I’ve been getting a lot of George R. R. Martin-style ribbing for the time it’s taking to finish the sequel to The Book of Paul, tentatively titled The Dead Mask. Reasons for the delay? Quite a few. Some health issues (involving surgery, mismanagement of same, and ugly recovery road bumps). Some family issues (due to the complete lack of educational opportunities in the public and private school sectors, we have had to homeschool our brilliant but woefully underestimated autistic daughter). Mostly though, Paul had to take a back seat (a very uncomfortable position for those who know Paul) to The Dream Palace series, my middle-grade fantasy adventure series.

So in thanks for your patience and support, here’s a chapter from The Dead Mask. It was hard to select spoiler-proof pages for those who haven’t read The Book of Paul, but for those who have, this chapter should provide a wince and chuckle. I’ll be posting a preview of The Dream Palace soon.