Isn’t it strange how things can somehow take an unexpected turn? I mean, you plot and plan, then something happens and “BANG”, everything changes. I’ve found that this happens both in my writing and in life, as well. What’s the old saying? The best laid plains of mice and men. This was never more true than the recent plot twist that I encountered with my writing career.

As you all know, I’ve been working hard with J. Ellington Ashton Press to re-launch my Ragnarok Rising Saga as well as my Infinite Black Series of Sci-Fi books. This has been a monumental task, requiring a great deal of effort from quite a few people. Big thanks to the editing staff, artists and management with JEA.

On a positive note, that hard work has really paid off. The edits are complete, covers are nearly finished and the manuscripts are in layouts. Yeah, it’s been a lot of work getting here but I think you’ll all be pleased with the new look and feel of the series. Once the Ragnarok Rising Saga is back on the shelves, expect the Infinite Black Series to be right on its heels.

Insert plot twist.

While I was working on all of this, as well as planning my first anthology with the Hold the Line Imprint that JEA put me in charge of, there was a sudden change at JEA. The CEO, Scott Essel Pratt, unexpectedly stepped down. It was a shock to JEA and sent the entire staff scrambling to restructure and keep the ball rolling.

Catt Dahman, owner and author, worked night and day trying to find the right path for JEA to take. Restructuring and adaptation is never an easy thing to do, especially when it has to come from the top down. They were scrambling to recover while maintaining the continuity of work all through the process. More than thirty authors depended on it.

It was during this process that something happened that I never saw coming. Catt Dahman offered the CEO position to me. I was more than a little taken aback. I did run Dark Water Fiction for two years, but that was really just myself and two other people. JEA is a medium-sized publishing company with more than thirty authors in its stable. Honestly, I wasn’t certain that I was up to the task. Catt was confident that I was the person she wanted and I reluctantly agreed.

I hit the ground running and started organizing things so that we could keep the books flowing, my own included. So far, things have been moving along at a good pace. I am maintaining the momentum by staying task-oriented and ticking off items on the “to do” list as much as possible. It’s been interesting and the learning curve has, by necessity, been quite steep.

I’m learning as I go and taking on tasks as they arise. So far, so good. This has taken my writing career in a very unexpected direction. Although it does take some of my attention away from the writing, I feel that it has given me a laser focus. It’s been interesting, to say the least.

I am the first to admit that this wasn’t the direction that I expected my writing career to take. However, having said that, I am embracing this new challenge and am anxious to see where this takes me.

To my fans, I promise that there are many more books on the way. I will never stop writing, so long as I have the ability. My passion is my writing and I hope to be doing it for many years to come.

To the staff and crew at JEA, I hope to prove worthy of the faith you have shown in me. Catt Dahman is an amazing author, good friend and mentor for my career. She’s also completely crazy. I’m just a hillbilly from a farm in rural Missouri. I hope that I can live up to the faith that she has placed in me. I will do my best to exceed all expectations as CEO.

Taking this journey with me has proven to be interesting. It’s a dark and foggy path ahead, but I’m confident that we will find our way together. Time to forge ahead and find the path for us to take. Let’s take that path to destinations yet unseen.

The End is Only the Beginning.

DA