No, he didn’t die.

He’s still writing and still tweeting as of this morning.

But I need to let you all in on a secret. You see, whether he knows it or not, James has been a huge support to me over the last year. We have been all over the internet together. As my picture has been smiling at the world on facebook, twitter, my website, my publisher’s website… James has been there in the shadows. Always supportive. Always making me feel strong. He has been there with me ever since I first met him at a book signing over a year ago at a local library. He signed my copy of “The 13th Reality, The Journal of Curious Letters” on that day. He joked with my kids who were with me. And we took pictures.

James is right there with me in the profile picture which I have used the most often in all of these internet places:

 

See how supportive he is being? What a trooper.

I liked this picture because I was actually smiling. My family accuses me of never smiling correctly (my smile usually comes out more like a smirk on the camera). James made me smile. Because authors are cool. James is cool. And he has some really cool books coming out soon.

But it is now time for me to move on. I need to stand on my own two feet. I need to smile by myself. Why not? I have a lot to smile about. I have a wonderful wife and six great kids. AND… I am going to be published.

I am going to be an author! My only hope is to someday be as cool as James.

I recently had pictures done by a soon-to-be-professional photographer and friend of the family, Stephanie Haven. Here is her college blogsite:  Haven Photography. I thought I would give her some props because I am now going to be using all those professionally done shots for my profile pics, and send the best of them (or rather my favorites) to Valor Publishing so they can use the pictures everywhere and put it in the back of the book and make banners and flyers and internet ads and posters and t-shirts and logos and gigantic representations of them on the side of my own private corporate jet.

Delusions of grandeur, I assure you. Valor needs it for the book.

So, here’s to James: Thanks for a great year. I’ll miss you. Until we meet again. Maybe at lunch. Because I am plugging your books. You can buy.

I’m kidding!