From Martial Arts to Manuscripts: My New Chapter Begins

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here, but I’m back—and not only that, I’m back in a big way! 2026 is going to be a very interesting year for me because I retired from teaching full-time at my martial arts school. Now I’m looking at a full-time career as an author, and I’m so excited I can barely stand myself.

I opened Jade Mountain Martial Arts here in Katy, Texas, over 22 years ago. In that time, we’ve had three locations, I’ve taught thousands of wonderful students, been punched in the head more times than I can recall, and had an awful lot of fun. To be honest, I thought I would die on the mat—keeling over in the middle of teaching somebody a technique!

It is true, though, that everything has a season. Although I never envisioned anything else for myself but being a martial arts instructor, it became apparent over the last few years that I had another calling. I wanted to write—and not only that, I wanted to truly experience life as a full-time independent author. And so, the doors of Jade Mountain closed in December 2025. It has taken me some time to finish out that chapter, and even in February, I have yet to settle into a solid schedule.

That said, stepping into this new chapter has been exciting and crazy-busy already! I can tell I’m going to have a blast! Within the first couple weeks of retiring, I finished the rough draft of the new book I’d been working on for three years. It’s in editing now, and I’m already looking ahead to the next three books I’m planning for later this year. I’m really excited about the possibilities. I can also tell you that it’s a ton of work, because now I’ll have the time to do all the behind-the-scenes things that being an indie author requires—writing, editing, publishing, marketing, advertising, financial tracking, customer service, public appearances, social media, distribution, and the thousand small jobs that come with running a one-person publishing house. Yeah, it's a lot, but fortunately, I enjoy all this stuff. Yay!

I hope y'all will stop in here more often, as I'll do my best to keep y'all updated. And you can always find me on social media, I'm just a few clicks away. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a lacrosse game coming up later this morning and I need to go get ready. Have a fabulous day, my friends!