Soon to be told by S. Bond Herndon...

So many of you have been asking about what's next.  Here are the projects that are already in some stage of progress.  A few are, for all intent and purpose, finished and waiting to go to the publisher.  Others are in re-write while many are still finding their own development and waiting on me to find the groove they live inside of.  But, just so you know what to expect in the future...

The Agony, Texas series: A four book story of a small town in West Texas that is so isolated its citizens have all gone a little crazy.  This series contains many of the characters I've collected over the years, especially those that have migrated out to Texas.  It utilizes the fact that most people just look at Texas with a different eye.  Much like the way so many restaurants outside of the state proffer "Texas Style" this or that.  Titles in this series are: A Week in Agony...Texas, Generations in Agony...Texas, Lost in Cognito...Texas and The Long Arm of Agony...Texas

The Galveston/Houston stories: Some of you have already taken a look at Tormenta, a ghost story that takes the reader down a 'rabbit hole' of history and myth.  Much of the same setting is utilized in The Wets, a coming of age in a bad part of town tale.  And, (all apologies to those few who bought a copy of it already) in 2011 we get back the rights to 'Into The Blue', upon which time I'll be stripping it down and re-writing it under the new title Beyond Blue, which was the first time I introduced the character of Spoons, my ancient blues man Muse.  Lastly, Panhandler's Island is my own version of Steinbeck's 'Cannery Row', as Duce McAllister and his merry band of wacko Vietnam Vets attempt to save the historic home they hang around, by pulling the great 'shopping cart caper'.  

The Gastonia stories: A few of you have seen or read part one of Last of the Lint-heads, a story of redemption inspired by an article written by classmate Eric Frederick: 'When Communists Came to Gastonia'.  This one will be closely followed by A Fine Man, about a young doctor and his family moving to a small NC town in the early seventies (Yep, some of you might just be in this one!). Lastly, The Mill Hill, is about the angst of growing up in bleak times, finding possibility in love even as faith is lost.

The Florida stories: Quite a few followers read along as I re-wrote Alligator Farm (it was the first full novel I ever attempted, but pretty much sucked by the time I was done with it) yet the idea still held water.  The newer version rings better and stands on its own legs.  Just Add Water is a coming of age in 1969 as two cousins take a five week trip down the inter-coastal waterway of Fla., chasing girls and the next good buzz as they attempt to escape their tragic past. 

The Georgia stories: Ah, the land of my birth inspires a few as well.  The Dam People examines the affects of a TVA project in a small town in North Georgia when an interracial murder upsets the precarious balance of life there, and the towns constable and only reliable mechanic 'Smyler Reece' has to prove the trust people place in him.  Bulldog Fever takes a humorous look at the fanaticism of SEC football fans as two, die-hard Dawg fans put it all on the line for a pair of 50 yard line seats and the tail-gate party of a lifetime.  Okefenokee in the early 1950's a WWII vet with a road-paving company spends a summer with his sons and a chain-gang building the first paved road through the swamp.

Believe it or not, there are many more bumping against my brain, but they don't have enough flesh to allow any mention just now.  Every day brings inspiration and feedback from all of you aids in the twists and turns as the narratives pour out.  Of course, I'll continue to put up the Shorts that so many of you have enjoyed, many are bits and pieces that won't make it into any of the larger Gastonia, Texas, or Georgia tales.

Stay tuned, gang, and thanks again for reading.