After an "eventful" last few days over the New Year (you can read all about it in the comments in Chapter 7 of Medellin), I got such a nice surprise this morning when I saw the 2025 reading stats, especially that Swing for the Fences was the #2 most recommended story of 2025, and ranked in the Top 10 in eleven different categories. Even Medellin made the Top 2 in two different categories, and it's barely gotten started yet. Of course, many, many, many thanks to my readers and "fans" for all their support and the little community they've built, and to everyone who has gained something from what I have written. I've gotten some amazing emails sharing very personal and beautiful stories and memories that Swing for the Fences has evoked, or how it has touched someone's life or heart, or inspired them in some way. Reading that kind of feedback makes it all worth it.

As for a writing update, I had ten days off over the past two weeks, and it was supposed to be dedicated solely to writing. Unfortunately, that didn't go to plan. I finished Chapter 25 of Stealing Home, which is the longest (so far), and one of the most important (if not THE most important). Then there is Extra Innings: Noah, which I have been working on for quite a while. Eventually, I had to scrap the short-story format because it covers an entire year of Noah's life, and my arc/spine just wasn't "right" in that format, so now we have a three-part novella instead. It will still be included in the Extra Innings category, just in three separate parts, and I hope to start posting them very, very soon (like this week, and I won't make you wait more than 24 hours or so between parts).

As for my latest Reading Recommendations, I have gone back and started re-reading the works of Hans Schreiber. The formatting on Nifty as viewed on my Kindle Fire makes his stories very challenging to read, but you can also read a few of the better ones on the IOMFATS site. I would say my favorites are definitely Rock and a Hard Place, Affair of a Foreign Nature, and Val 'N Tyne. He has many others, though, and I haven't yet read them all because of the formatting challenges with Nifty.