It’s a great position to be in where your brother is your biggest fan and always pinging you when the next novel is going to be published. If I had one thought on why it has taken so long to complete Leviathan, it would be “I’ve discovered why so many writers are older.”
Our Scoutmaster (former Cubmaster) gives me a hard time about donning a brown shirt early on after the transfer from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. All I wanted to do was go camping with my son and give him the chance to be enriched by a program like the Boy Scouts of America.
Then there was an opening in the Troop Committee for the “Popcorn Kernal” position: to run the fund-raising program. I volunteered for that because the inventory tracking, process analysis, etc fit well in my skill set. Little did I know that it would eat up months of free time every year to do those things. There were far too many late nights running reports and trying to reconcile the inventory. Thankfully I was able to pass this duty on to another parent, and more importantly, move over to the position of Assistant Scoutmaster.
I enjoyed the rank review boards I did while on committee, including three Eagle Scout review boards, but I needed to be an ASM to help train and lead the Scouts in realtime.
Being on the committee meant I couldn’t sign-off knowledge requirements for the Scouts, which left me very little to do on most camps. Any Submariner will tell you that feeling useless is not a good position to be in.
So far my adventures include a subzero winter camp and a pleasantly warm and beautiful summer camp in northern Georgia. Plus, two weeks ago my son and I completed an event called the Order of the Arrow Ordeal. We were elected by our peers into Scouting America’s National Honor Society. It was a weekend of minimal physical comforts and a challenging service project for the camp hosting us. By the Grace of God it was two nights of perfect camping out under Hill Country stars.
Writing in speculative fiction is fun with the “I was right” moments. Conversely real-world events can put a big wrench in the story. Originally, Leviathan was supposed to have a thread involving Britain. During the initial stages I read a spy novel that also involved the royal family. They put an author’s note reinforcing ‘“that the story was fiction and meant no disrespect to the passing of the previous monarch.” I chose a different path and rewrote several chapters to move the focus to the other side of Europe – but that is not to say the story still does not make connections to olde world noble families.
As I alluded to at the beginning, I am firmly in the “Dad Taxi” stage of life – activities, Church, parties, Youth Church, and a digital calendar chock-full of other appointments all add up quickly. The leadership skills the boy has learned in the last year are lessons many adults don’t experience. All the kids are blessed to go to an enriching school and have great friends and support groups, so I can’t complain (as long as the kindle stays charged!)
I also completed the daunting task of becoming a PMI-certified Project Management Professional. This journey lasted almost ten years. A former director steered me towards this path because it would be far more beneficial than finishing an electrical engineering degree. Because I work for a European company, the classes required weeks of 05:00 to 08:00 and 02:00 to 05:00 classes. Taking the final exam on a Monday evening was not a good decision, but I passed it solidly the second time on a Thursday afternoon. If you’ve seen “The Miracle,” I was doing my best Herb Brooks impression on the way to the elevator.
After all that, writing is still a passion of mine. Writing chooses you, not the other way around. I am working on the final tweaks to Leviathan. Plus, Texian Armada #4 will not take years to complete. I can’t thank you all enough for the past support and your continued patience. I am looking forward to Cam’s many future adventures I get to share with you.
Take Care and God Bless,
Brandon