“What’s next?” is always a conundrum for a writer settling on a new project. There isn’t ever a correct answer.

I’m the type of writer who always has several irons in the fire with a few others simmering in the periphery. The year of the pandemic has placed its mark on my writing tasks in various ways. As I ponder what’s next, let’s review what has happened so far.

When we locked down starting on March 9 and my theatre teaching went virtual, I found myself with crevices of time I didn’t previously have. That was just about the time that they wiped out the baseball season, which I was so looking forward to . I even remarked to a friend that at the very least I’ll be able to watch MLB in a couple weeks. Ahhh, no.

But baseball was on my mind, so I used those unexpected down times to write the baseball novel I had always wanted a write. A Diamond for Her is its newly chosen title. I used my spring break and May break to power through and finish this novel in record time. It’s my longest novel to date, also. And I absolutely love it, if I’m allowed to be a little biased. It’s on track for an April 2021 release. I had accomplished my summer writing goal before I even reached summer. Now what?

Summer happened. I was able to get a flight back to the states in late June, and I settled into my summer home packed full of my kids also feeling the effects of canceled travel because of Covid. With my writing goal accomplished, I just rested. Worked around the house. Played with that adorable grandson of my. Cooked new dishes on the grill. It was refreshing, truly. For the first time in nearly ten years, I didn’t write in the summer.

in July, I received an email from one of the managers of the Gallery Players’ theatre in Brooklyn. I had previously had two of my plays as part of their Black Box Festivals in the past. She was looking for new scripts that could be performed over Zoom. Theatre and Zoom do not mix. It’s a terrible combination. A tiny screen with poor sound and bad internet connection cannot even approximate a tenth of the impact of having a live audience. It’s terrible. I know. I teach theatre on Zoom. (I do my best and we have fun. But it’s not the same. You know what I mean.) I told her that writing a Zoom play probably wouldn’t motivate me. But I was wrong. Shortly after I wrote her, I got inspired to write “Covid Chips,” a short play about a bar owner, who’s trying to navigate the crazy Covid rules coming out of Albany. It didn’t take long at all to write it. I wrote it specifically for Zoom and sent it off to her. Well, they picked it up and made it part of their new festival coming up in January 2021. That’s really cool. I hope it turns out well. I’ll post the link here for sure.

I finally made it back to my school-year home in Jeddah in early October. It’s been a busy transition as I continue teaching full time.

But today I finally took a breath and posed that question to myself: what’s next?

I guess I’m ready to write again.

Here are my options:

• An alternate history Vietnam War novel I’ve been toying with. I’ve even written the first chapter.
• A sequel to the baseball novel I just wrote. I am intrigued by this possibility if I can find the right plot trajectory.
• A police romance novel I have been stewing about for several years.
• There might even be a fourth book tagged on to The Forgotten Child Trilogy. My brain has given me some ideas.
• Anything else?

On top of that, I started compiling a book of 1-minute monologues. I have a long way to go with this one, and no matter what novel approach I choose, this will be my side project. I have various other play projects to get back to at some time as well.

What to chose? Which path to follow?

I guess I’ll let you know soon.