As My Witnesses

This is kind of a culmination in my writer’s journey.
By culmination, I don’t mean the end of my writer’s journey, only this portion of it. Let’s put it this way for the gamer and D&D types–I’ve completed the first writer’s quest I set out on.
In high school, at the Academy, and few a couple short years into my Air Force career, I wrote a few stories I’d pass around to a few friends every now and then (this story is partially adapted from one of those). As life happened and I got deeper into my career, I stopped writing for about fifteen years.
Approaching retirement, Kacey Ezell asked me in casual conversation if I wanted to write when I retired. For reasons, it didn’t feel like something I could do. In the background, I knew she’d started writing for something called the Four Horsemen Universe. In 2018, I’d just moved back to the states and went to my first DragonCon in a few years (my first was 2002). On the way, I read Cartwright’s Cavaliers to start catching up. While sitting in the Four Horsemen panel at that DragonCon, I crafted a full story in my head–as I said, the first story I’d put together in 15 years. I called it “Croatoans”.
I’ll be honest, it was kind of a mess and I’ve learned a great deal about writing since then. The story went through a bazillion and a half revisions. However, over time, I was invited to write other things and I developed other projects and that story drifted deeper into my files, collecting dust and seeming destined never to be published.
Last year, however, I discussed the story with Robert Hampson, the Ph.D scientist/writer who created the Wrogul storyline along with Sandra Medlock. He decided that the story of the Croatoans would fit perfectly into his designs for the future of the Wrogul plotline. I developed the story and added a great deal more to tie it into into As My Witnesses. It’s available now. I hope you enjoy it!