[Forward ]

You know how Merry, Pippen and the rest of the Fellowship of the Ring weep when they realize that Frodo likely died on that fiery, cracking apart mountaintop when he destroyed Sauron by dropping the ring into the fiery pit? Well, that's a smidgen of how I felt when the carefully researched and meticulously prepared manuscript for my newest book was zapped out of existence the very moment I sent it by E-mail to my publisher. Endorsed by prominent medical and mental health professionals, the text represented an important milestone for my writing career plus the improved physical and mental health of unknown numbers of potential readers.

A hacker or some sort of malware, still unidentified, destroyed my entire manuscript, somehow turning it into a video file of all things. PC technicians and I could not undo the damage, though we tried repeatedly. I still wonder what benefit anyone perceived by pulling such an odd trick.

But, let's go further into the past of my writing life and learn how the book was prepared for eventual publication and $ales $uccess.

A former public school student who focused on my innate skill at spelling and writing well, I accepted the reality that I found concrete topics such as math and science hard to grasp. Tutors accepted the reality with me, sighing their despair in prayers that I'd find satisfaction in the writing life rather than the hard sciences.

Their hopes were realized beyond expectations. Thriving in the abstract world of imagination left me joyful, motivated and always anticipating new insights. Reveling in the richness of stories, I read books by the hour for fun and personal edification. I paid attention to how different authors wrote: the vocabulary they used and situations they explored. The information gave me a lifetime basis for interesting writing projects and conversations. I listened to feedback from instructors and acquaintances. Their responses alerted me to what captivated someone's attention. I honed my attention span and writing skills to embrace those realities.

I spent my college years feeling like an armchair shrink, analyzing why authors chose their stories, the lessons they wished to share with the world and how the rise of digital media would affect future developments in the fiction and non-fiction world. Yes, I wrote the word "affect" instead of the popular but grammatically incorrect "Impact." Impact is a noun, as in the result of a meteor striking mountaintops (I hope no hard-working writers will be there when it happens). The impact flattens them, or leaves craters for scientists and hikers to explore ever after. Digital media has affected literacy the same way. Language, sociology and intelligence experts are examining the cyber-world's effects on the literary and social landscape. So are other people. Well, now you know why I earned high grades in college. Watch what happens to your mindset as you read this 5-day journey in to my writing life.