I’ve done a few readings to promote my short story collection and all the events end with the same question: “what are you writing next?”

It’s a fair question and I have a measured and non-committal response about a forthcoming essay collection on fatherhood. It’s not finished yet but I’m excited to write it … one day. It took so long to write the first book that it’s hard to imagine a sequel. Or maybe the second one will be easier because there’s a roadmap now. Here I go again, venturing into a hypothetical future that I’m not even currently pursuing. 

The truth is that I feel immense satisfaction after the publication of Hands. The goal was always to publish a book, not multiple volumes. I’ve been engulfed in a cloud of calm once that boyhood dream was achieved last month. I no longer feel the obsessive urge to check my email for rejections, do one more re-read of everything overnight, or constantly jot down notes to incorporate into a story later. All the nuisances of writing evaporated instantly. The work was done. It was okay to rest now. 

But I once feared that I’d never achieve this peace after publication. I was surrounded by professional careers that didn’t result in serenity. CM Punk still seems disgruntled after main eventing Wrestlemania, Bret Hart is still mad about everything, and Kevin Durant still hasn’t figured out what he wants. 

One of my all-time favorite articles is Zach Lowe’s Kevin Durant stands apart among all-time greats, which was published in 2018. The article explores Durant’s up-and-down journey after winning his first championship:

Both Kerr and Nash saw the drifting start over the summer, after Durant realized his first championship would not complete his life — or silence every critic. He didn’t work as often with Nash, or as productively, as planned.

“He didn’t have a great summer,” Nash says. “He was searching for what it all meant. He thought a championship would change everything, and found out it doesn’t. He was not fulfilled. He didn’t work out as much as he normally does.”

This is crippling. I’m lucky that I don’t feel this way. I feel the opposite of Kevin Durant. I can’t believe this happened for me. I was on the verge of tears when my 4- and 2-year-old were in the audience at my last reading, I sipped wine on stage at one reading and a beer at another. I was drinking and talking about my book with others. It’s impossible for things to be any better. 

I’m not done writing. I still have a lot left in the tank. But the pressure of writing, or chasing an unfulfilled dream, has definitely subsided. I feel free and excited to explore what comes next on the page.  And this moment, right now, as I write this, as you read this, was worth the decades-plus journey that it took to get here. Let’s forget about what comes next, just for a little bit.

Upcoming Events and Workshops:

May 26 | 6 p.m. MTN | Tattered Cover: In conversation with Luke Goebel, author of Kill Dick.

May 31 | 5 p.m. MTN | Online: Join Kundiman Mountain West Chair JM Huck and me to celebrate the launch of his collection in this reading/Q&A.

June 7 | 4 p.m. MTN | The Shop at MATTER: Celebrate the launch of my short story collection with a workshop on writing dialogue. Why is it so hard to say the right thing to the right person on the page? Discover the intricacies of writing clear and effective dialogue in this interactive workshop. 

June 13 | 1:30 p.m. | Litfest at Lighthouse Writers: WWE Hall-of-Famer Scott Hall famously said, “Bad times don’t last, but bad guys do.” Is it true that bad characters last longer in our imaginations than the good ones? This workshop will examine common character tropes in fiction and nonfiction, as well as the mandate that characters can (or should?) change over the course of the story.

More information on future events in Chicago, Fort Collins, and Happy Valley coming soon!

Order Hands on Bookshop or Amazon. Or better yet, request it from your local bookstore or library!