You deserve an explanation; that is, if you have been reading my blog posts during the past couple years. It has been about three weeks since I posted a new blog entry. The gaps like this have been growing over recent months. You could justifiably be wondering whether that Hagemeyer guy has run out of things to say. And perhaps you noted the thoughts I share tended toward the more somber things of life. I apologize if you felt let down.
I originally intended to write a blog once a week. I don’t want to make a new commitment to doing that, like a church member you haven’t seen for months who says, “Yeah, I think I’ll be back more often.” You know it might simply be polite conversation intended to temporarily please someone who’s asking. Rather, I want to let you know some of what has been going on with me. I have not been ill, or experiencing “writers’ block.” But I have turned my energies to other writing projects.
If you are interested in the historical fiction posted on my website, titled “Pioneer Hagemeyer Family Stories” or similar titles, you will find only thirteen chapters posted. But in fact, there are now over thirty chapters finished, but not posted. To complete their story, I aim to write about my grandparents’ life from 1900 to 1950, and it looks like I am only half way through. Those stories are coming along well, but I am not going to publish them online. This project may be of interest to historical fiction publishers, so I don’t want to release it online. However, if you enjoy those stories and want to be an “advance reader,” write to me at stanh79@gmail.com and tell me. Then I will send you the first thirty chapters, and you can comment if you wish to help me improve them. And I will send you more as they are finished, if you like. I’ve also been writing another extended work of fiction, about 80,000 words so far, and it also appears to be some distance from finished. I’m not sure if that piece will ever become public. Sorry. But that tells you I have not been asleep in a rocking chair.
I also write short fiction stories from time to time that I have not yet released. I often bring them to the local writers’ club for review and improvement. If you are interested, you can request them, too. So here I am, explaining, and you might think bragging, but I want to let you know what’s going on in my writing life. The Covid 19 pandemic may have also affected my focus in some way I don’t yet understand. That is something for all of us to think about. How has it affected you, how you relate to others, how you go about using your time, how you work, and how you think?
Now to next week’s blog. In the last two weeks I have had two extended retreats! Each was about three days long, but they were two completely different ways of retreating. I’ll tell you about them in a few days in my next blog. I can’t promise I will write a blog every week, but I will share something every time I think it might be worth your while to read. Besides, I will respond to any comments or questions you share with me. That would be enjoyable.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17 (TNIV)
© 2021 Stanley Hagemeyer