I had, shall we say, a rather unique month of July 2025.

Early in the month, I started writing the rough draft of my next novel, CALEB’S REIGN. This will mark the third and final entry in my epic werewolf trilogy. I’m looking forward to writing this, but I’ve lived with these characters every day since 2020. I want to move on to other things and tell other stories. I’m getting antsy to move on with my art, but I cannot in good conscience do that until I finish this trilogy and complete this initial phase of my writing career.

Then July 15 happened.

In the early morning of July 15, I experienced a medical emergency. As I turned in my chair to get up and go make coffee, I was gobsmacked with intense and prolonged vertigo that was so bad I could not walk. It gave me motion sickness like I’ve never had, and I’m a retired sailor. Between 0730 when it began and 0900 when the paramedics arrived (I called 911 on myself), I threw up a total of seven different times – including three times that was nothing but dry heaves.

They took me to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Gig Harbor, one of the finest facilities in Northwest Washington. A CT scan showed an occluded vertebral artery and evidence of my having a stroke. So, they admitted me, then did an MRI, which is more sensitive and more definitively diagnostic than a conventional CT. Turns out the stroke was a lacunar stroke to my right cerebellum, the part of the brain that handles (among other things) balance and proprioception. But it was an “old” stroke. The scar tissue was healed over, so there’s no way to pinpoint when in the past my stroke occurred.

After several more tests and a long, detailed conversation with my doctor, we determined that my poorly controlled high blood pressure had contributed to the occlusion, which led to my stroke, and in turn, fed my high blood pressure even more. We also determined that my vertigo (and the nausea and vomiting) was caused by damage to my vestibular nerve in my middle and inner ear. And the cause of the nerve damage? Radiation treatments for my Stage 4 cancer eleven years ago.

Cancer – the gift that keeps on giving.

Long story short, we figured stuff out, got it under control, put me on some new medicines including another BP med and a blood thinner, then got me scheduled for follow ups and some specialty care over the next several months.

Needless to say, his has put a bit of a crimp in my writing schedule. I have pressed on and continued to work as best I can. But I have to work around these new limitations. And that’s the important part. Pick myself up and keep moving forward.

Regardless whether these health challenges prove to be temporary or permanent, I WILL finish and publish CALEB’S REIGN. I owe it both to myself and to my fans. The release date I originally set for myself is October 2026. As of right now, I think I can stick to that schedule as long as nothing else happens to me. But I will need to crank out at least 1200-1500 words per day to finish the rough draft before year’s end and be editing/revising by New Years.

I’ve experienced bouts of dizziness and vertigo ever since my radiation treatments. Only now, they’re much more frequent. Since my right vestibular nerve is perpetually pissed off at me now, it makes sense. So, I ordered some canes this morning. They arrive tomorrow. But these are not just regular canes, oh no. Perish the thought! True to my own funky bohemian sense of style, the three canes/ walking sticks are themselves each a work of art. One top is a wolf’s head, one is a functional brass compass, and one adjusts to become a working telescope.

And that’s the lesson, my friends. That’s the takeaway. Find a way to turn the bad in your life into good. Turn a setback into forward progress, a defeat into victory. I am reminded of a scene in the movie, ROCKY BALBOA (2006, written and directed by Sylvester Stallone) where Rocky is talking to his son: “It ain’t about how hard you can hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. THAT’S HOW WINNING IS DONE!”.

I agree with this assessment. People who are successful at ANYTHING are compelled to keep moving forward. They know that if they don’t, then just like a Great White shark, they will sink to the bottom and die.

I want to keep being successful in both my work and my life for as long as I possibly can.

Take the hits and keep moving forward, my friends.