It’s been a few months since I’ve updated this blog. That’s mostly because my university work has kept me annoyingly busy. Recent decisions in my department forced me to learn a new online platform and adapt all my classes to new textbooks and slightly different teaching modes. My heart isn’t in it at all anymore, but being a mathematics professor is still my method for paying the bills, and every now and then it still demands my attention.

I plan to retire from university in 5 or 6 years, so hopefully this is the last time in my career I’ll have to spend several weeks completely focusing on teaching. I’ve been putting in a ton of extra work to make sure when I teach the same classes in the future, my prep work will be (mostly) done in advance. It’s a case of “do it right the first time, so you don’t have to do it again.” Like Dad taught me.

Thankfully, that’s mostly over now, and I’m back to writing again. And it’s just in time for the my annual “Fall tour.” That’s just a silly way of saying I have a bunch of events coming up where I’ll be slinging books and signing for new and old fans. For example, this Saturday I’ll be in Livonia, and here’s the advert:

Hopefully the rain will stay away. These markets are fun and I usually do quite well at them. But the one I’m really looking forward to is the one in Ferndale, next Friday through Sunday.

“Fashionable” Ferndale, for those unfamiliar with Detroit, is one of the LGBTQ+ friendly spots around town, from its rainbow colored crosswalks to generally relaxed atmosphere. It’s also the nearest good neighborhood to where I work, making it a nice place to grab a lunch or a coffee now and then. Funky Ferndale shuts down the main strip for three days for a big art festival, and I’ll be there. My booth will be at the first rainbow crosswalk west of Woodward.

And that’s just the start. I’ll be at a Witches Brew and Bookfest in Ohio in early October, plus a few other markets. That’s my “fall tour,” and then another few weeks off before the Christmas push.

In all the hullabaloo, I’m still writing, of course. I’m about 70% done with Drawing Dead, still hoping to finish it in time for its planned release date of February 2, 2027. My goal is to finish by the end of October, or at least be close enough to the finish line to start talking to my cover design team at Miblart.

Meanwhile, my other projects include a Volume 2 of crossword puzzles, a book of Word Search puzzles, a book of Sudoku puzzles, a romance novel co-written with Becka (we’re about 85% done with the first draft), and a few other writing projects.