It has been a very long, very involved summer. I completed no less than two classic collections for my publishing venture, Trilogus Books. One is a two volume collection of all 15 of L. Frank Baum's "Wizard of Oz" books. I am proud to say that the pair outsell all other compilation sets combined, by a margin of two to one. I followed it up with an equally ambitious, 2 volume set of all the published works of Edgar Allen Poe, complete with over 70 black and white pen and ink, water color, oil and engraved illustrations. It wasn't until I actually finished that I discovered there are other collections already available, as well. The advantage of mine, as with the "The Complete Oz" books, is that they are produced in an 8" x 10" inch format. Nearly all others are over 800 pages in length in a 6" x 9" format, with quality sacrificed for the sake of quantity. I will do other classic compilations as well, interspersed with adding more present day novelists to Trilogus. Currently, I have two authors, with a third under consideration. The father and son writing team of Tuklo and Brandon Nashoba combine for some of the most interesting paranormal novels I have come across in some time. Tuklo's first title for us is "The Dark Side of the Dream", while Brandon offers up the first in a series of vampyre tales, "Blood Lines". As ever, the magnificent Billye McCarty handles all the editing duties of grammar and continuity. It is her deft hand that is all over "The Cryptids Trilogy". At the beginning of summer, there were potential opportunities unlike anything I had previously experienced in conjunction with my writings. The college where I lecture is working to establish a professorship for me in a year-long course based on my trilogy of cryptofiction novels. While I am still hopeful the English Department is still endeavoring to arrange the funding, it will now have to be in the Winter Quarter, after the first of the year. As I let many of you know, a major literary agency spent 6 weeks going through the manuscripts for my novels. They were intrigued by the subject matter and very complimentary, but in the end, said my stories just didn't "resonate with them". Curious as to what 'resonated' with their other clientele, I looked up one of their best and brightest online. It turns out these folks specialize in paranormal romance. It seems their current bestseller concerns a demon-possessed dominatrix who uses a cat-o-nine-tails to exorcise her victims. Oh well, I will have to settle for the high road. I prefer the ratings and respect of my peers, than to go after the more gratuitous aspects designed just to sell books. I am doing pretty well in that department, thank you very much. My readers range from teens to college professors, career military officers to housewives. I wouldn't want to put anything in my novels that would detract from the story I have to tell. I am so grateful that I have found such long lasting supporters of my writing and research. I have also begun to host my own radio show, "The Paranomaly Radio Network", Thursday nights at 11:00 PM on Blog Talk Radio. Unlike my days on the wildly popular "Bigfoot Central" and "Paranormal Airwaves" programs on Artist First, where I worked with producer Tom Cousino to interview the biggest names in cryptozoology, I usually just chat with my audience. At first, I wasn't sure anyone was listening, until the downloads of the show's archives topped a hundred the first time. I have a small but steady listenership, and it allows me to add the content under the author page of my web site. What else is new? I have begun working an incredible new topic (for me, at least) into my fourth novel. It again borrows on the popular themes of of historical anomalies, but this time out I am going in search of giants. The Nephilim, to be exact, the ancient biblical giants with a history that parallels our own. Discovery of their writings, remains and artifacts during the excavation of tombs throughout the world, has led to a cover up of these archived relics. Many of the world's largest and most prestigious museums have collected these finds, catalogued and then conveniently lost them in a veritable well of souls. I am already well into the project, incorporating mathematics and cartography based on lines of power converging at the sites of some of history's most intriguing and enigmatic man made structures. I am so grateful to have this opportunity to share the latest news and information with you, in my efforts to become a full-time novelist. I am also working to create my first musical studio release in years, utilizing a number of my 800+ backlog of songs written in a career which began some thirty years ago. I have reached the mid-century mark, but I grow younger every day. I am comfortable in my skin and enjoy life to the fullest. Just ask anyone who knows me. I am having a blast, and love having you along for the ride. If there is ever anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask. There are limits to everything but my time and talents, and they have been yours since the beginning. Until next time, peace and joy. ~ D.L.