Dear Friends, Greetings for the feasts of All Saints and All Souls as well — remembering that we all have an eternal destiny, and praying that our lives on earth will pave the way to an everlasting journey in glory and blessedness. Catholics dedicate this month to intercession on behalf of those who have died.  We believe that no one enters heaven without being prepared, and that this preparation begins on earth, but continues in the afterlife.  Many other Christians (though not all, sadly) — above all the Eastern Orthodox — also believe in the importance of praying for the deceased.  When my time comes, I’ll appreciate any intercessions offered on my behalf!

I’m finishing the manuscript now for “Dear Gabriel”, Books 1 and 2.  What began as a 200 to 300 page adventure will be far longer.  By next summer, I plan to have finished three volumes, all with the same title.  Hopefully, Book 1 will be out by the end of this year.  You’ll understand why I amplified the project when you read the book.

As you can see from the Upcoming Books page and the last four Gallery photographs, my proposal for “Called to be a Father” has received very positive support from a variety of experts in publishing, promotions, and marketing.  So I’ll begin that project as soon as Books 1 and 2 of Dear Gabriel are finalized.

“Another Kind of Father” will probably come out before “Called to be a Father”, since I’m living that saga right now and have all the material at my fingertips, without having to dig out all the archives.  Before long, I won’t have so much physical space to spread out so many journals, articles, and pieces of art.  My clock is ticking on organizing all that will be necessary.

I appreciate your prayers and your patronage of these books as well.  What good is it to write, if only the angels read your books?  They know the material already, anyway.

ps:  Let’s keep Bishop Blaire of the Stockton Diocese in prayer.  He suffered a bad fracture to his lower leg and will be convalescing, it appears, for three months.

God bless you all,  Dean.