Update 4/24

So it’s time for a little check-in. I’ve decided this might be a thing to do every now and then, every other month, probably unless I’ve got big news. I’m not big into divulging my personal life, not because I’m that private; I’m just not that interesting, I think, but I’d like to keep anyone interested up-to-date.

First, I’ve got a new story up, like a complete story, not just a short yarn that can be read in five minutes. And if you’ve checked this recent story out, you’ll see that you can comment on it. I honestly just figured out how to apply a comments section to pages, so that’ll be added to any main page I have up. I don’t think I will go through and add them chapter by chapter because WordPress isn’t always working the best on my end. To be frank, I didn’t even realize that it was something to be added in, but I guess that it would make sense that comments are not just hard-baked into every page. So that’ll be new and will give anyone free rein just to drop in comments, which I’m more than receptive to and looking forward to having.

Second, Sanctuary, my recent story, was something I had a really hard drive to put out. Initially, I had sketched an outline and was anticipating continuing The Love Market before starting it wholly, but I ended up fixated on it. I have trouble keeping my attention on one story or another, and depending on my mood, I might not feel up to writing a story for a few days or weeks. However, I’m reopening The Love Market with the intent to finish out the second part and finalize my plan for the third and get that typed and edited as well. I can see there’s interest in the story, and not only would I like to give you all more of what you want, but I also want to finish the story. I have a lot of ideas for it; it’s just been a process of figuring out what will and won’t work for it. I hope it comes out in a manner that you’ll all enjoy, but at the end of the day, it really is a mood I need to keep myself in to write what I think will work best for that story. 

Third, I plan to put up quite a few chapters for my fantasy story, Of Devils. The plan with this story now, because I have the bulk of three or four stories fleshed out, is to have Of Devils serve as an introduction, Of Mortals which is up on the site, is going to get an overhaul and be more of prequel though it will be available almost immediately upon restructuring, and then I have a follow-up that will come along not long after titled Of Lords. There are at least two more stories I have planned regarding character arcs and worldbuilding and so on, so I hope that is of interest to you. I’ll be straightforward about it, these stories are my passion project I kind of expect them to be less of a selling point, but they are to me just that story I have to write, I have made perfect, and make sure it is told in its entirety. The universe and worlds within those stories are a jumping-off point for a few other stories, so likely they will become a sub-category under a series header from the menu when we get there. The same can be said about a few other stories I have up. Looking to clean up the menu, some stories will be plopped under a primary menu as submenus based on a few factors, namely that some of them are linked by location or theme or they are just one big overarching storyline. 

Finally, I wanted to address a little about my personal life. Last I wrote on it, I was dealing with a lot of depression and anxiety issues, and though I don’t like to air my dirty laundry and certainly wouldn’t want anyone thinking I’m trying to excuse laziness and an inability to turn or work, I felt it needed to be brought into open. I’ve been doing better recently. I went to a therapist a few times, but I think that therapist might not have been a good fit. They seemed better oriented with patients dealing with trauma from their past who struggle with overcoming those effects. I’m, unfortunately, someone who does not look backward but looks ahead and feels that sinking feeling. I struggle with day-to-day problems; I’m still unemployed and dwindling down what money I have for me and my family to get by, but it’s another thing I’m working on. Once I’m back working full time, I don’t know what quantity I’ll be pushing out for work. I’m hoping less stress from worrying over bills will allow me to focus, but I’ll also be running with less time. Because of that, I have a few ideas to get more content out for everyone. I do a lot of reading and typically reading of books that are older or forgotten to time, so I plan on posting a book review once or twice a month. There is also a collection of essays and rants I have penned in a notebook on my desk, and though I hate to spout off like I’m the final answer in the world, I might type them up and post them. If nothing else, most of the things in there are not so horribly meanspirited that I think anyone would take offense, but I am more than happy to have a debate or discussion about things going on in the world. Also, a small sidebar, if you are a fellow creator, writer of prose, poetry, painter, musician, what have you, I’m always open to discussing creative endeavors, and frankly, as far as writers go, I really am looking to find a community in which I can swap ideas and just kind of work out where to take things. 

Anyway, wishing you all well and hoping the next few months can be productive for all of us.