I have a dream.
I have a dream that my creative works will be judged not by the signing of a lucrative book deal but by the content and their characters. In other words, I realize I’ll likely never get rich from this spare-time writing gig. I’m OK with that. What I really want is an audience. I want someone to turn the last page of one of my books and feel something. I want someone to love my characters as much as I do.
I have a dream that 2023 is a seminal year in my writer’s odyssey. Here’s what I’m excited about:
1.
HERO

In a few days, I’ll be publishing a novel titled Hero. I wrote the rough draft of Hero during National Novel Writing Month of 2017. That’s right, I wrote an entire rough draft that November, and it actually held up better than I ever could’ve imagined. I’ve spent a lot of time since then revising and polishing. I find I grow attached to all of my characters, but the eponymous protagonist of Hero is absolutely a favorite of mine. I’m looking forward to sharing her story with the world.
“Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.” —Julius Caesar, Act II, Scene II
While fifteen-year-old Hero Jean Taylor struggles to adjust to a new home and a new school, she fixates on a solitary hunt for a brazen killer. Intent on cracking the case by visiting the scene of each murder, Hero crisscrosses town on her bicycle until a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger brings her tantalizingly close to the answers she seeks. But as the death toll mounts, Hero’s very survival hinges on the one truth she finds hardest to accept: She can’t do it alone.
2.
YOU BE YOU

I often say junior high school is the bootcamp of life. It’s absolutely miserable – and chock full of conflict. What a fertile setting then for my latest novel. Plus, I turned this book into a grand experiment in second-person storytelling. Whenever I finish writing a manuscript, I think to myself, ‘This is it. This is the one. This is the book that gets me an agent and a contract.’ I can’t help thinking that about You Be You, but time will tell. I’ll be devoting a lot of energy this year to getting the book query ready, and then we’ll see what the future holds.
“If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.” —Maya Angelou
When you blast an atomic sneezer-cheeser right in the middle of first-hour (f)art class, you’re marked as a cheese-puff for life. Your only hope at redemption is a longshot bid to make the Francis Middle School seventh-grade basketball team. Even though the odds are never in your favor, you’re convinced a mysterious series of geocaching messages is guiding you on to basketball glory. Or is it? You decide. From the author of Red: A Football Novel comes an epic story of basketball, geocaching, and the fear of being a dork. You Be You: A Novel of Self-Reflection by Christopher D. Seifert. “Everybody has a superpower. Only U. can find yours …”
3.
SOJOURNER

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” —Joseph Campbell
My writing projects usually start with a title and an end scene in mind. I’ve had this girl named Sojourner bouncing around in my brain for months now. I just couldn’t quite hear her voice until recently:
“You might think that growing up on a space station is the epitome of awesomeness. Well, think again.
“My name is Sojourner Macie Swift, but you can call me Sojo for short. Everyone else does. By everyone else I mean my dad and my trusty recreational droid known as Art.
“The three of us live together on Space Corps Outpost 997. Dad says my mom used to live here too, but I don’t remember her at all …”
There she is. My fifth novel is officially in the works, and I can’t shake this feeling that 2023 is an ideal time to dream.
Chris lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, with his wife, Sara, and their seven children. He has a B.A. in communications (print journalism emphasis) from Brigham Young University and a J.D. from the University of Nebraska College of Law. Chris enjoys music by The Piano Guys, flying kites, and pumpkin pie. He is the author of Red: A Football Novel.