from online courses and critique partners along the way. I have several other novels in progress and hope to publish one or two more this year.
I really appreciate that you’ve read this far. I’ve posted a (very) short story as a reward (or punishment – you be the judge). Here’s hoping you enjoy the results. Thanks for joining me on the journey.
Steve Fritz