Where's Abel?

Hi everyone. It's been about a month since my last post, so I figured I'd give you a quick update.

This wasn't a planned break — life just happened, all at once. The family took a trip to Idaho. I got home and promptly got sick for two weeks. And then, right as I was getting my legs back under me, my son got married yesterday.

Vacation, sickness, a wedding — that's a lot to stack in one month, and something had to give. Turns out it was the blog and the videos.

If you want the fuller story, I made a short video about it here.

The good news: I'm back. I'm feeling better, the vacation and wedding are both in the rearview mirror, and I've got time to create again.

I've got the first of a six-part video series dropping next week that I think you're going to love, plus some great book updates on the way.

Thanks for your patience and stay tuned for more!

Widow/Widower Conference Presentation: From Grief to Growth: Creating a New Life After Loss

I'm presenting in-person at the Northern Utah Widow/Widower Conference on Saturday, June 28. Subject: From Grief to Growth: Creating a New Life After Loss

More details: Every loss is personal and so is the path forward. While there’s no universal roadmap to rebuilding one’s life after loss, there are proven tools and meaningful choices that can help you learn what works best for you. Discover practical ways to navigate emotional ups and downs, set healthy boundaries, make confident decisions, and reconnect with a sense of purpose. You’ll also gain insight into how to support others on their own journey, create a space of shared strength and encouragement, and how to move forward with intention, resilience, and hope.

Northern Utah Widow/Widower Conference 2025

Book and Blog Updates and Public Apperances

Three quick updates to share: Book update: Over the weekend I finished a solid draft of Living with a Widower. I’m only like two months behind schedule on this but it’s finally to a point where I can start wedding story submissions with the chapters. If you submitted a story but haven’t heard back from me, don’t worry, you’ll hear from me one way or another soon.

Blog update: Until the aforementioned book and some other writing projects back on track, Widower Wednesday will be a monthly column, appearing the first Wednesday of each month. If you still need a Widower Wednesday fix, you can find links to my 2011 columns here and my 2012 columns here. Sometime this month I’ll create a master index of all my Widower Wednesday columns going back 2009. I’ll post a link on the blog when it’s up.

Where’s Abel Update: My public appearances are shaping up for the first half of 2013. If you happen to be in the area for any of these, feel free to stop by and say hello. I've got a few more events that I hoping to add to the calendar soon. You can always see the most up-to-date list here. Currently my public appearances are as follows:

February 14-16 Life The Universe and Everything (LTUE) (More details to come) Provo, Utah

March 9 Write Here in Ephraim Snow College Ephraim, Utah

March 30 Utah Chapter Romance Writers of America 11:00 a.m. | Centerville Library Centerville, Utah

May 9 Storymakers Bootcamp Instructor Provo, Utah

May 10-11 Storymakers Writers Conference Provo, Utah

If you’d like me to appear at an event, you can contact me here.

At Storymakers

I'll be at the Storymakers 2012 Writers Conference Friday and Saturday. I'll be presenting a class on building websites as well as assisting with a non-fiction class. Hope to see many of you inspiring writers there. If you're not attending but happen to be in the Provo area Friday night, there will be a book signing at the Provo Marriott from 5:00 - 6:45 p.m. that's open to the public. Lot of authors, including myself, will be participating.

You can read more about the conference and well as see the full schedule of events here.