Happy Holidays!! It’s Blog Post #107. Thank you to everyone who has purchased Jonah Chooses Amazing so far. I’ve reached my goal of $200.00 to donate to the Heart and Stroke Foundation!! An update will be provided in Blog Post #108.

With the upcoming holidays, I thought I’d share an excerpt from Jonah Chooses Amazing, the year’s greatest gift possible.

“Happy George Michael Memorial Day Eve!”

“Oh yeah… I forgot you call it that. I hope ham is ok. Oh good, you found the tree and set it up. We can decorate it once I get the ham in the oven.”

Decorating the tree with holiday songs of yesteryear and hits from Wham was followed by setting the table and putting out the presents. Jonah had managed to get presents despite his recent troubles and a schedule that made Mother Nature look like a part time worker.

Q&A

Continuing with last month’s theme, I asked for emailed questions and promised to answer. I’m sorry if I didn’t get to yours or if the answer is delayed because I don’t want to give away any spoilers quite yet.

What is your writing process like? Do you write every day?

I do not write every day. I write when I have down time, when I’m feeling inspired, or when it’s been too long. No pressure. No deadlines. It’s what works best for me.

How is your health?

This wasn’t really the type of question I was looking for but since so many asked, I thought I should answer. It’s ok. I continue to have unexplained neurological symptoms. However, since September I have been feeling much better, much more like my self, with a very noticeable reduction in intensity and severity of symptoms. My doctor is very encouraged and optimistic of full recovery but that it will take time.

What’s your next book about?

It is called The Regrets We Can’t Have. It will be a series of short stories exploring regret, decisions, emotions, and human behaviors. It will look at how we see ourselves, how we want to be and act in certain situations, but how we so often fall short. I’m hopeful of a 2025 release. It could very well be the final book in human history not written by A.I.

Words of Wisdom

1. Celebrate. Celebrate the year that was with all its ups and downs. Celebrate the year to come. Despite the crazy state of the world, you and I are still here to enjoy it. That’s worth celebrating.

2. Don’t complain. When you order gelato that is the size of a golf ball and it costs three times your hourly wage, rest easy knowing that it hurts… just as it should. It should be a bit painful to indulge in things that aren’t good for us. In fact, instead of eating that gelato with the barbie doll sized spoon they give you, eat it all in one bite and get brain freeze. Let the pain flow through you.

End of the Line

This is my last post for 2023. We’ve come to the end of the year. It’s been a year of ups and downs for me personally. There’s been the challenges with my health which has also seen many positives as I seem to be making progress. There’s the sense of accomplishment and the positive feedback from completing and releasing my first novel, Jonah Chooses Amazing. Then, there’s all the things to be grateful for… and there are many. Friends, family, good times, and my wonderful wife Lesly. While we’ve come to the end of the line this year, I look forward to 2024, even is it means getting off this track and forging a new path.

Seattle U.S.A 2023

Thanks again for supporting this blog (by reading and sharing it) and supporting my novel, Jonah Chooses Amazing (by buying it, sharing about it, and most importantly reading it). I will answer some of your specific questions about the book in the next couple of blog posts. Happy Holidays and happy reading. Cheers. It’s now time for the ending jokes. Enjoy.

How many passwords do we need to have now? There’s a password for your computer, your phone, your bank, your government tax file. There’s passwords1 for every application, social media account, streaming service, and cloud. We need password1234 for Skyping, Zooming, Messaging, and Whatsapping. We even have a password678 for our app that manages all our passwords. Then they ask that these passwords be regularly changed and you can never use the same password44 twice. @#&% !! It’s crazy707.

In community health nursing, I have to have a user name and password for every program I access… which is a lot. They ask for a new password at least every three months while continuing to adjust the parameters of letters, numbers, and characters. The passwords8484 become so elaborate and safe that those who create them are also locked out. It’s crazy9918!!

There was a nurse at my work who retired early. In the exit interview, they asked why she was leaving. She said she loved her job but that she had run out of passwords for all the programs she had to use.

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I’m pleased to announce that Jonah Chooses Amazing is a finalist for RGM Publishing’s Book of the Year. Winner to be announced in January.