Well, after 5 years and over a half million words, the time is finally here. Next week, I will turn over "Shadow of the Thunderbird" to be submitted for consideration of mass publication. My novels currently are produced in trade paperback, a high quality softcover edition. Should it be accepted, "The Cryptids Trilogy" titles will be produced as paperback books accessible at every newstand and grocery store. It would greatly reduce the cost of each novel, and solidify my efforts to become a full-time author. I have received glowing reviews for its earlier incarnations, one of which led to my first novel being required reading at a local college. In turn, I spoke at conferences on the subject of cryptozoology, and organized my own. I was a guest on the highly popular "Bigfoot Central" on Artistfirst.com, and soon became the host of not only that program, but "Paranormal Airwaves", as well. I have a great time speaking with the public on the cubject of hidden animals, writing and publication. My follow-up novel, "Track of the Bigfoot", topped out with a ranking of 2,368 on Amazon, and remains the top-rated book on the subject of Bigfoot and Cryptozoology. I have spread the final volume of my trilogy, "Wake of the Lake Monster", over a 3 year period. Through research and amazing relationships I fostered with experts, I have become as well-versed in sea serpents as Bigfoot and Thunderbirds. I am very excited about my fourth novel, which I will begin as soon as the third novel edits are complete. It will be unlike anything currently available in the genre of cryptofiction, on a scale grander than anything written to date. It can't help but be. The theme and story are naturally still under wraps, but it will follow within a year after the release of "Wake". Although I am not really active in the cryptozoological community any more, I still draw on their talent and expertise on Native legends, historical accounts and eyewitness reports. I have drawn my own conclusions as to the theoretical nature of the creatures described out of time and place. I stand by my scientific approach and avoid fitting a species to a cryptid. My formula involves seeking out a prehistoric megafauna that could account for the sightings of monsters in myth and legend. In other words, if such a creature survived the advent of the last ice age, what animal could fit the descriptions and depictions prevalent in folklore since the dawn of civilization? I research as diligently as my alter ego and protagonist, Ian McQuade. Of course, I have to reach my conclusions first, to allude to the flashes of fin, feather and fur leading my characters out into the wild. If the publisher likes the first book, I will forward the second for consideration, then the third. I am grateful to so many people for their support of me and my creative ambitions. My creativity has stayed with me through the years, manifesting itself in my music, art and writings. Regardless of the outcome, I will pursue this dream along its natural course. We never fail at what we wish to do. More often than not, we simply give up before we succeed. After five years, I have not given up on my belief I can write and sell a good story. I have befriended others who do this for a living, instantly recognizeable to fans of cryptofiction and thriller novels. I can interweave a plot and storyline, solving a mystery while growing the characters in search of the answer to its riddles. I enjoy writing, and know that I have alot to offer. I have already proved it to many readers, and hope to add many, many more in my efforts to entertain and educate on the subject of cryptozoology. There are other things I would like to write about. But for now, I enjoy grand adventure begun long ago in the prehistoric past. I apply the latest technology to uncover the megafauna who found a way into modern times, while managing to avoid man in all his encroachments into the wild. Thank you for making this journey with me. It has been an incredible experience, and I number a broad readership among academics, professionals, students and laymen. I thank all of you for your emails, phone calls, participation in my conference appearances and radio shows. Again, I can't predict the outcome, except that I will move on from one prospective agent and publisher to the next, until my vision becomes theirs. I know what I have accomplished, and what it has come to mean to so many. All I am looking to do now, is to expand its scope and lengthem its appeal to include an even greater audience. I do all I can through promotion and maintaining a popular web site. The rest is up to you. After five years, you haven't let me down or left my side yet. I owe you the best novels I can write in the years ahead, and I intend to keep that commitment, for as long as I am able to hold your interest. Keep the faith, and tell your friends! ~D.L.

After nearly five years, I am proud to say that the third and final edition of my first novel, "Shadow of the Thunderbird", is complete. It is 40 pages longer, the basic story embeliished without changing any fact or detail. It suffered only from the nuances of editorial mishandling. It troubled me so much that I determined I would not promote my second novel, "Track od the Bigfoot", or complete my third, "Wake of the Lake Monster", until the minor discrepancies my first novel contained were rectified. I am pleased to say that my current editor, whose creative and technical influence made such a success out of my Bigfoot novel, shone through in my thunderbird novel. On Monday, March 5th, I will turn SOTT over to my publisher. I am grateful for the many readers my initial title has brought me, as well as the accolades that put me up with many mainstream authors seeking to write in the genre of cryptofiction. Unfortunately for some, it takes one to know one. The science and research that goes into each novel involves sometimes a year of field work and study. I am determining the nature and origin of my subject cryptid, along with my alter ego in "The Cryptids Trilogy", Ian McQuade. I am lauded as much for my expertise, as my writings. Those looking for the extrapolation of known facts to determine the nature of the beast from Native legends, historical accounts and eyewitness sightings, have yet to be disappointed my estimation of the undiscovered animal responsible for these reports. I enjoy writing about animals out of place or time, in the genre of cryptofiction on the topic of cryptozoology, the study of hidden animals. It is not the onbly subject matter that interests me, but it does pose a greater challenge than any other area of the paranormal. It is easier, I think, to write about ghosts and UFOs, when no one really knows the nature of them. They will not be caught, and to be approached by them deals with traumatic experiences of abduction or possession. I prefer a good adventure story, based on myths and legends and the monsters that populate them. Whether I always write about cryptids or not, it willl remain a favorite subject of mine. I am so glad for those of you that continue to seek me out, and inquire about the release of my next novel. As much as I hate to predict the future, I will begin the final edits of "Wake of the Lake Monster" the second week of March. I hope to release it before Labor day, 2007. After that, I have an even more epic novel in mind. I can't say much about it right now, except that it would make one incredible video game. I have always been a very visual, emotionally passionate writer. I see a story as writing itself on the screen of my mind. I sit back and let the characters become involved in the plot, while I give them a storyline through which to grow. I am not now as in demaden as I was three years ago, when I was attending or organizing conferences, hosting or guesting on radio shows, or conductiong investigations. In many ways, I prefer the anonymity. I am well known, and well-connected, with many in the brotherhood of cryptozoologists. I make the subject palatable to the uninitiated, but including all that I can in relation to the subject matter. I have many, many faithful readers, who are waiting to see how Ian and Alma fare in their final adventure together. I am so grateful to have had you there. Writing a novel is long, lonely work usually conducted in the quiet hours between dusk and dawn. I have a family, and writing is not my career, yet. Most authors do other things to supplement their income as authors, waiting for the big break that will launch their careers to the next level. I have had many choice experiences, between meeting or interviewing my idols in the field, working with talented experts you may never heard of, and working to preserve iconic landmarks and vehicles used to study the creatures of myth and legend in their native habitats. Until you and I can actually see a thunderbird soar through the skies, a Bigfoot trudge through dense forest, or lake monsters traverse ocean, river or loch, do the next best thing. Curl up with a good book on the subject, and let you imagination fill the gape between what is, and what could be. Somewhere in the middle, I hope to stake my claim, and give you a place you can always come to learn and enjoy. I believe that if I succeed at one, I will surely never fail at the other. Until next time, read on and learn what others have discovered for themselves... Here there be Monsters! D.L.