If you’ve been around since at least the year 2020, you’ll know that I lost my son on April 27th of that year. This is all I will say about my son. This is about discussing what happened after he died and how it fundamentally affected me.

I’m a writer. We all know that. Am I a good writer? I don’t know, but I like to think of myself as a service book writer, a journeyman if you will. I do know one thing I was good at, and that was churning words. For years, actually for over a decade, I could be relied upon to put out upwards of 2000 to 2500 words a day

After my son died, that dropped to less than 200 words a day.

In the six years since my son died, I’ve published one novella and 4 short stories. They all took an inordinate amount of time to write, and every word was like pulling teeth. Were the stories I put out during those years good? I like to think so. But none of that was my normal kind of story. One was an alternate history story, my first attempt at that. And the four short stories were all emotion-driven, not horror or supernatural (or at least very little supernatural).

The main problem, after not being able to put out many words, was that it was impossible for me to find a way back into the various series. I love those stories, and when I write them, I feel a sense of accomplishment. But in those six years I managed to put out a 5th short story, one set in my series The Preserve. It’s a good story; it ties in neatly with the series, and I enjoyed writing it.

But it took over a month to write one short story. And that was not acceptable.

Then something happened about a month ago. I felt the old itch, that tugging at the base of my brain that said, “Hey buddy, maybe you should get back to work.

I got the idea for the short, “Are We Alone Now? ” when we went N to attend an unofficial sister's wedding. I thought to myself, what if someone from her past showed up has tried to stop the wedding? What if an old love decided that they’re splitting up had been a mistake?

I know it’s an old idea done in television movies and books more times than could be counted. But the idea grabbed hold of me and wouldn’t go away. It was like the old days when that muse that lives in the back won’t let you let a story die.

I chewed on it for a couple of weeks after we came home. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to write; I’m not a romance writer. But something about it intrigued me. Could I write true love? I don’t mean could I write it and be amazing; I know too many romance writers to think I could equal their caliber, but damn it, I wanted to do it.

So I sat down, opened up Microsoft Word, and started writing. And it was a revelation.

The words came easy. There was no tooth pulling, and there was no pain. I didn’t get frustrated and delete the beginning of the manuscript. And I never felt lost. The story came together effortlessly.

I finished the story in less than a week, with over 3000 words.

It felt amazing. I felt like the old knee again, at least in this aspect of my life. And I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I wanted more and I wanted it now.

One of my favorite series to write is Frankenstein King of the Dead. It’s so easy for me to slip into that world. My weird mashup of Frankenstein, the rest of the Universal Monsters and the Cthulhu Mythos was my baby from beginning to end. I’d already written three novels and two novellas or novelettes before the series.

About 6 months ago, I tried to start book 3.5. It’s called Morgan’s Run, and it's the journey the daughter of Dracula and a Werewolf named Jacinta takes from zombie- and monster-infested New York City to Frankenstein base on Hudson Bay.

I got 91 words into the story and realized I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t put myself back into the easiest series I’d ever written.

I’ll be honest with you, I almost quit writing forever that night.

I never delete anything, so I archived the 91-page manuscript and figured it would be a long time before I opened it again. When I finished Are We Alone Now? I decided to give Frankenstein 3.5 another chance.

Everything had gone swimmingly with the short story, except for the word output. While I had no trouble with the story, putting in more than 300 words at a time was not easy. I managed to do it, but I had to split the sessions into 2 or 3 a day.

It was frustrating!

The first day on Frankenstein 3.5 was more of the same, easy to envision the story but I only managed to put out around 300 words. The next day was over 500 words. The day after that was over 1000. And then yesterday I put out over 2000 words.

I’m not ashamed in any way to admit I cried a little.

I’m just about done with this essay, and I already have the file for Frankenstein 3.5 open and ready to go. I’m sure I will get my words today; I’m shooting for 10,000 words on this book. That’s a nice solid novelette, perfect for an interstitial story.

What comes next after Frank 3.5?

I believe I will return to my GI Joe fanfiction for a short time. I know you don't make any money from it, but I enjoy writing it and put it up on my website for free for people to read. Writing has always been fun and a nice palate cleanser. Or maybe I’ll make a return to The Shores of the Dead.

Whatever I decide to do next is important. What is important is that I can do it again I can find my way back into my mind where the stories live. I think this will be the second half of my time, the point where I don’t worry so much about what people think and just enjoy what I do.

To paraphrase the great Stephen King, Writing is all about getting happy, So let’s get happy.

- Josh (07-23-2026)