2/2/24
Works in Progress Update
Far Hills, NJ

Simpson Books published the Third Edition of Middle Class American White Boy back in early January. Available in Hardcover, Softcover, E-editions, and for the first time the entire collection can be found on Audible as an Audio Book narrated by the Author.

Wham Bam Stories by Simpson, my collection of short short stories is about to be recast by iHeart Radio as The 10-Minute Storyteller with new recordings and additional stories. Look for it starting later this month wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

I’ve made significant progress on Elizabeth’s War, the first volume of my American trilogy, though the last volume to be written. Elizabeth’s War covers the years from approximately 1774-1830. Annie’s War (published in 2011) covers the years from 1830-1920. And Mary’s War covers the years from 1920-2020. Mary’s War needs another draft or two before publication, perhaps later this year or in 2025.

I have recently completed the first 25,000 words of Sixth Son: The Journeyman Storyteller, which might evolve into a memoir; we’ll see how the tides turn. It ain’t easy to be dead honest, especially for a novelist.

I’ve resurrected an old manuscript about my golfing days: Who Says Bogey Ain’t Par? It’s light and amusing, and adds some diversity to my nonfiction collection. I may publish it later this year, especially if I can convince my old buddy Buckley, an excellent amateur golfer, to come aboard.

Back in the fall of 2023 I finished Guy and Jo: A Hollywood Love Story. It’s a murder mystery but with a contemporary love story at its core. There are some mainstream publishers considering it but if these don’t pan out, I’m sure Simpson Books will publish it in 24 or 25.

The Colored Kid awaits publication. As does The Capricious Rhythms of Love. And Summer of Love: A Day in the Life of Henry Goodfellow, Poet.

These novels have gone through countless drafts. But somehow I just can’t let them go. I’m holding on for dear life. Especially A Day in the Life of Henry Goodfellow. I love Henry and his family and his crazy in-laws and the big old beach house on Elizabeth Island and Henry’s wild take on the world and his place in it. I take enormous pleasure in digging into the manuscript and working to make every character pop, every scene memorable, every sentence entertaining.

A lucky man indeed whose work and play are one and the same thang.