The sequel to End of the Past is nearly finished and Parts One and Two will be released this year. The first book is scheduled to release sometime in March, but the exact date is tentative.

As excited as I am about continuing the series, there are several other projects I’ve been working on in the meantime. While it’s not possible to publish them through my publisher at this time (since I’m focusing resources on Disparia), I still want to share them with everyone.

Beginning a little later this year I’m going to start uploading all of my stories to my website for anyone and everyone to read for free. Some of the short stories will be uploaded in a single post, while others will be chapter by chapter on a regular basis. I encourage you to read, share, and discuss the works with anyone and everyone you can. PDF copies of the stories will be available if you prefer reading on a phone or tablet (you will need to let me know personally). I love writing; I couldn’t live without it. But I don’t just write for myself. Writing is a way of communicating, sharing, and connecting with friends and family, and I want to share my work and ideas with you.

Here are a few of the stories you can expect to find:

1. A novel-length autobiography.
2. A reworked and expanded version of the creative sample I used for my graduate school application. A few of you have read this already—it’s absurd, creepy, heartwarming, and a little alarming (in other words, it’s the perfect story).
3. Several short stories that I finished long ago that have never been released that relate to Disparia.
4. Updates to some of my stories written in college.

I am most excited about the autobiography. For now, I’m not going to discuss all of the details, but want to at least introduce it.

The autobiography is going to cover all the major events from my childhood until the present. The information and stories will be familiar to some, but many things will be new to even my closest friends and family.

For the past 25 years or so I have struggled daily with severe depression, anxiety, and manic episodes likely related to bipolar disorder. Growing up, an elementary school teacher told my grandma during parent/teacher conference that I would never amount to anything in life because I was struggling to focus on school due to my dad’s illness, who then passed away when I was 16. I barely graduated from high school, nearly dropped out of college because of panic attacks and depression, lost my business and money to bank fraud, filed for bankruptcy at 25, was hit by a car while riding my bike, had my former publisher breach his contract and stop selling my books leaving me without an income, and helped Linda through layoffs and graduate school…among other things. The autobiography is a chronological look at my life viewed through the lens of mental disorders and how it has affected my daily life and my long-term goals, including what I’ve learned from decades of counseling and therapy. It’s an intimate, deep, and difficult journey that I hope you can all draw inspiration and insight from.

Eventually the autobiography will be published and for sale, but consider this an early access look at a work in progress, complete with a few grammatical mistakes and other visible parts of the writing process.

All things considered, it’s going to be a busy year as far as publishing goes, and I hope my friends, family, and fans find joy in reading what I have to offer. Look for more info coming soon and I hope you all enjoy!

A big thank you to everyone who joined in for the special Author/Publisher AMA episode of Building FreePort. For those of you who missed the show live make sure to catch up with all past episodes on YouTube, or watch below.

I want to announce a special Twitch stream event on Friday, May 26th at 6:00 PM Mountain time. As part of the Building FreePort series I will be having a live AMA (ask me anything) special with the owner of Glass Spider Publishing, Vince Font. In addition to being an editor and publisher, Vince authored the critically acclaimed book “American Sons: The Untold Story of the Falcon and the Snowman,” which received international exposure through CNN and the BBC. During the stream Vince will join via skype and together we will be answering any and all questions you might have relating to writing, editing, publishing, and books in general.

Whether you want some advice on how to get into the industry, you have a couple of questions about how to write a great college essay, you want to know what you can expect from a career in journalism, or you have any other questions about writing, this is your chance to ask the experts.

I encourage each and every one of you to take advantage of this amazing opportunity to speak directly with published authors and a publisher. Our combined experience covers just about every facet of the writing and publishing industry, and no matter what your goals are this event will be worth experiencing.

All you need to do to join the stream is create a profile on Twitch, follow the link to the Disparia Books channel, and ask away. I will be posting more information in the coming weeks here as well as creating an official event. Be sure to look for more. Thanks everyone, I hope to see you then!

–Bonn

Weekly Fact Sheet Week 13-Flight

Number of successful heavier than air flights: 0

Number of official programs or groups developing a flying machine: 18

Deaths directly related to failed flying machines: Hundreds or more.

Types of non-powered/lighter than air flying machines: Balloons, rigid gliders, and pendulums.

Longest flight in each type of non-powered/lighter than air machine: 507 miles by Walter C. Peabody in 221 EM, seven miles by Emilie Shaucoup, and 500 feet by numerous thrill seekers at the Golden Carnival.

Highest elevation achieved by each type of non-powered/lighter than air machine: 6,200 feet by Walter C. Peabody in 219 EM, 4,800 feet from takeoff location and roughly 8,000 feet above sea level (from the Cliffs of Gent) by Johannas Hecksburg, and 800 feet by numerous thrill seekers at the Golden Carnival.

Estimated date by which humans will be able to fly: According to most, 260 EM. According some more daring individuals a successful flying machine will be available before the end of the decade.

Though project Deep Blue is capturing the hearts and attention of the nation, many people believe the best way to pierce the Half World Effect is not underwater but above the clouds. Because of this, and humanity’s inborn desire to soar like a bird, there has been a recent push to develop a working heavier than air flying machine.

Gliders, lighter than air vehicles, and other creations have allowed humans to rise into the air and soar, albeit for short periods of time and at the mercy of the winds. While these brief forays into the unknown have revolutionized science and extreme rides alike, they are nowhere near what one would consider continued and controlled flight.

The major problems preventing humans from flight are twofold. First, studying and understanding the nature of bird and insect wings is incredibly difficult. Though image capture devices are more advanced and easier to use than ever, employing them to document and record the subtle and quick movements of a bird’s wings is almost impossible. Insect wings, which are typically much quicker than bird wings, are even more difficult to understand. Second, while electric and magi powered engines work well in motorcarts as the electrical power can easily turn gears which in turn rotate shafts connected to tires, it is unclear how, if at all, that rotational energy can be used to power flight. And though many motor companies are working on engines that can provide power to wings, those advances are largely handicapped by the slow progress of understanding animal wings to begin with.

Despite the two major hurdles, millions of mig are spent each year on developing technologies that will allow humans to freely soar through the skies. And though the flight industry is nowhere near as large as the motorcart industry or the ever-expanding rail industry, enough people are focusing on the goal that it is very likely some form of flying machine will take to the skies within the next decade.

It should be noted that none of the teams associated with project Deep Blue are working on flying machines. While some are using wing or floating technology to assist their designs, none are actually working on a dedicated flying machine itself.

There will be no Weekly Fact Sheet this week or the following week. Look for the latest Fact Sheets along with the YouTube series and media events coming early 2017. Thanks for all of your support and see you next year!

–Bonn