Summer 2026

 Technically, by the calendar we're still in summer so with this post, I'm squeaking under the wire. My summer was very busy with a horror collection and my crime work-in-progess but I'm not ready at the moment to offer updates on those projects. Stay tuned for news on those and more, plus the unveiling of this year's Halloween decoration effort. It will be YUGE!

For those who've kept up with my artistic exploits know that I was a Soldier Artist for the US Army during Operation Desert Storm. I had to first report to the CONUS Replacement Center at Ft. Knox, KY, where I met the other Soldier Artist called to duty, LTC Frank Thomas, from Utah. Along with the other reservists we were bussed to Fort Jackson, outside Columbia, SC, and from there deployed overseas via chartered airliner to Saudi Arabia. Once in the theater of operations--Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq--we took separate routes to get a broader perspective of the war and its aftermath. We were then recalled back to the US and were posted to the Army's Military District in Washington DC area. 

 

LTC Thomas in Kuwait City during Desert Storm. Photo credit: Frank M. Thomas

After we were mustered out, the colonel and I did keep in touch but our correspondence became less frequent to the point that I hadn't heard from him in years and vice-versa. A few days ago I had one of those "Whatever happened to...?" moments and Googled the colonel to discover that he had passed away in 2024. His obituary is here.

 

LTC Frank Thomas and his wife, the late Patreecia. Photo credit: Olpin Stevens Funeral Home

LTC Thomas was a devout Mormon and family man, having his wife and daughter stay with him in Wash DC. Though he and I spent a lot of time together, we never became close. We talked a lot about art and painting technique--his medium was acrylic, mine was watercolor--and critiqued each other's work. I learned he'd been in Vietnam and served on a Combat Artist Team there. In fact, he's the Army's only soldier artist to have served in two wars. He started as a combat artillery officer and told me he got shafted by the command when his battery of 105mm howitzers was accused of a "short round." That's when one of your projectiles lands close to or on top of a friendly position. A very big no-no. The investigation pinned the blame on him, only to later disclose that a 107mm infantry mortar fuse had been recovered from the shell crater, proving that his guns had not fired the errant round. After serving in Vietnam, he returned to Utah to start a real estate business. He soured on that because of all the shady characters he had to deal with and instead began a long, distinguished career as a public high school teacher while continuing to produce fine art. 

His work, like mine, belongs to the US Army Center of Military History and frequently turns up on display in various museums, military exhibits, and to illustrate Army publications. 

 "Desert Storm" by LTC Frank Thomas. US Army Center of Military History 

 

Spring 2026: My WIP as a living, organic creature.

Here in Denver, we didn't get much of a winter. Seems like we went straight from autumn to spring with an occasional snow flurry to break the warm-weather monotony. 

I was hoping that by now, I'd be pulling the wraps off my Work-In-Process. The original plan was to have the first draft completed by last December. Before starting the manuscript, I'd put together a rough chapter outline, a list of characters, and several subplots. Even early in the writing I realized that this was going to be a big, sprawling saga, and sure enough, when I typed THE END to the first draft, the completed work topped 109K words! 

I began trimming the chapters but in condensing scenes, or cutting them out completely, I had to ask: does the story still hold together? Have I introduced new plot holes? Are the characters asking the right questions given how the background narrative has changed? 

In wrestling with the revisions, what came to mind was that my WIP exists in two distinct planes. The first is the manuscript on my computer, the physical record of what I've committed to so far.  The second is the story in my mind, where I conceptualize modules of plot and narrative, seeing them as components that react to one another with lives of their own. Each has its function, which is to develop the story.  But change one detail and those edits can ripple backwards and forwards through the narrative. My job as the author is to manage the process in way that molds the story into something whole and plausible.

I came to regard my WIP as a living, organic creature. The first obvious image is that of me throwing a switch and cackling, It's alive! It's alive! as my misbegotten construction twitches to life.

 

However, I don't see my WIP that way. Not to stretch the metaphor too much, but I compare my story to the little lemon tree in my house. Slowly, with care, it grows. Ultimately, the results to the attention I apply to my work will be a tale that readers should enjoy: a captivating, satisfying crime novel of consequences gone very wrong. 

I hoped to conclude this post with an insightful quote comparing the writing process to nurturing a living creature but I couldn't find one. And since I don't think on those lofty levels, I couldn't put one together that didn't sound cheesy. As to developments in my WIP, stay tuned.