IN HIDING, IN HIDING

When I first began this book on February 5, 2022, I never imagined it to be the project that it has become. While I have always, I believed, possessed a penchant for writing, I never, however, pursued it on the scale that I have here. I did take to writing, some would say ad nauseum, on Facebook, where I posted numerous pieces on my brand of politics. I also, regrettably, used it as a place to post my sorrow at losing one friend or another. At the tender age of seventy-four, I find that happening more and more. But I am getting away from the reasons for this book. At its beginning, the book seems more like a treatise on current events. As one reads the first chapter, however, readers will quickly conclude that they are instead reading a work of fiction. Obviously, the sitting Republican president did not declare martial law, nor did he remain in office after he lost an election that ended his presidency. This is why I never refer to him by his real name, although in the interest of fiction, I also afforded fictional names to all the other characters, whether they are real or not. It just seemed easier (and less liable) to use fictional names. To that end, some of the international events are also fictional, although the Russian invasion of Ukraine really did happen and, dishearteningly, is still ongoing to this day. In January of 2023, I had a massive stroke, and for the first months of 2023, I was bedridden, unable to walk, talk, use my hands, or even sit up. My real recovery began in April of that year, and late in 2023, I began to write again. It is my hope that if this book ever sees the light of day, those on either side of the political spectrum will accept the fact that American democracy is something to be cherished; in the case of past wars, between 25,000 and 70,000 of Americans made the ultimate sacrifice for it. Therefore, it should be apparent that there is a clear and present danger to a society ruled by martial law. The president at the time, Donald Trump, did not fortunately declare martial law, however he successfully ran for president again in 2024, and was returned to the White House for a second term. Now that he is president again, this book may turn out not to be a work of fiction at all. God help us.