My Current Work in Progress:
The Right Angle

For the last eight years, I’ve been working on a novel I’m calling The Right Angle.  I’m fairly certain that’s the title I’ll be sticking with. 

In many ways, this book is the most personal creative writing I’ve ever done.  It’s also a huge departure from the genres I’ve been most interested in since I was a young, voracious reader finding myself swept up by thrilling tales of adventure set in far-off lands, magical other-worlds of mythic pasts or distant futures, and galaxies far, far away.  It’s not even like the numerous works of “literary fiction” I’ve read and taught over the years as a student and teacher of literature.
The story this novel tells arose largely from my own life.  I'm a bit hesitant to even say that, because it could lead to a false assumption:  the book is not autobiographical, though there are autobiographical elements.  It is, holistically, a work of fiction. 
Honestly, I never thought I’d end up writing a novel like this: The tale of a young college English professor who’s married and has two beautiful children but is hurting and struggling emotionally, spiritually, and relationally, on the cusp of a profoundly life-altering decision.  Raised in a deeply conservative, religious environment, all his life he’s been torn down the middle – torn between expectations from family, friends, and faith communities and a deep personal truth he holds guardedly in his heart and in his mind.
What moved me to write this story?
The simple answer:  I was ready. 
The truer, more complex answer is that a friend and counselor put the idea in my head some eight years ago.  Knowing that I was a writer and that I had spent many years away from my passion of writing creatively, she suggested that I might put some of my experiences into words, even if it was just for my own benefit.  Yes, it might be cathartic.  But she also told me she thought I was really skilled at describing my  experiences with vivid and evocative imagery and emotion.  And it hit me:  Why not tell a fictional story that would allow me to explore some of those things that I’d experienced, yet tell another narrative – not about me – but about someone similar to me. 

I’m planning on writing blog posts about more of this, especially the closer I get to finishing the manuscript.  I’ll share my progress there as I navigate the final stretch.  So I won’t say anything more now.  Plus, I need to be careful not to give too much away. I will wrap this up by saying that I am only two or three chapters away from reaching the end, and I can’t wait to get there.  It’s been a long, sometimes difficult journey.  I hope that someday soon, I’ll be able to share this book with all who might be interested in reading it.