July Update

Several months have passed since my last update and I'm long overdue for a new one.

First off, I'd like to thank everyone who has purchased my book. Personally, I never intended this book to be a best seller or to make money off of it. It was written because it was time for me to give life to what I went through and then send my book out into the universe. What happened from there was any one's guess but the book has it's own little life.

In the past few months I reconnected with someone from my high school years and someone from my college days. Both revealed to me the tough times they endured and told me of their own depression and times of suicide.

As a person and a writer it makes me feel good knowing these people from my past but now part of my future. For once I can get into a conversation about it and the other person understands what I'm talking about. I have plenty of friends but unfortunately none of them understand the dark world of depression and suicide and while I have tried to explain it to them there is a major disconnect. So to be able for once in my life to have people truly understand is a wonderful thing.

I haven't given up hope on my other friends but I suspect that a couple of them have been on the dark journey but aren't in a place in their life to talk about it. They may be to scared to admit to themselves or anyone else that they ever were depressed or had thoughts of suicide. Some people like the world of comfort that denial can bring. Then again, we all have secrets that never get told.

As for my second book, I made it through a second re-write but never got around to make the changes to create draft three. I'm very creative in other ways and that has taken up a lot of my time in recent months. I have pledged to get my butt in gear to finish draft three and move on in getting this book published sometime this decade. If all goes well maybe I'll have it out next year. Getting it out by the end of 2008 is pushing it but miracles can happen.

~Maynard