For those of you who are unaware of what I have been working on lately,  it’s time that I inform all of you.

I have been working on a novel since August, so I feel that the time is long overdue to share with the world my most recent project.

Before I get to the project, perhaps you all would like to know what this story is about.  I’m glad that you asked.  Even if you didn’t, I’m going to tell you anyway.

To all who ever has undergone the long and perilous journey of parenting, I commend you.  Parenting may be old or new to you, depending on your age.  You may either be a new parent, an older parent, or even someone who hasn’t even thought about parenting yet.

Wherever you are in that journey, or if you are even on that journey at all, most of us can generally agree that parenting can be a very rewarding experience.  This is especially true when they’re all grown up.

With parenting comes the lack of choice.  None of us can choose the kind of kids that we have.  Furthermore, none of us can even decide whether our kid is normal or not.  For the kids that aren’t normal, they have some kind of disability.  Whether it’s a physical one or a mental one, these children are to be loved all the same.  They are the “special” children, and they are to be treated as such.  Not in a condescending way, but in very much the same way that a normal child is treated.

Now whether or not you even have a child, imagine this scenario.  You have just found out that you have a new child.  This child is a boy, and he has a rather unique disability.  Not satisfied?  Too bad.  I’m the one deciding the scenario, not you.

Continuing with the scenario, a lot of you are probably wondering what kind of disability this child has.  With your child having just been born, you’ll have to wait until he gets older.

To make this scenario more interesting, let’s say that your child was born on February 29th.  That would mean that you had this child last year.  In another month, your child will be a year old.

But what about the disability?  That’s the thing.  With your child being nearly a year old, he doesn’t look any older than three months.  Congratulations.  You now have a child with an aging deficiency, and he’s  the only one in the world that has that problem.  This is the premise for my latest project – The Tale of Zachary Willowbrook: A Leap Day Paradox.

The scenario is pretty much what the story is about.  The mother has a baby boy named Zachary.  Over time, she finds out that Zachary is not an ordinary child.  With Zachary being born on February 29th, he doesn’t age as fast as we do.  For every four years that we age, he only ages one year.  Is the date of Zachary’s condition coincidental?  I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

The story is about a family coming to terms with the differences that Zachary has as a person and learning to accept them.  By family, I am referring to the Willowbrook Family.  The mother, the father and Zachary’s two younger siblings, which will remain a surprise for now.

Now Zachary’s condition in the present is pretty minor.  His parents can raise him and support him.  In the future, however, Zachary’s condition will pose some major circumstances.  Zachary will outlive his parents, his siblings, his grandchildren and even his great-grandchildren.

For a preview on this story, I would check out my “Think & Write” titled The Gift of Time. Click there and it will take you to that story.  This is the “Think & Write” that inspired me to write this novel.  I have put a lot of work into it, and I hope to have the first part done soon.  With over 44,000 words, I have discovered that I have a lot to say about Zachary and the wonderful family that he has.

As for the new “Think & Writes”,  I’ll have more up as I’m inspired with new ideas.  For the new ones, don’t expect them to be like the previous edition.  I feel that the first edition was purely experimental and served as a way to express my creative ideas.  Over time, I feel that the form has completely changed from “Think & Write #1”, and is now shifting towards something of greater quality.  I feel that a more polished piece of writing will be a better thing to look at than all of my second-rate drafts.  While they have achieved my purpose, I don’t think they achieve yours.  I also feel that having too many stories will overwhelm any newcomers.

For any of my stuff, just stay tuned.  And I’ll let you know how my Zachary story is doing.