My story for The Wild Side

is something I've become rather excited about. Its title is "The Long, Dark Night of Diego Chan," and I intend it to work both as a standalone piece and ultimately as part of the first novel in a series featuring Chan. Of course, I have no clue when I'll get around to writing those books, but I've given Publisher Toni the two-sentence version of the series, and she agrees that the concept is cool. So, one day I will try to write those novels.

In the meantime, I'll finish this story and lay the groundwork for the books.

When I started writing, like many other beginning writers I felt that story ideas were very hard to find. I'd read articles in which published writers would claim that ideas were easy, and I'd get pissed at those people. Now, though, I have to admit they were right. Stories worth telling are everywhere, and if you're passionate about enough things, many of those stories will align with your passions. Finding the time and the right ways to tell those stories, though, is another thing entirely--with time the harder challenge, of course.

At moments like these, as much as I like my job, I wish I could write full-time. I just have so much I want to write.