Ken Fite

December 2020

Hello from Orlando!

I love New Year’s Eve… not only because it’s my wife Missy’s birthday, but it also marks the end of the year and the start of something new (which we’re all ready for).

For the last few years, December has been a down month for me. It’s where I take time off from writing to focus on the things I’ve neglected during the year. It’s when I rest and recharge before I start the next book. I watch countless episodes of THE OFFICE with Missy. I play with my sons. And I sleep in longer than I should.

But it’s also when I like to reach out to my readers to ask them a few questions…

What do you love about the Blake Jordan series? What do you want to read more of? Last year’s survey responses were so helpful to me. Like TV shows that listen to their fans, your feedback helped me write a story this year that many of you loved.

Would you please take a moment to complete this year’s reader survey?

I consider your input invaluable to help me write the best stories possible for you in 2021… and you’ll enjoy many hours of reading in return. It’ll be quick, I promise!

Just click here and give me your thoughts. Thank you so much. -Ken

November 2020

Hello from Orlando!

In case you missed it, I released my new thriller THIN BLUE LINE last week. It’s a story I worked on for most of the year, started in January and finished earlier this month. And it’s a story I loved writing. I always get a kick out of reading the reviews that come in and the emails asking when the next one will be out (trust me, I wish it was that easy).

Because what the reader reads is the finished product. They never truly know the story behind the story. Whenever I read a book from one of my favorite authors, whenever I get lost in the story, I have to remind myself that there’s more there between the lines…

Because when you read a book, you’re not just reading a bunch of words…

You’re reading countless hours of errors and rewrites and plotting… second-guessing yourself and trying to find how to tell the best possible story for the reader to enjoy.

You’re reading moments of complete frustration.

And you’re reading moments of pure joy.

You’re reading a book the author is so proud to share with you.

And you’re reading a book the author is terrified to share with you.

You’re reading a piece of their heart, something that took them away from doing other things they deemed to be less important than putting this new story out into the world.

You’re reading a piece of their soul, a part of their life they decided to share.

Accomplishing any big goal you have for yourself is risky. Because when you say you’re done, when you put what you spent time creating out into the world, you realize something you may have never thought about before: it no longer belongs to you.

The story belongs to them now. The reader. It’s theirs to read and live with.

They say stories are never finished, just abandoned. At some point in the writing process, you have to say to yourself, This is the best I’m capable of doing–for now.

Then you have to put it out in the world and see what happens.

Can you be a writer without someone else reading your words?

Yes, of course. But to share what you’ve spent a piece of your life working on with someone else is the ultimate trust-building exercise any writer could ever take on.

To trust yourself enough to let it go, to put it out into the world, and then to start again.

Below are some of the amazing reviews I’ve read on Amazon (thank you so much!). I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and I’m grateful to call you one of my readers. -Ken

Here’s what readers are saying about THIN BLUE LINE…

★★★★★ “Spellbinding.”
★★★★★ “I couldn’t put it down.”
★★★★★ “A nail-biting must-read.”
★★★★★ “Kept me reading long into the night.”
★★★★★ “Unable to put it down. THIN BLUE LINE doesn’t disappoint!”
★★★★★ “This book is worth your time to read.”
★★★★★ “Another great story in a great series.”
★★★★★ “Grabs you from the very first page and never lets up.”
★★★★★ “The best Blake Jordan novel yet.”
★★★★★ “Lots of twists… highly recommended.”
★★★★★ “The story was full of twists that kept me guessing.”
★★★★★ “Another outstanding addition to the Blake Jordan series.”
★★★★★ “I’ve read all in this series and they keep getting better.”
★★★★★ “Action packed and so believable.”
★★★★★ “The twists just kept on coming… great story!”

Are you ready for a great story? Click here and start reading now.

October 2020

Hey there, happy Halloween!

I’m excited to be wrapping up the third draft of Blake Jordan #7. In another week, I’ll be sending the manuscript to my editor and should have it back a week after that.

This is a story I’ve really enjoyed writing. Its had its ups and its downs, but everything came together in the end and I think it’s the best story in the series yet.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever written about the process of bringing you a new book. A lot of readers think they come easily. I just write them and put them out, ready to be read.

But the truth is, there are a lot of people involved in bringing you a new Jordan novel.

The first thing I do is brainstorm an idea and meet with my developmental editor. She’s out in LA and is a screenwriter by trade. I’ve always believed if you want to write a good story, don’t study books on writing novels, study books on how to write movies. While I love TV series like 24 and Jack Ryan, my books are written so they could be movies. So I pitch my idea to her and she takes it all in and then asks a lot of really good questions. What if the bad guy is really the good guy? What if the good guy is bad? Because she’s written and watched countless movies, she’s great at mixing and matching lots of twists and turns and story beats for me to consider. But ultimately, I have to then decide if I will use any of her ideas. Most of the time I stick with my own. It’s still helpful to bounce my thoughts off of someone who understands story structure.

Then I have to write the thing, obviously. That is difficult. Even seven books in. If I’m honest, I think it’s because I always feel like I need to outdo myself. And certainly, I want to continually improve as a writer, but I need to realize that all I need to do is just keep hitting singles. I don’t need to swing for the fences. Although I still do, every time.

Then I have my cover designer create a new cover for the book. I love my cover guy. He used to design covers for Stephen King back in the day. His covers are the BEST!

While that’s being designed, after I write the first draft, I’ll go in and write a second draft… then I print it out and write a third draft. It’s always amazing to me how many mistakes you will find, bad grammar, sometimes missing words, if you look at your work printed out. I learned this tip early on and it’s helped me become a better writer.

Then I give that third draft, with my handwritten changes in red ink, to my wife, Missy. My first reader. She’s AMAZING! She finds so many things I never saw, even with the manuscript printed out. She writes her feedback in purple ink and I’m always amazed at the things she finds and the problems I need to correct, and if I do my job right, she may add a “wow!!!” or a smiley face. Those are my favorite things to find in purple ink.

Then I take that third draft, with both my changes in red and hers in purple, and I write the fourth draft. I then go through what I call “Peg’s list” which is a lot of grammatical things I need to watch out for and fix based on feedback from my friend Peggy and I make those changes and I send the manuscript to my proofreader who is also great. She makes the books come to life. She doesn’t change the words themselves, per se, but she does find so many additional things that could be punctuated differently to make the book a better read. The goal is to put the reader in a sort of trance, to transport them as they read. I try to give her the best possible book I can… so instead of making a bad book good, hopefully she can make a good book great. When I get her changes back about five days later, I review every one and I accept most of them.

Then and only then is the book is ready for you to read and enjoy.

This isn’t just the way I write. This is the way most professional writers write books.

Sometimes I think about that whenever I read a good book… how so many people were involved from start to finish. But the truth is, nobody should be thinking that when reading. A good book should suck the reader in and transport them to another place and time and keep them turning the pages late into the night. It should take them on an adventure. One they don’t want to end as they draw closer to the story’s final chapters.

I know if I do my job right, it’ll be a wild ride.

Be on the lookout for the cover reveal in the next few weeks.

I hope to have Blake Jordan #7 out before the November newsletter. -Ken

September 2020

Hello from Orlando!

If you’ve read my newsletter for the past few months, then you know I’ve been focusing on finishing Blake Jordan #7… and not getting as far with it as I’ve wanted to.

And avoiding talking about it too much. I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious…

After last month’s newsletter, I was lamenting to my friend about my situation, how I was six months in writing the new book, but only halfway done. It just wasn’t flowing.

“Pray,” he said. “Ask Him to open up the floodgates.”

I rolled my eyes and said thanks for the advice and moved on with my day.

The next morning, I started a week-long vacation. A full week and two weekends. Nine days. I wasn’t sure how much I’d get done, but I didn’t have high expectations.

Before I rolled out of bed, I stared up at the ceiling. Whispered, “Open the floodgates.”

Just three words. Then I started my day just like the previous hundred and eighty.

But something had changed. It was like Phil Connors at the end of Groundhog Day, which I wrote about last month, when he woke up on February 3rd. Something was off.

The day felt different.

“Anything different is good,” I said to myself. Then I brewed my coffee and got started.

Up to this point, I’d written the novel just like every other story. Lots of thinking, lots of plotting, lots of building the story, carefully, like a mason, brick by brick.

Only this time I set the yellow pad and pencil and outline aside and I just wrote… like a Wallenda performing a high-wire walk without any safety netting below. I thought to myself, Just write. If it’s bad, you can just delete it. (Even though I hate deleting words.)

And so I wrote… and wrote… every day, adding thousands and thousands of words to the manuscript… careful to follow story structure rules, but writing like a reader reads. Focused on the next word, surprising myself at times, smiling at the dialogue. Worried by the corners I’d written myself into, delighted by the ways I’d found to get out of them.

Nine days later, I found myself with a completely finished first draft of the manuscript.

Six months to write the first half.

Nine days to write the second half.

That’s just mind-blowing to me…

With everything going on in the world, it’s hard to believe God would care about my silly first world problems, epecially something like writing a book. But it does make me wonder more about prayer… how maybe it’s not so much about always asking God to do something for us, but maybe it’s asking God to help us do something. And maybe it’s less about elaborate prayers and more about just using two or three simple words.

I’ve loved reading your emails asking about the new book. But I’m learning that it doesn’t matter if thousands of people believe in you unless you believe in yourself, too.

Sometimes we’re tested, not to show our weaknesses, but to discover our strengths. I was obviously overthinking my writing and had to change my approach.

And it worked.

Because when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

My dad used to say, “God helps those who help themselves.” Then he’d pause and add with a smile and a small little chuckle, “but God help those who help themselves.”

In other words, dreams don’t work unless you do.

If you want to keep your dreams alive, then make plans if it helps you feel better, but then take a step, ready or not, and see what happens.

My youngest son was playing with legos last night. I asked him what he was building. He looked at me, confused, and said he didn’t know. He was just focused on playing.

He said figuring out what he had built would come later, when he was done playing.

I think that’s pretty solid advice, not just for creatives, but for anyone when you’re stuck.

Stop focusing on what you’re building. Start focusing on just having fun. Judge it later.

I’m now halfway through the second draft, then I’ll start on the third, then the new book will go to my editor. I can’t wait to share this story with you, I know you’ll love it. -Ken

August 2020

“I wake up every day, right here, right in Punxsutawney, and it’s always February 2nd. And there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Hello from Orlando! One of my favorite people in the world is Bill Murray. Not just because he’s a fellow Chicago Cubs fan, but because I grew up watching him in some of my favorite movies. I was a huge Ghostbusters fan as a kid. I must’ve watched it a hundred times. I don’t remember how old I was when Groundhog Day came out, maybe sixteen or so, but I didn’t come to appreciate it as much until I got a little older.

Groundhog Day is a movie I watch at least once a year now. And it’s one of my favorites. As a student of story structure, I just love how the movie was put together.

If you’re the one person who’s never seen it, Bill Murray portrays Phil Connors, a cynical TV weatherman who is covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, for the fourth year in a row. And he’s not happy about the assignment. Phil gets stuck in a time loop and wakes up every day to Sonny and Cher’s I Got You Babe playing on the clock radio, during Sonny’s excruciating-to-listen-to solo, and is forced to relive February 2nd over and over again for the rest of the film.

“Well, what if there is no tomorrow? There wasn’t one today.”

So I’m sure it comes as no surprise to anyone that when I think about the last six months, where virtually every day seems exactly like the day before, and the hundred and eighty days that came before that, I think of Groundhog Day. I know I’m not alone.

I’ve aways wondered… how long did Phil actually relive February 2nd in the story?

This morning, I went to find out. According to the late Harold Ramis, probably 30 years. That makes sense, when you think about everything Phil was able to do by the end of the movie… becoming a master ice sculptor, learning the piano, learning French, learning about the townspeople and about Rita, what she likes and what she doesn’t.

“Let me ask you a question. What if there were no tomorrow?”

Back to our situation over what has been six months now, I think about our days at home and how we’ve finally gained more of something we’ve always wanted: time.

But time, which looks like a gift on the surface, can also be a curse, without structure. That was one of the lessons Phil had to learn in Groundhog Day. Without structure, he was rudderless. The film became darker and darker as it played on. Driving on railroad tracks, becoming more desperate by the day, finally realizing there was no way out.

What’s interesting to me is how Phil Connors ultimately escaped Groundhog Day.

He made a decision to make good use of his time. He embraced it. And he changed.

Every story has a theme. Every story is about something more than the story’s plot.

What I think Groundhog Day is really about, the theme of the tale… is perspective.

“Today is tomorrow. It happened.”

In the end, Groundhog Day is a comedy. Phil Connors ultimately chooses to use his newfound time to become a better version of himself. He learns from his past, he cares about the present, and he finally breaks the curse. After being rudderless for what must’ve felt like forever, Phil decided to make the most out of his situation and grow.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve felt rudderless for a while.

They say if you don’t like something, change it.

And if you can’t change it, then change the way you think about it.

I think I’m finally ready to embrace it… to use the time to try and become a better version of myself. To make the most out of the situation. To learn… and to grow…

To not postpone joy until we’ve learned all of the lessons we’re supposed to learn.

Joy, itself, is the lesson.

Because if you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

And because, as Phil Connors had to learn in Groundhog Day, when we’re no longer able to change our situation, then the only thing left that we can change is ourselves.

July 2020

Hello from Orlando!

I’m finally back to writing and I’m making great progress on Blake Jordan #7. These last few months have been really tough, having just come off a sixty day hiatus from writing. I have to admit that watching those blank calendar days add up on the large wall calendar I use to track my writing was really tough. Being stuck was even tougher.

Because, knowing I can write about a chapter a day if I really push myself, and knowing my books are sixty chapters long, seeing those sixty blank days was painful. They say, Hey Ken, you could’ve written a whole new novel in sixty days. And, At the very least you should’ve finished #7 during that time! What’s your problem, anyway?

My problem, as it turns out, was me…

***

I happened to take a personality test a few weeks back. The results were eye-opening. It explained a lot about how I approach my work. So I thought I’d share what I learned:

It said I’m a perfectionist. No, worse than a perfectionist… the kind of person who won’t even start on a project or continue working on one unless I’m 100% sure it can be 100% perfect. For someone who does creative work, this can really work against you!

So what’s the solution? Not write for two months? Not make any progress whatsoever?

Of course not. I need to realize my tendency is to not work on things I’m not sure can be perfect, so I need to get better at short-circuiting this urge whenever it comes up.

As I read through the rest of the kinds of things my personality type does, I couldn’t stop smiling and at times, laughing out loud. It was spot on and explained so much…

It said I’m terrified of making mistakes and this creates analysis paralysis, so I’ll put off working on something because… why work on it if I’m not sure if it’ll be any good?

Which is funny because how can I judge something until it exists?

We worry a lot. Not out of fear of a worst case scenario, but out of a need for things to be perfect and good and right the first time. Because we hate rework and fixing things.

My type spends a lot of time thinking about the consequences of our actions and about what could happen. Not because we’re afraid. Because we want to be prepared.

My worst fear, by the way, is being the last person to walk into a meeting and there not be any open chairs left for me. It’s happened. It sucked. And it’ll never happen again!

And we don’t want to have regrets, so we agonize over decisions, even if they’re small.

We’re rigid in our planning and in our decisions (when we finally make them).

We notice when things are out of place. Or crooked. And if we can’t straighten it, omg!

It said I fixate on small imperfections. It reminded me of the TV hanging on the wall in my living room… how it’s slightly crooked and it annoys me every single day and will continue to until someone more handy than me can fix it. And I remembered the huge whiteboard in my office that I still haven’t hung yet because I’m worried it’ll be crooked!

I think I bought it last fall! LOL!

It said I see the world in black and white. Things are either right or wrong. I’m either a great writer or I’m terrible, there’s no in between. I remember my friend Tony telling me in college that I needed to start thinking in ‘zebra.’ I think he was onto something…

We’re critical of others, but our secret is we’re even more critical of ouselves. We think, I should’ve woken up earlier today. I should be farther along on this project by now. These are the kinds of thoughts we have which are not really helpful thoughts at all.

Our past is examined in excruciating detail. Did I say the wrong thing? Did I lock the door? Or leave the stove on? Which explains why I compulsively check the stove every night before bed. Not once have I ever left anything on. I know this. I check it anyway.

***

Those were all of the negatives. But there was some light at the end of the tunnel:

My type often leaves a comfortable profession to do something extraordinary, if we feel there’s a higher calling prompting us.

And if we’re brave enough to answer the call…

We need to feel like we’re making a difference in the world, which I think is mostly why I write (and why I love reading emails that my readers send me every day).

We’re diligent and take pride in doing things well.

We constantly strive to improve in our chosen profession and try to outdo ourselves.

We take action from our heart. Because, besides Jesus, our hearts are the only other thing that’s perfect.

We’re dependable. If we say it, we’ll do it. People can count on us.

We’re imaginative, highly focused on details, and caring.

We make good managers, special agents (lol), private detectives, and yes, writers.

***

Learning more about yourself isn’t helpful unless you do something with what you learn. I need to stop trying to be perfect and know that nothing I’ve ever done the first time ever was. Aside from writing, much of life is a first draft. A first attempt that may or may not go well. But things don’t have to be perfect and most decisions are reversible. 

Last week, I ignored the calendar. I started writing anyway. As I mentioned, I’ve made great progress. Six more chapters done. That’s ten percent. Better than zero percent. You can’t make a second draft until the first one is done. I’m trying to remember that.

I have a lot to learn about myself and I know I haven’t even scratched the surface, but taking that test was a good starting point for me. At the very least, I learned that I need to ignore my inner critic. Because the past is in my head, but the future is in my hands.

***

June 2020

Hello from Orlando!

Every year I like to take the last week in June leading up to the 4th of July holiday to take a step back and look at what I’ve done so far with my current work in progress. This year I’m also reviewing how I’m managing my time with my many business goals.

I’ve spent a lot of time this year focusing on advertising. Facebook ads, Amazon ads… it’s important to spread the word and find new readers looking for a new author to try. And managing my ads can be lots of fun. I geek out over the numbers. I reinvest what I’ve earned and I try new things. I watch the sales and subscribers grow beyond belief.

But the truth is, it’s not good for my soul. I always feel guilty. Because I know, while advertising is important, it’s not where my passion lies. I’m a writer, first and foremost.

If I’m honest with you, I haven’t written a word of Blake Jordan #7 in the last 6 weeks. Claiming to be a writer, having not written a single thing in 45 days, is painful to admit. But it’s where I am right now as I wrap up a few weeks of major advertising campaigns.

It’s a classic catch-22, if you think about it. If I only focus on advertising, I’m not writing and adding more books to my series. Readers finish #6 and move on to someone else. Maybe they’ll come back when I finish the next book in the series. Maybe they won’t…

But if I only focus on my writing, I lose the momentum I’ve built up through advertising.

I know what you’re thinking: split your time. Write in the morning, then advertise at night. Or maybe write during the week and focus on the business on the weekends. The problem is, my brain doesn’t work that way… I can get totally engrossed with one or the other, but not both. It’s hard to separate the two. Like I said, a classic catch-22…

The last week of June and the days leading up to the July 4th holiday always seems to put things in perspective for me. Maybe it’s because of the clarity that comes from finding a dedicated week every year to step back and make sure I’m on the right track. Maybe it’s because the year is halfway over and the realization that I’m either going to hit my personal writing goals or I won’t. It’s a sobering experience to step back, stop lying to yourself, and take a good, hard look at the wall calendar and see how much time you have left to do all of the things you promised yourself you would do this year.

When I was younger, my dad used to be the one who put things in perspective for me. Usually it was said in a way that came across as a challenge. When I was struggling in college, barely passing, he asked me if I could finish what I’d started. He honestly wasn’t sure. That was the swift kick to the derrière I needed. I finished with As and Bs and went on to grad school and finished that, too. Something he and I were proud of.

The answer to my dad, but more so to myself, was: Yes, I’m someone who can finish. I’m someone who will put in the time and work to see it through. You can count on me.

But more importantly, I realized that I could count on myself to finish whatever I start.

The reality is, if I want to have the best chance at an author career, I must do both. I must write the books. And I must also advertise the books. Too much focus on one or the other is not healthy and will hurt the other. I understand this. I accept this truth…

But I also know there are ebbs and flows to everything. Just like there’s no such thing as work life balance because either work or life will always take priority over the other at some point, I realize there’s no perfect solution here. And I know I must keep the plates spinning so I don’t lose my momentum. I just need to figure out how I’ll do it all…

The year is halfway over. There’s still time to catch my dream, if I still want to catch it. And I do. I’ve made great progress on book #7. A third of it is written. It’s a great story and I can’t wait to write the rest of it. But I have to refocus. I have to get back to basics.

I’ve started it.

Now I have to finish it.

I’m going to put in the time and the work to see it through. You can count on me.

Because I’ve learned, when I put my mind to something, I do it. If I start it, I’ll finish it.

And because I know, besides writing, keeping a promise to myself is good for my soul.

May 2020

Hello from Orlando!

This isn’t the newsletter I was supposed to send you today.

I was supposed to write about how strange the last few months have been.

I was supposed to tell you how we were now in week 12 of quarantine. About how it’s been twelve weeks since we’ve had haircuts. Twelve weeks of social distancing. Twelve weeks without driving around doing things parents of two young boys would do.

I was supposed to tell you about my oldest son graduating from elementary school. About the drive-by graduation that his teachers put together which he absolutely loved.

I was supposed to tell you about my youngest son and how strange it is watching him do Zoom calls at seven years old, something his daddy, at 42, does on a regular basis.

I was supposed to tell you all about my progress with the new Blake Jordan novel. About a new writing technique I came up with and how it’s helping me write faster.

In fact, I finished the newsletter early this morning. It was done and all ready to go.

But I felt it was the wrong message. And I’ve been learning to trust my gut more lately.

It’s been almost a week since the death of George Floyd. We’ve all seen the video by now. We’ve all been watching the news and we’ve seen how the protesters have reacted. There’s a lot of sadness over what has happened. And it’s understandable.

But what bothers me the most, I think, is how someone should’ve done something.

There were other police officers standing by, doing nothing. There were onlookers, yelling and pleading for someone to step in, but they too ultimately did nothing. For eight minutes and forty-six seconds, a man waited for a hero to show up. No one did.

Every time I watch the video I wonder, What would I have done if I had been there? Would I have helped? Would I have done something? Or just recorded it on my phone?

I was a communications major at UCF. I studied Robert Cialdini and I learned all about how what the crowd does tends to influence how we ourselves act. I learned about how difficult it can be to do something different, even when we know it’s the right thing, when we see everyone around us doing what we know deep down is the wrong thing…

It can be hard to know when we’re in our “moment of truth.” Sometimes because it’s too surreal in the moment. Or maybe because we downplay what we see happening.

It’s easy to stand with the crowd.

But It takes courage to stand alone.

I think that’s why we enjoy reading stories. They’re almost always done the same way. The person least likely to become the hero is ultimately the one who becomes one. It goes all the way back to heroes in the Bible and how the least likely person to bring about change was used, in one way or another, to help make the world a better place.

Gideon thought he was a coward, but he was really a conquerer.

Moses thought he couldn’t speak in front of others, yet he became a great leader.

The crowd thought David was small and insignificant, but he defeated a mighty giant.

Whenever I’m reading a page-turner or watching a good movie, I know to keep an eye on the underdog. I know that, if the story is going to be a good one, I’ll be watching a transformation of some kind. And when they ultimately do create change or change themselves in the end, I know it’ll be a story that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

And I try to remember the lesson of the story, its theme, so I can grow as a person.

Because I like to think, if others can change and rise to the occasion, maybe I can, too.

April 2020

Hello from Orlando!

For as long as I can remember, I’ve tried to fill the silence.

When I’d write my books, I’d listen to music to help inspire my writing.

When I’d drive to work, sixty miles a day, I’d listen to the sports station.

When I’d take a shower or go for a run, I’d listen to podcasts. Many, many podcasts.

Same thing when at the grocery store. And at the gym. And with just about anything.

And it wasn’t just with music, the radio, and podcasts. It was checking the news when I woke up instead of writing my books. It was checking Facebook while watching a show on TV. I wasted a lot of time filling the silence. But the biggest time suck was podcasts.

For the longest time, I chalked it up to being productive. To wanting to use every minute of every day to the fullest. Whether it was catching up on the news or learning how to be a better writer or learning how to advertise. Always be learning, I’d think, believing I was super productive and making good use of time. No harm in that. Right?

But that changed last week when I went for a walk and I forgot my phone at home.

I didn’t notice it at first. About ten minutes in, I realized something was off. I debated going back home for it. It doesn’t feel natural to not be listening and learning something. The silence was deafening and uncomfortable. I’d endured 10 minutes of it.

But instead of turning back, I kept going. And after a while, something happened.

I felt the early morning wind blowing through my street which I hadn’t noticed before.

I heard the sound of my shoes as I walked over the grit on the sidewalk. Birds chirped. Cars with loud engines motored by in the distance. Kids laughed in their yards, playing.

I was able to hear my own thoughts for a change and was finally able to figure out the best way to start my next novel, something I’d been struggling with for a very long time.

I’m sharing this with you because we’re in week six of quarantine. Day 46. And one thing I keep hearing over and over again is how we need to take advantage of the newfound downtime most of us have now and be productive. To learn something new.

And it is a great time to learn and work on new things, like a new story in my case.

But the answer isn’t always to keep trying to do more to be productive.

Sometimes we can do more by doing less. By turning off the constant noise in life and allowing ourselves to be bored for once. To go for a walk and just listen to the rhythm of our own breathing. To go for a drive and listen to the air rushing past as you move, not the radio. To learn by listening to your own thoughts instead of everybody else’s.

We all want to be better.

Better writers. Better parents. Better informed. Better connected. Better everything.

And the things we use to fill the silence aren’t bad.

But it doesn’t hurt to turn it all off and stop trying to be something and instead, just be.

Every once in a while, at least.

You might find the silence isn’t so bad after all. -Ken

March 2020

Hello from Orlando…

What a difference a month makes. In my last newsletter, my focus was on starting Blake Jordan #7. Thirty days later, my focus has changed. I’m sure yours has, too.

We went on lockdown sometime last week, only allowed to leave the house to go to the grocery store where most of the things you’d want to buy are out of stock, anyway, and a few others places.

It’s an unsettling time. That’s for sure. Every day I check the news and I think, It can’t possibly get any worse, can it? I get my answer the next morning when I check again…

I’ve been reading a lot more lately. Not just the news… I’ve been reading fiction to try and escape for a while. I’ve noticed more of my books are being downloaded, too.

So I must not be alone.

I think one of the reasons why people read fiction is that while the stories and heroics of the characters might not reflect real life, the nature of a story does.

In the end, the good guys win, one way or another. Always have. Always will.

What else can we do while we all wait this out?

Pray. Slow down. Pay attention to the things that really matter in life.

In the Fite house, a lot has changed. My boys, who are 7 and 11, went on spring break two weeks ago and are now going to school virtually from our home.

We’ve taken late afternoon walks around our neighborhood after dinner, which we never really seemed to find time to do before all of this happened (why is that?).

We learned how to order grocery deliveries through instacart (mind blown).

We hid Easter eggs around the house for the boys to find.

We played pinball, the game of life, and wrestled in the living room.

We worshipped from home on Sundays using our church’s Facebook live broadcasts.

I taught my oldest how to mow the lawn (again).

We had a teacher parade, where the kids’ teachers drove by area neighborhoods, waving hello to the kids they miss while giving the kids something to look forward to.

We finally have the time now to spend with the family. But the truth is, we’ve always had the time. Maybe we just never prioritized our lives the way we are now…

The number of American lives lost from COVID-19 has now surpassed 9/11. Even more in other countries. If reports are true, things will get worse before they get better, but we’ll get through this. Because we’ve come together before and we can do it again.

Just from a distance this time…

And because we know how stories, fictional or not, end when all is said and done.

The good guys may get bruised and banged up, but they always get to the other side.

We will, too.

Stay positive and stay safe out there. We’ll get through this. -Ken