As I sit in my favorite chair, drinking coffee and working on my current novel, I realize I’m truly blessed. Although this year has been challenging, I have a loving family, great friends, and a supportive writers group, albeit online for the time being.

Writing never came easy. In fact, it had been elusive. A foreign concept. A path I didn’t start until 2011. Before then I watched movies, played sports, and traveled the world in the Navy.

Being an author is something that always appealed to me, but never took seriously. Then one day back in 2011 a fellow Master Chief, Herb Kelton, challenged me to write a book. At first, I declined. But then the idea sparked a sentence. The sentence evolved into a paragraph which turned into a chapter. Four months later I completed the first draft. Not great, but a start. The second draft looked better, but still not right. Then I got a publisher, woohoo, I’m done, right?

Not even close. They assigned me an editor and the tedious process of change, aka, hell began. After several months of going back and forth the story that formed in my noggin became a polished reality.

I’ve published several more books over the years and endured the same process, albeit a little less painful. As writers, we grow, we learn, we get better. Whatever you’ve accomplished this year, I hope next year is much better.

But as always, I want to thank the men and women in our armed forces, and also the men and women who are firefighters, police, first responders and health care professionals who are on duty when we are with our families. These last few years have been a challenge to all of us and to our country. But think how scary it would have been if there was no one “out there” when we needed them.

I wish you all a very merry and peaceful Christmas and Hanukkah season, and a happy, healthy, prosperous and productive New Year!

James Glass

P.S. If you feel you’ve missed some of my books, you can see them all here. jamesCglass – Gritty Crime Thrillers