One of the best books I’ve read on writing, many years ago, was On Becoming a Novelist, by John Gardner. The author himself was an acclaimed novelist and teacher, author of Grendel, Nickel Mountain, Jason and Medea and The Sunlight Dialogues, among others. Gardner regarded writing as a sort of calling, and the novelist, as an observer and interpreter of the human condition, as privileged. He also regarded the novelist as a sort of idiot savant, though he did not use that term. Writers are wrapped up in themselves, their minds always on their work, often oblivious to what was happening around them. If they were lucky enough to find a generous spouse who would help them with their work, keep an eye on them, wipe up their messes and even support them during the lean years when they would otherwise be living in poverty, then they should accept the gift with profound gratitude.

It was a romantic notion, indeed, and I’m not certain how true it really is. Most of the writers that I know have day jobs and real world responsibilities. For myself, I’m profoundly grateful to now be able to do what I really enjoy, but I don’t delude myself that the world is waiting breathlessly for the next masterwork by Robert I. Katz (though I hope that the world is…).

My 11th novel, Brighton Beach, the fifth book in the Kurtz and Barent mystery series, was published a few days ago. It’s common at such a time to take a step backward, to examine where we are and where we’re going, and think about how we got here. For me, it’s been a long journey, and among the many things that I’m grateful for are the fans who’ve read and enjoyed my work.

To them, I just want to say, thank you…

The City of Ashes: Chronicles of the Second Empire, is now available for kindle purchase (free with Kindle Unlimited). This is the sequel to The Game Players of Meridien and is the second book in The Chronicles of the Second Interstellar Empire of Mankind.

In this book, Douglas Oliver has survived the siege of Aphelion but the threat posed by the nation of Gath is far from over.

Every five years, Gath sponsors a Grand Tournament, where future leaders are pitted against each other in a series of violent contests. No outsider has ever won the Grand Tournament. Douglas Oliver is determined to change that.

All across the continent, nations are making alliances and choosing sides. War is coming, and Douglas Oliver’s participation in the Grand Tournament represents the opening gambit. Meridien intends to win the game that Gath has started, and Douglas Oliver is his country’s chosen weapon.

Just thought I would put up a post on how things have been going.

So far, my mysteries have been selling decently but I can’t say the same for the science fiction, just a couple of copies plus a few hundred pages read from the kindle library. I’ve decided to change the title on the next, to The Game Players of Meridien and I’m hoping that it will be out sometime in November. Following within a few months, will be the sequel, now tentatively entitled, The City of Ashes. Following that will be the next Kurtz and Barent mystery, The Chairmen, which should be out by April or May of next year.

I’ve been participating in two Group Giveaways on Instafreebie. Both Giveaways will be operational through September 30. The first is a science fiction short story, entitled “Adam,” about a scientist who uses a tailored retrovirus to implant the Fox P2 gene, sometimes called the language gene, into a cage full of rats and a mouse named Adam, and the unexpected consequences that ensue. The second is a prequel to the Kurtz and Barent mysteries, entitled Something in the Blood, featuring Richard Kurtz as a surgical resident on an elective rotation in the Arkansas mountains, solving a medical mystery that spans two tragic generations. These Giveaways offer dozens of excellent short stories and they can be accessed at the following URL’s:

The science fiction short stories: https://www.instafreebie.com/gg/NUsc9q0MB7TXd2RQltIy

The mystery short stories: https://www.instafreebie.com/gg/1TKcGGLVcj5R0HkESAU2

Well, that’s about all for the moment. Hope to have more news soon!

Starting Saturday, August 5, and running through Sunday, August 6, my latest novel, The Cannibal’s Feast, will be offered free from Amazon for Kindle purchase. The Cannibal’s Feast is the story of Matthew Braden, a young man from a run-down habitat in Earth orbit, who graduates at the top of his class from the corporate training institute of the Biotek-Itachi Gesselschaft, one of the largest and most powerful of the corporate states in the 25th Century. Matthew, eager to prove himself and to rise through the ranks, becomes a prime weapon in Biotek’s long simmering war with the Hyperion-Narita Combine, as they strive to determine the future of all humanity.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0743FP5WM/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1500566482&sr=1-1Nothing philosophical or particularly profound today, just a happy announcement! The Cannibal’s Feast has finally been published! It’s available for Kindle purchase from Amazon. I hope that all of my devoted fans and adoring readers, and all of their friends and relatives purchase a copy.