Why are the vast sweeps of dunes in the desert so attractive?
Maybe they’re not, to you.

 Having just finished another story with a desert setting, I realize that such places are fascinating to me. I’m not sure why that is. Maybe it’s the exotic nomadic cultures that have existed in such areas. (Or maybe it’s because I currently live in a remarkably wet place. Dry would a big change, here.)

The Ibis Door, the first of the Dreamers series, has Egypt as part of its setting. I enjoyed, and many readers have said they enjoyed, the trip to Egypt that this story includes. Here’s a recent update of the cover for that book, desert sands and all —

Thanks to those of you who’ve asked: I’ve been writing a lot of short stories lately, and also progressing on a new novel that is largely set on Mars during the wild early days of exploration, restoration, and immigration.

Creating these stories, both the short ones and the long one, is a great escape for me every time I start typing. I hope that reading them will be the same for you.

I’m sure you’re winning against the challenges in your life. I’m rooting for you, as you create solutions to the things that scare the heck out of you (right, those things) to achieve a few more well-earned triumphs. Wishing you another great month of vanquishing whatever it is you want to conquer, with some great escapes as mini-vacations between battles.