Year End Review and a Bright Start to 2017

Once-a-year blogs are totally okay, right? Sure, why not!

2017 is newly dawning, but I wanted to take the time to talk about 2016 first. 2016 in a lot of regards wasn't a fantastic year for my family-- especially the first half-- but the last half took a far better turn I'm happy to say.

2017 is looking to be an excellent year. I'm not big on resolutions, but I do have some definite goals I'm planning on achieving in the coming year. First, I wanted to talk about what I accomplished in 2016. Focusing on the positives is essential for looking and planning forward. Despite 2016 having a rough start, I achieved quite a bit.

I was hired for a position that's starting to open a whole lot of doors for me. I'm a digital marketing specialist for Legal InSites. We're a startup company that's had an extraordinary 2016 and have plenty of big plans for the future. I get to be creative, write, manage content, help clients get the word out about their legal practices, and take on some really interesting and challenging projects.

Here's one project I had the pleasure of working on which involved interviewing legal technology vendors and writing a fun article about artificial intelligence. Here's another where I babbled a whole lot about legal writing and the power of storytelling. I love diving into deep projects like these. I also love helping small practice lawyers get to do what they love-- help those in need have a voice.

I'm more confident than I've ever been regarding my writing skills, editing skills, project management skills, and leadership skills. Some projects I take on challenge me like nothing has in the past, and I find myself excited to take on new challenges each and every day. It's awesome.

I've also had my first professional rate short story fiction sale in 2016. It's one of my earlier stories (Trail of Stars) and one of my favorites. It's due to be published in an upcoming POC anthology that will be available in January on Amazon. It's science fiction and space opera-y and all kinds of fun.

I've written more fiction in 2016 than I have in the past couple of years. I haven't written as much as I would have liked to, but I'm happy to say I at least finished one new, large story, started a couple others, and continued submitting stories on a regular basis to professional-paying markets.

I started submitting Captive by the Fog to new markets as well. I've received two rejections thus far, but they've both been near miss rejections and include personal notes. That tells me that I will be able to find a permanent home for the novel if I keep trying. And I will. I'm getting very close.

On a more hobby-related note, I've taken up the reins of raid leader in World of Warcraft this past year. I've been a part of raid teams for years, but I've never actually tried leading. Leading lets me form the type of group I really want to form, plus it lets me bring together friends both new and old (shout out to Ben for the awesome pic edit above-- that's my bear!). We have fun, enjoy a truly cooperative, laid-back atmosphere, and we kick butt without taking the game super seriously. It's win-win for everyone.

It's also satisfying on a personal level. I never thought I could lead, but with the right company, a bit of help from my trusted friends (shout outs to Chantra, Megan, and Chris!), and a bit of courage, I find I do fairly well. Leading vocally also helps me feel less anxious speaking to others which helps in other aspects of my life.

Micah, Jeremy, and I have also started seriously creating indie 8-bit RPGs that we're aiming to place on the market. We're working on our first game with a few friends now. It's called Mender's Strife and will be available for PC and mobile platforms. I'm writing the story/script. I still sometimes wonder why the hell they trust me to write this stuff, but I just have to trust them. Writing a game script has always been one of my bucket list goals. It's awesome getting to see it through.

On that note, I've also made some decent strides in 2016 towards being "unapologetically me" so to speak. I've aimed to surround myself with those who support and care about me for who I already am-- not for some silly umbrella they think I fit under or want me to fit under. No one in the world is like me. I may as well be the best version of myself I can. That's the trend I plan on continuing in 2017.

Good things are to come. I can feel it.

Happy New Year, folks!

Captive by the Fog Released Today!

Yep-- today's the day! Captive's diving off into the unknown. :D It's hard to believe that little over a year ago, I often thought I'd never get any fiction published-- yet here I stand. Or rather, it stands. Looking all pretty and foggy-like. Parts of it really wrote itself, after all. It's all rather amazing.

I know I promised a book trailer, and I'm still working on making one, but it'll be a wee bit late for the launch of Captive, unfortunately. But don't worry! It'll still be awesome. Or so I hope, anyway.

This past week, I've been appearing on some awesome folks' blogs. I blabbed a bit, talked about Captive a bit. It was fun! At Clarissa Johal's blog, I babbled a bit about the stark contrasts often made in speculative and paranormal fiction, why I think they help those genres resonate with us as readers, and what types of contrasts I tossed in Captive by the Fog.

I also took part in my imprint's blog, Erato, and babbled about myself. If you've ever wanted to know some really goofy things about me, take a peak. As a bonus, I also talked about my next project I'm working on! Well, going to work on. Yeah. I've decided to try NaNo again this year. Eek.

Published today, I also babbled on Musa Publishing's blog. I took on the infamous "write what you know" statement that got me into so much trouble in college, and hopefully made some sense with what I came up with.

With all that babbling out of the way, I know you want more, right? Fear not! Captive's awaiting:

Captive by the Fog

That link goes to the buy link on Musa's site. It should be up on Amazon and Barnes and Noble soon-ish, but I strongly encourage folks to check out Musa's site and order it directly that way if it's not too much trouble. Why? My editors, cover artist, and I get paid a teeny bit more that way, due to third-party retailers charging publishing fees. Love to read? Support your writerly team!

Musa also sends you a nifty gift certificate when you sign up for the first time (check your email's spam folder if you can't find it the first time-- mine was hiding there), so it's worthwhile to do so just for that. Technically, you can get Captive for free that way!

If you're having trouble figuring out what ebook format you need to purchase, check out this guide on Musa's site. My non-technical guide may also help:

• If you have a Kindle, you want PRC. Nook? ePUB. You'll need to transfer the file over via USB cable.
• If you're using a smartphone and have a big enough screen to enjoy reading on it, you probably want ePUB, as I'm fairly certain that works for both Android and Apple phones. To view an ebook on a smartphone, you'll need to download a free app. I personally use Nook's, which can be found in both the app center or on Barnes and Noble's site. After which, you'll need to transfer the file over to your phone with either the USB cord or through email or whatever. 
• If you're going to be reading it from a computer, you have three choices-- you can either download the free Nook program (Barnes and Noble's site has it), download the free Kindle program (on Amazon), or use your free Adobe Reader program to view the PDF version. Most PCs come with a PDF reader of some type. Oh, and as a warning, I linked the reader versions for Windows. Both sites have Mac versions as well.
• You'll generally have to place the file in a certain folder in order for the program to register it (except for PDF). This folder is usually pretty obvious, and will read "ebooks" or some such. If you have any questions, you can try checking out the FAQs of whatever program you choose, or if in doubt-- poke me. I'm not expert, but I'll help the best I can! 

 All that said, please enjoy Captive if you do check it out, and remember to leave me feedback in one form or another (even if it's angry!). If you have questions, feel free to ask those, too! I love feedback, and since I do plan on making a serious go of this writer stuff, I need all the feedback I can get. I may be a nub now, but I hope to always improve.

There's a lot of... well, me, in Captive, and I'm sure you'll figure that out as you read along! I'd love some reviews if anyone's willing to share their comments publicly. Leaving a review on Musa's site or at Amazon, Goodreads, or Barnes and Noble is a great way to get the word out on my little book. And yes, get the word out if you'd like to. Tell your friends, etc. I won't discourage that in the least!

Happy reading! And... go, Captive, go!

Captive by the Fog Cover Reveal!

Huzzah! This is the cover for my debut novel, Captive by the Fog, due out October 26th. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Pretty nifty, eh? I'm pretty dang happy with it. In the information I provided the artist, Kelly Shorten, with, I just kinda babbled about the San Francisco skyline, ruins, fog, a lamppost, and a whitish/blueish technological "sheen"... and well-- wow, major props to her for somehow being able to decipher my random items and come up with this. The color scheme's exactly what I'd imagined!

I'm finished with Captive's edits (special thanks to Megan Embry, my fantastic editor who somehow put up with my noobness!), and am now heading into the final stretch before publication. I've got some nifty Captive-inspired projects in the works, including a book trailer, an amazing instrumental song composed by my awesomely-talented friend, Jeremy Jones, and a slew of guest blogs that I'll be babbling on-- er, appearing on-- as the countdown to October 26th nears. 

I'm also going to be taking part in Musa Publishing's 1st Anniversary Blog Hop, which is starting in October. I'll be giving away a free digital copy of Captive by the Fog during the blog hop, but since my release date's after the hop ends, it'll pop up in the winner's email box when the novel is released. Think of it as a pre-order, but free! Expect to see more information on the blog hop this coming Sunday.

In the meantime... huzzah x2!

Big news! I uh, guess I'm an author now?

Oh, yeah, new site design, too! Finally got tired of the kinda-customized, default mountain-looking design. So now I made a slightly-more customized, weirdo star-themed design. I hope you like green.

Um, right. You're probably still wondering what I meant by the title. See the little "author" word in my banner? Yeah, that's right. Captive by the Fog, the novel I finished a couple months ago, is getting published! It tied for second place in the contest, which granted me a contract.

I actually heard the news a couple weeks ago, but was waiting to find out more details before I made a big announcement. It will be published through Musa Publishing, and will be published in e-book form. I signed the contract, and am now waiting to begin the editing process. I was told they're looking to release Captive during late October of this year, but that may change.

Exciting news! I'm still not completely sure I believe it, sometimes. I'd been throwing around short stories, thinking that if one of those hit a wall and stuck to it, that I'd maybe have a shot at one day stepping up to novels. But uh, seems the novel stuck first... the goofy LGBT alien novel based on a really silly dream about my dad, San Francisco, a hot girl, and well, aliens. This just in-- I'm going to be really bad at promoting this thing...

But yeah. That's my big news. The folks at Musa seem pretty awesome, so far, and I'm looking forward to digging my heels in the experience, and finding out about all the work that goes into publishing a book. I'm really looking forward to the editing process. Since I haven't had much exposure to professional critiques or editing, I'll finally be able to learn a few things about what I need to improve on. And well, that's important. I'm not done yet. Not by a long shot.

My next big project is already taking shape, in fact. I'm going to finally novelize the world that Quest was based on. What's Quest, you say? The fantasy world my friend, Heather, and I created back in high school. Originally, it was kinda based on a bunch of various books and sci-fi shows we loved, but as the world grew, and I realized I liked to write stuff, I started making Quest its own universe. And yeah, shaddup-- I know the name's silly. It's not staying!

It will probably take the shape of at least a four-part series of novels. I have the first two books loosely plotted out, and hope to start the first soon. Its tentative name is Wardens of Wandering, but that may change later down the road. It'll be awesome seeing the unique host of characters come to life.

I'm still planning on continuing submitting stories to WotF quarterly, but other than that, I think my focus will remain on these novels. Novels may definitely be my forte. I've always found it easier to work on longer pieces-- projects if you will. I love the idea of sinking down into the process of extensive world building, involved character subplots, and all that jazz.

Anywho, that's my update. I'm gonna be a published author! I'll keep everyone updated on Captive's progress!