Yes, I'm very well aware that it's Veteran's Day today and not yet Thanksgiving, but turkey day will be here before I'm ready for it, so I'm going to post this now while it's fresh.

Don't get me wrong, though. I am very thankful for the veterans in my life. Growing up as a military brat, I understand very well the sacrifices made for family and country. So I'd like to give a shoutout to the veteran who influenced my life the most--my dad. Thanks for everything, Dad. So many of the details in my stories come from the experiences I've gained from bouncing around the US and the world and having the opportunities to explore my interests. And my family was always right there with me. You guys are the best.

So... Custom-built Family, one of the stories up on my Free Reads page, has been updated, expanded a bit, and features a pretty new cover. Christmas Cogs is the next one to get a makeover and will be forthcoming in the next few weeks. If you'd rather read over on Wattpad, I've posted it there as well.

I'm so grateful for everyone who's supported me and my writing journey over the past several years. Creativity is an ever-evolving process and I'm always amazed by the progress that can be made in a short amount of time. I'm convinced that no piece of art is ever truly finished and the fact that I still find things to tweak after I deem something 'done' just underscores that belief. I like to think that at least my art is getting better as it evolves and I hope others get the same enjoyment out of it that I do.

In case I don't have a chance to update again before the holiday, I wish all of my American friends a very Happy Thanksgiving. And for those not celebrating a 'stuff your face' day, I raise my glass to you too. Thanks for reading.

In redesigning my site, I remembered that I have several short stories that aren't quite suitable for the Free Reads page. So, I've decided to put them up on Wattpad for people to enjoy. I posted the first chapter of Forbidden today and will upload subsequent chapters weekly until it's complete.

These first few stories I have to share are older ones, so if they sound familiar to you, then you may have read them before. I am, however, editing each of them as they're posted, for clarity, voice, and simply because my style has evolved over the years I've been publishing and I'd like to give these a proper dust-off. They're all getting new artwork, though, so check that out at least.

Forbidden is a story from the world of Syndraya and my Legend of the Grimoire series. It's the bittersweet tale of a teenage William Hannigan's first love and his struggle to find his true self in a country where same-gender partnerships are illegal. It's quite literally a story of forbidden love, full of the emotion and drama that Mr. Hannigan embodies so well. William is one of my oldest characters (very literally), so it was interesting to explore the past of one of the voices who's been with me from the beginning. I hope everyone enjoys it.

Thanks, as always, for reading.