Why, thank you, sir! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Actually, this is a short story, not part of a larger work. It was written for a Reedsy prompt contest. (It didn’t win.) To date, I’ve written five novels, and my first short story collection (The Realm of Tiny Giants) will be released next Monday, 8/16. So from that perspective I’m a professional author, but expenses still outstrip income. Maybe some day. Meanwhile, I pay the bills by writing software.