How ya doing all? I’m guessing that if you’re reading this, you already know me.   You might be a family member or a colleague of mine.  Maybe you are an old friend from high school or college.   Maybe you know/knew me from “the neighborhood”.   If you know me, then I say “HI!!!!   Nice to hear from you again!”

But perhaps you don’t know me from Adam. Perchance you stumbled across a published story of mine (so far I  have one) on Amazon and you just had to discover more about this author named Daniel W Cheely, so you somehow found your way here.  One can only wish!  If this is the case (rare that it may be), I say “Hi!  Nice to meet you!”

Assuming I’m writing mostly to people I already know, the key to this piece is a strange string of words found within the last paragraph – “author named Daniel W Cheely”.   Does that sound crazy?  If it does, don’t feel guilty, for we share the same sentiments.   Where is this “author” thing coming from?   You might think, “You have tossed words around on Facebook and at times arranged them in a creatively humorous way, but do your really fancy yourself as a writer?  The answer is yeah, I guess I do.  To support such a claim, I have my one published story.  It’s a small thing, a miniature shrub hiding within the “jungles of the Amazon” (you know, that book website) among the behemoth trees of books by authors with well-established roots in the literary forest.   So is it premature of me to be declaring myself an author as if this has been an ongoing , pre-established career path?

The truth is, I have been writing for many years. I have written poems, essays, and short stories.  Before I logged into Facebook for the first time in March 2009, I had written half of a full feature novel.   I have never shared this with you. But I am doing so now.

Before I owned a computer, I scribbled poems and essays in notebooks. Somewhere they exist, but hopefully they dwell inside a box somewhere in my house and not in a landfill.   This was in the 90’s.

In 2007, I began my first novel. It was about a mysterious lighthouse that emitted light from a source that existed within the netherworld.  The phantom light haunted this poor old woman who lived within its path on the seaside off the coast of Washington.   This same light beckoned a much younger woman who resided in Chicago. It called to her from across the country via telepathic means.  She went on a journey to be near this light. She would meet the old woman that was terribly frightened by the light.  The young and the old woman would have to work together to discover the mystery of the lighthouse.  Eventually, I finished the book and even went on to write the sequel.  But I found that the first book needed an overhaul.  A lot of editing was needed and elements of the story needed some rework as well.  I will finish it (and the sequel) one day – that is a promise!

I have also begun a novel about time-travel be way of inhaling the smoke of a cigarette of a special brand (Time Zones!)   It’s a humorous piece of work, as you can imagine based on the description.  This work has been shelved, but I will resume work on it soon.  I’m also working on a novel called “The House Sitter.”   It’s a thriller/horror about an author who writes short stories and draws his inspiration from the house he watches over.

Then there were my blogs. At blogspot.com, I had an interesting anecdotal piece titled “Mickey Mouse Disco Won’t Get You Laid”.   I’ll have to search for that blog one day.  Now, here I am at wordpress.  I had actually started this wordpress blog over a year ago, but I abandoned it as well and left it for dead.  Now I am resurrecting it.  I have redesigned it and it will serve as my author page.  Author = me.   Still sounds weird, but there you go! Please go to the “Published Works” section of this blog and access the link to my published story:  Voices: The Coffin is Calling You, James.     If you ever wondered what it would be life to attend a wake and hear the deceased speak to you, then this book is for you!   More short stories will be coming – they will all be about “voices.”

So…that’s it! I just wanted to reintroduce myself to you all!   If you have never met me, then I will say, “Hi! I’m Daniel W Cheely….an author!”    Thanks for reading.   Peace out!

Daniel W Cheely.