Writing During Covid

 I've started work on a new book. Well ... 2 actually. But I can only focus on one at at time so I decided to focus on "What Can't Be Stolen" because I think I'll finish it faster than the other which is tentatively titled "Betrayed by Avarice" and is a Michael Cailen thriller. 

(If you haven't read What Can't Be Bought, I think you're missing out. I really do think it's my best work yet, even though it's not a "thriller". It's filled with plenty of drama and intrigue so you won't be bored and I don't think it's terribly mushy either, but I'll leave that up to you. Ha.)

Anyway, I digress. It feels weird to write a story where no one is wearing a mask and socially distancing. I don't know why it feels weird. It wasn't weird up until a few months ago. It was the norm. Yet still, as I write about my characters sitting at a restaurant, chatting without a care in the world, I can't help but feel like they're doing something wrong and I have to laugh at myself because, a) they're not real and b) it's fantasy anyway. It's just strange to think of how this whole pandemic has changed virtually every aspect of life and even how we think. 

One of my friends asked me if I was going to write a story with coronavirus in it. The answer is, no. Even if we have to deal with this virus for years to come, I strongly feel that my stories should be an escape from reality. While many aspects of my stories are plausible and based on real world, the beauty of them, is that they're not real. The bad guys don't really exist and there are no real victims. I can't really say the same about Covid-19 so, for now anyway, it will not be finding its way into my stories. I prefer to escape reality when I write and imagine my fans feel the same about what they read.

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