Good news soon.

I was sort of a loose ends when I woke up yesterday about what to do. By the end of the day, I'd decided to go forward with the small business book.

First of all, I have some good news. I can't say anything yet, but it's very encouraging. It's more progress in my writing "career" and another reset of the clock.

I think I'm permanently turning my back on the possibility of mainstream publishing. I don't have an agent, and now I'm pretty sure I don't want one. I don't want to sign a constricting contract. I don't want to have to slow down or write what they want.

For instance, my "Fires of Allah" was meant to be a thriller. I thought maybe I'd use it to try to get an agent. One agent asked me for "100 kickass pages." The phrase bothered me at the time, but I couldn't put my finger on why. It's only now, months later after the agent rejected the proposal that I realize that the whole approach was so Hollywood smarmy that it left a bad taste in my mouth. Douche-bag agent saying to the writer, "Knock my socks off, kid." Yuch.

I think I've found a home with small publishers and I'm happy with that. It's probably where I belong. I like the people and I like the atmosphere. I'm at a point in my life where that matters more.

I've been published by the mainstream and I know that it isn't a panacea in any way. It's a nine day wonder. It's very similar to my business career where I chose what felt right versus easy money. It was the right thing to do.

Anyway, my intention during my month long vacation was to finish the "Fires of Allah." I woke up yesterday still torn. Partly excited by my good news, but also doubting if the book was the direction I really wanted to go. There is no point in writing a mainstream thriller if I'm not going to take it to the mainstream. My small publishers wouldn't be interested in it.

Then I realized that I would be excited to proceed with the book if I put a supernatural element in. I instantly understood that I could put a Jinn in the story and it would be transformed.

From Wiki: "The Quran says that the jinn are made of a smokeless and "scorching fire," but are also physical in nature, being able to interact in a tactile manner with people and objects and likewise be acted upon."

How perfect is that!

What tells me I'm on the right track is that I'm excited by the book again. So I think it's a Go.

But first!

On my walk yesterday, out popped another chapter in my small business book and by the time I was done, I realized that the "Small Business Survivalist Handbook" had taken possession of my subconscious and there was nothing for it but to finish.

I'm going to write a chapter per day until it's done.

Meanwhile, my friend Jared is going to be heavily involved in the process. Jared was more or less responsible for me starting writing my fiction again 4 years ago. He gave me a good explanation of the self-publishing landscape that I could understand and buy into. He was supposed to promote my "book" (at the time, that's all we could conceive of...) but that fell through.

He seems much more enthused over this project. He's tech oriented. I think he wants this book to appeal to Millennials and Gen X'ers. I'm going to write the content and he's going to do everything else. He wants to illustrate the whole book, which is an interesting idea.

So I'm going forward with that.

When I'm finished I'll turn back to my "Jinn-flavored" terrorists setting forest fires book.

Four years into my writing, and I'm still enthused, which is an unexpected thing to have happen. I feel like the 28 year old who first published a book. Heh.