Two days later, I was in the shower thinking, There’s never enough time to do everything we want to do. Then another thought hit me. What if I only had twelve months left? And the decision was made right then and there. I need to write this book! So I created Don DiMarco; an ordinary man faced with extraordinary circumstances—having to face his death long before he thought he would have to. He is madly in love with his wife, adores his daughter and spoils his two grandchildren. Don is a good man; the salt of the earth, but he must find the courage to truly live. The cliché is true: We can only write about who we know and what we know. Although I consider Twelve Months a fictional work, the content all felt very real to me—so the emotions were also very real. In the end, the novel’s message is simple but very powerful: As far as we know, we only get one shot at this thing called life—so we each need to make it a great one. Stop wasting time drifting along. Take complete responsibility for your life and live each moment with real intention.
