Hello Friends:

Contrary to rumor and popular belief, yes, I am still alive and very, very busy! It has been a fantastically productive year so far in a diverse variety of ways. Here are just a few of the things that have been so thoroughly and pleasantly occupying my time:

NON - This is the experimental thrash/metal project that I have been obsessing about for the last few months. The debut CD, "Reckoning and Wrath," was completed about a week ago, featuring yours truly on guitar and vocals. I wrote all of the lyrics on the album as well as most of the music, with generous contributions from my awesome guitar instructor, Jeff Zampillo. In addition to co-writing the music for the 22 minute epic "Decomposition," Jeff also contributed guitar solos on the tracks "Defiled" and "Wrath." The NON project has been an extremely exciting creative endeavor for me and if you would like a taste of it please visit www.myspace.com/thenonproject . There, you can sample a couple of tracks from the album. No distribution plans have been set up for the CD as of yet, but once they have been finalized I will let everyone know through my MySpace page.

COLONY - My new novel, Colony, though on a bit of a hiatus, is still on schedule for a late 2009 completion date. Now that the NON album is complete, I will be able to effectively refocus on the book within the coming weeks. Thanks to everyone who has been requesting updates! I promise you, Colony will be worth the wait!

GRAPHIC VIOLENTS - My little artwork side business, GRAPHIC VIOLENTS, has been a very successful endeavor, to say the least! Since the beginning of the year, I have been working on artwork commissions from several amazing bands, including EXUMER, KOMBAT, and AGONY DIVINE, among others. Just this week, I have been working on a logo design for the band SOLANUM, who have been an absolute pleasure to work with! 

As you can see, my plate has been full! As a result, I have not been keeping in touch with many of my friends as I should be. For that, I sincerely apologize and will be reconnecting with all of you soon.

To conclude, I have also received notification this past week from one of my publishers (PublishAmerica) that my debut novel, Leech, is now being offered at the substantially discounted price of only $6.99! I'm not sure exactly how long this offer will be good for, so if you'd like to take advantage of it please visit www.publishamerica.com soon and do a search for the title, Leech.

Very best wishes to all of you for a beautiful and blessed summer!

Richard