Michael Loucks: Blog

I will begin posting A Well-Lived Life 2: Book 10 - Bridget to SOL on Friday, February 1. New chapters will be posted daily.

If you would like to obtain a pre-release version of Book 10 - Bridget you may do so by via Patreon or contacting me by email at author@michaelloucks.com or for details.

Details for the new book:

Chapters: 100 (+ a prologue and epilogue)

Word Count: 638,218 (the longest book in either series by 150,000 words)

Time Covered: August, 1996 to August, 1997

To Xalir, who I first met online about two years ago. Godspeed.

May this day bring you joy, and good times with family and friends.

To my 'Old Calendar' friends, consider these wishes made by anticipation for January 7 (New Style)!

If you've read A Well-Lived Life, Book 9 - Kami, then you've already met Mike Loucks' friend Dale Melrose.

You've also met Karl Schumacher's younger sister, Maggie, who will appear in Good Medicine - Sophomore Year,

Dale appears in chapters 47 and 51 of Book 9 - Kami.
Maggie appears in chapters 58 and 59 of Book 9 - Kami.

I've submitted the first chapter of Good Medicine, the story of Michael Peter Loucks, A faithful, Russian Orthodox teenager, who has lived his entire life in the fictional town of West Monroe, in fictional Harding County, Ohio. This fictional town and county are in Southern Ohio, about ninety minutes from Cincinnati and forty-five minutes from Columbus.

The story follows him from the day before High School graduation to college, medical school, and perhaps beyond. It takes place in the same universe as A Well Lived Life, and you'll see references to the other story, but it is NOT a 'Steve Adams' story. Mike is not Steve, and will never be Steve.

The first twenty chapters or so are exposition, character development, and setup. There is a heavy dose of Orthodox theology which has the purpose of laying the groundwork for the ethical and moral dilemmas that Mike will face during his education and medical career. You won't be able to understand Mike without that. As the story progresses, you'll see Mike involved with church, and having ethical, philosophical, and theological discussions, but they all work to help define who Mike is and how he relates to the world.

Unlike A Well-Lived Life, this story does not concern itself with real-world events except in the most minor ways. Generally speaking, all local names, places, and people are purely fictional, with the odd reference to real world events or real world locations. By avoiding most contact with the 'real world' in Mike's day-to-day life, I have, as the author, a free hand to construct the world in which Mike lives. Steve Adams does visit this mythical part of Ohio in Book 10 of AWLL, which will be published on SOL from Feb 1, 2019.

If you are a fan of Doctor Fran Mercer, she will appear, with increasing frequency, in Good Medicine.

I hope you enjoy the story! As is usual for my stories, voting will be enabled after several chapters are posted.