"The leader, at the time still unable to travel, sent Frelight to track down Slyter Jonas. Frelight explained to Slyter the man who sent him had two goals he needed help in accomplishing. First, he needed to locate the Blue Gem. His second goal would be to end Druid Stelart’s life."

A little over three years in the making, The Blue Gem is ever closer to a release date. Final edits will be taking place over the next month and then, in early March, should be available for purchase. (Download only at this time but the goal of print copies does not end here.)

The Blue Gem is the follow up the my first fantasy novel The Dragon Princess. The story takes places thirty years after the end of the first novel, following the familiar characters of Stelart, Rion, and Sauran, plus a variety of colorful new characters. Their stories will take the reader across the lands as Druid Stelart leads an expedition to track down and destroy the Blue Gem, the one magic holding the Demons prisoners. To complicate matters, the Druid must do so while an unknown enemy gathers forces to put finally eliminate the White Magic Druids once and for all.

If you'd like an early sneak peek, you have an opportunity to receive the first chapter. It's all very simple: sign up for my newsletter (something I've been sending out the past few months) and you'll be treated to the first chapter as part of the February edition. You can do so by sending an email to jrhask14@gmail.com with the subject: SUBSCRIBE (To learn more of what the email entails, read here.)

The first month of 2018 has really flown by. Much of January was spent editing the novel, but I did find plenty of other opportunities to work on other projects. Even with so many writing projects in the works -- focus, focus, focus -- I started yet another story, this one centered around Christmas. I've knocked out about 5,000 words since Christmas Eve and hope to have it done in time for the holidays of 2018.

January was also a month of submissions, mostly to a variety of film festivals. The Path(s) of Andy Wilson, the television pilot I wrote, was one I submitted, as well as a short film version of my ten-minute play Pandora's Box. And Taking Flight, the short film I co-wrote along with Shelby Bay, was submitted to a handful places thanks to Director/Producer/Writer/Editor Brandon Freeman of Flying Fedora Films. (I'll send some money your way soon, Brandon). Many of these opportunities across the board will announce the accepted films/scripts starting in March.

I have also begun work as a dramaturge for Alley Repertory Theater's next production Women of a Certain Age by Richard Nelson. Researching plays and exploring the historical and fictional worlds is an exciting time for me (pretty adventurous, right?) and hope you will come see this play, starring five outstanding women and one exceptional man, when it opens in March.

Need some things to do in February? Check these out:

• Silent Sky: Play reading at White Dog Brewing (2/12)

• Backstage with Alley (2/13)

• Boise State hosts Nevada at Taco Bell Arena for Mountain West supremacy (2/14)

• Mostly Muff at the Visual Arts Collective (2/17)

• Ten-Minute play workshop at Surel's place (2/17)

Thanks for stopping by. Be bold. Be kind.

For more, be sure to follow on Twitter for occasional tweets on pop culture, sports, life and more: @jasonrh_78

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