It has been nearly twenty years since I penned the first words to my first published novel, The Olympian, A Tale of Ancient Hellas and six years since the publication of my last novel, Gaspar, Another Tale of the Christ. Shortly before my return to the Sonoran Desert in October 2019, I completed the initial draft of my seventh novel.
After two years, five extensive drafts and much editing, the manuscript is in the hands of the publishers. I expect the physical proof copy this week. If it looks good and all is in order, the book will be available in print and as an eBook by the end of March 2020.
I am confident that readers will find the title, The Faith of Job, appropriate to the story.
Every book carries a book description, but the book description is not what the book is about. Let me explain…
In recent months, I’ve had many conversations with my 12-year-old granddaughter who tells me she wants to be a writer. One afternoon during the 60-minute drive to Tucson for one of her school softball games, she told me about a story she wants to write. After listening for 10 minutes, I interrupted and asked, “That’s a good story, but what’s it about?”
She looked at me with that confused look. “That’s what I’ve been telling you, Dziadek!”
I smiled. “Now tell me in one sentence what the story is about.”
She thoughtfully considered my request and answered, “It is about getting through difficult situations with a positive attitude.”
That answer gives you a sense that my 12-year-old granddaughter is psychologically mature for her age.
“Perfect!” I responded. “Keep that sentence in front of you every time you work on your story. Each word you write should support what your story is about.”
Every story can be defined by a single sentence. It may take many sentences to describe it, but the story can always be defined in a single sentence.
The more I thought about that after discussing it with my granddaughter, the more I understood that all seven of my novels are about the same thing:
There is a light in the heart of darkness.
Regardless of the challenges we face as individuals or the difficulties our nation, our world and our universe face, someone, somewhere will step up to be counted upon to do the right thing…. always.
That is the message my books carry.
As soon as The Faith of Job is available as a physical book and an eBook, I will announce it here. Thanks to all my readers for your continued support and encouragement through nearly two decades of storytelling.
There is a light in the heart of darkness.
I open my novel Tobit and the Hoodoo Man, A Mystical Tale from the Civil War South with these 89 words…
In the summer of 2018, I pulled my copy of Garrison Keillor’s Good Poems, American Places from the bookcase next to my desk. 
Every morning, I look forward to Garrison Keillor’s daily offering in his 
