For the second time in my professional life, I’m bidding farewell to a decades-long career.

Nearly 30 years ago, I retired from active military duty and moved on to graduate studies and new pursuits in higher education. This month I bid farewell to my second career as a college professor, course designer, academic advisor, and communications coach. After 24 years focusing on public speaking, interpersonal communication, and organizational dynamics, it’s time to seek new adventures.

And while I have no immediate interest in accepting offers for speaking engagements or teaching, I’ll heed the words of Charles Dickens who wrote “Never say never” in his debut novel The Pickwick Papers. I do, however, have immediate plans to immerse myself in writing and editing projects. The most pressing of these is Dangerous Deeds (book 2 in the Waterside Kennels mystery series) which has been gathering metaphorical dust on the computer’s hard drive.

I’ll also continue to use this blog to feature other authors and their books, and will do my best to keep up with the ever-changing tech trends in the publishing industry. On that note, I’ll pass this along: Jane Friedman—book publishing industry expert in author education and trend reporting—has this to say about Steven Marche’s article in The Atlantic: “Best thing I’ve read yet on generative AI, writing, and creativity….Worth a read regardless of how you feel about generative AI.” Find that article here. And I’ll note that I agree with Jane Friedman–the article is definitely worth your time to read.

Time now for me to step away from the computer and squeeze in a walk with Sasha before the rain returns. I’ll leave you with this photo of Buddy The Wonder Cat demonstrating “must do” behavior for a happy retirement: