Groundhog Month Before Groundhog Day

February 2nd, 2026

Hello on this Groundhog Day, though I’ve got to say, I’ve been going through Groundhog Day for the last week. School’s been out… We’ve been in… We’ve been trying to survive… And there has been some cabin fever… But that’s not all!

January was quite a month.

Let’s recap, shall we.

First of all, I started another quarter of my acupuncture studies, mostly focused on Western medical concepts right now. These courses are proving themselves to be a handful on their own. However, I am making my way through them. I’m not going to lie though, there has been some questioning of life choices so far this quarter. But progress is being made.

Then there was travel for work.

I ended up being sent to Guam for a weekend, working with an army unit there, making sure their hearing is what we call “green”, meaning they are deployable. While there, I was literally a day ahead of everyone else I knew. It was kind of confusing, and in a way, I kind of time-traveled. Returning home was even stranger, because losing a day made more sense than gaining one. Let me explain.

Leaving Guam, we departed Monday morning, January 12^th. My first layover was in Honolulu, HI, Sunday morning, January 11^th. My second layover happened in Denver, CO, again on January 12^th (Monday morning).

So, in effect, I traveled backward in time.

I basically had to relive my Monday, (speaking of Groundhog Day) before I landed in Nashville, TN the afternoon of the 12^th, making it back to good ol’ Guthrie, KY.

The following week I went back the same direction, with a massive time shift, as I headed towards the land of the midnight sun. That’s right, Alaska. I arrived in Anchorage and worked with a group of Marines on their hearing readiness.

But let’s not forget what I came back to (or perhaps brought back with me… but probably not), the great icepocalypse of 2026. I realize we are still in it, and my kids still haven’t gone back to school.

This has been a good experience, with negative marks. Spending a lot of extra time with the family was great, other than the cabin fever that struck on day 1. We had to make our way out several times for sanity’s sake, though making our way out to what? Not much as everything was closed. We experienced a week of life basically shutting down across most of the Southeast. While my kids were out of school, I wasn’t. I’ve gotten next to nothing done with my own school while they’ve been out, though we have been working through their snow day packets the district calls Non-Traditional Instruction. Basically, I’ve been working as a 5^th grade, 4^th grade, and 2^nd grade teacher all week, every day, at the same time. Somehow, through it all, I managed to pass a midterm of my own, and pump out a short story I’m calling Promotion 1 (more on that in a minute).   

January was obviously a month of adventures with a lot of crossing of time zones, date lines, snow days and clairvoyant groundhogs saying it isn’t over yet.   

Needless to say, my body is just now finding a hint of recovery from all of that back and forth.

But let’s talk about what you are really here for.

Writing Progress.

During all the travel time, I was able to actually get a lot of stories down. On my flight to Guam alone, I was able to pump out 5 chapters more for The Redhead and the Red Thread. It seems I do my best work when traveling long distances and with lack of sleep.

As far as Character introductions go, last time I introduced Claire to you. This time let’s talk about Jianhao.

Jianhao Li

Jianhao Li is a calm, cool, and collected individual. He works as a doctor of Chinese medicine with specialization in acupuncture. He is just living his life, until one day, on his lunch break, a young redheaded American attempts to talk to him as he sits on a courtyard bench. That encounter evolves into more, and over time, he finds himself involved in far more than he ever could have hoped for.

He believed he was already an enlightened man, but his experiences with Claire caused him to realize he may not know as much as he thinks (he had the same effect on her).

One major beat from the story since last month’s newsletter. Claire was taken into custody by the Chinese authorities and placed in a holding cell.

Two other major events occurred in this month’s writing that come from actual history, shaping the lives of the characters.

The assassination of John Lennon, and the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan. Both of which have major implications on Claire particularly, and her family’s concerns with her being abroad with relationship uncertainty between the U.S. and China. They beg her to return home, not knowing she has been in a holding cell.

Now I know you are also wanting to know about what’s going on with South of Oz, and this is where my earlier mention of Promotion 1 comes in.

I’m excited to share that I’ve completed an outline for the project. This outline is mostly to help me keep on track with my vision as I begin to work through the actual pen to paper process.

I’m confident in saying that this project is going to take you places you haven’t thought possible.

Now, I keep referring to this as a project, and here’s the reason why. It’s not going to be just one story, but a combination of stories that revolve around this one. South of Oz is going to be a flagship novel, accompanied by at least one novella, and one novelette. And it all begins with Promotion 1, and no context. Check it out by following this link to read it.

👉 Click here

I’ll be releasing another promotion next month. By the third or fourth promo, you should be able to figure out what’s going on.

Lastly, I’ve got to admit, I’ve been taken by another spark. And let me be frank here…

I’ve been mulling over a desire to write a story with a setting in the South Pacific islands. Particularly in Samoa.

I came to the idea of retelling the story of Johnny Lingo’s Eight Cows, but discovered that story is still under copyright.

So somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, between Hawaii and Guam, a new character showed up in my mind.

His name is Johnny Kaʻōlani, and the story is called Aloha, Fa'a Samoa, Johnny Kaʻōlani.

This story is going to be a bit of a different flavor than most plane-crash-on-remote-island overused concepts, though that’s what happens. This story isn’t really about survival though, it’s more about cultural renewal, and how Johnny is brought to a remembrance of his heritage.

I’ve found in my writing, a lot of times I get so excited about these stories that I start processing them faster than I can type out the chapters. There are other times, though, where I slow down, finding scenes that require stillness, and breathing.

And with that, I should end this long update. I’m grateful you are here joining me on the journey as I bring these stories to you!

I’ll check in again next month.

-Michael Adam Farley