The Notebook

Among the more conscientious writing community, there is a general rule not to preach at your audience.  Even if your character is literally a preacher, no one wants to read a word-for-word transcript of your most recent Sunday sermon.  Small excerpts or arguments may be appropriate, but don't lecture your reader for the sake of lecturing.  Allegory works better than proselytizing when tackling larger issues.

For fans of The Lone Wolf trilogy, you know that this trilogy is the most serious series.  Not to say that there isn't any humor or light-hearted moments, but there is far greater spiritual depth involved, to say nothing of the physical strife that's going on.

Lone Wolf (The Lone Wolf #3) is by far going to be the heaviest of the three and perhaps the heaviest of all books in The Timekeeper Chronicles.  And as I transition from broad strokes to a more fine-tooth comb, I found myself wondering if it is, in fact, too heavy, maybe a little too on-the-nose in terms of some of the ideas I am trying to convey.

Something I read once said that if you have to force an analogy, it's probably shit and shouldn't be included.  If it can't be massaged in, leave it out.  Or, as one of my more crude friends likes to say, if you have to force a fart, it's probably a poop.

Then I stop to consider the state of things in the general public square.  No one wants to be challenged, not really.  No one wants to hear a different opinion; they want to hear their opinion coming out of your mouth.  They want familiarity, security, a sense that everything is just fine, or that fine is just around the corner.  Then everything will be normal again.

And this goes for everyone, myself included, although I did have an odd thought while in the grocery store today.  I almost kind of missed Covid and the lockdowns.  Understand, I never complied.  I never wore a mask, I did not stand 6' apart, I didn't do any of it.  Now, I didn't go breaking into stores that were closed, but if I could physically do something, I did.  I lost my job, my church, a lot of friends.  But for as oppressive as things were, especially in Michigan, it was remarkably liberating.  Finally, things were clear.  But now, here we are, and it's almost business as usual again.  Yeah, you still have an occasional halfwit who's masked and gloved, but things have just...moved on.

The irony is that I cannot in any conscience advocate for lockdowns of any kind, or anything that happened.  Perhaps my frustration comes from the knowledge that, for just a few shining moments, the enemy had revealed himself, but has since faded back into the background.  Like a boss fight in a video game where you only have a very short window where you can actually do some damage before going back on the defensive for a long period.

So, coming back to Lone Wolf, I decided that this book will remain the heaviest.  General proofing and editing aside, it's not going to change.  It must be the way it is.  Some people will be offended, but I hope it also gives readers a lot to think about, in terms of the unseen realm and the machinations of the universe and time itself.  It might also shed some light on events in other books, give readers a new perspective.

That's all I got.  I hope it's enough.