Hello There

It may surprise some of you that a 30-something who likes to write and lived through the golden age of the blog has well . . . never written a blog or really even entertained the idea. And I imagine there are some who have read this short distance and are sitting there thinking, “nope, not surprised. This is definitely this fool’s first blog.” And there hopefully are others thinking, “hey you know what, not bad.”

To which I would say to both groups, and anyone else reading, welcome. Starting with this post, I endeavor to write blogs that make you want to read until the very end.

Which is the goal of any writer . . . obviously.

I have had many phases in my life. Like most of you I started as a baby, did the toddler, and little kid thing. Found a couple passions in my youth: sports and theater, with the latter scratching a creative itch I didn’t know I had. But I chased that dream of sports first. And while the love of sports didn’t fade, my playing days did, so I did the college thing. Changed majors. Graduated and tried the 9 to 5 thing; and while I went through every stage of life one thing went with me – a true love of stories. And while I tried my hand at different things it was always stories that drew me back, I just can’t quit ‘em.

And why would I want to? Stories get to the very heart of who we are. For me it’s their ability to teleport us to worlds we could never have dreamt of without the help of the writer. They allow us to reflect and see ourselves in the moments and characters that inhabit those far off worlds. We can realize so much: I’ll never be as cool as James Bond, but I can relate to his level of persistence and determination. I’ll never be as smart as Batman (comics count as reading), but dammit I love solving a puzzle too. I’ll definitely never be able to hack like Lisbeth Salander but . . . no this is a bad example I’m terrible with computers. And I’ll never be as perfect as Aragorn – but who is?

So, I’ve spent the last few years, I’ll leave it vague as to not reflect on how many years it’s actually been, writing the story that has floated around my head as far back as 2012. My first love is film and television, and I tried writing this story for the small screen first. It went well, but in the end this story needed to be a book. Which I’ve finished, just haven’t sent it out quite yet.

I unfortunately live during this digital age where we are all forced online to “sell” ourselves and product – how I envy the anonymity of Lemony Snicket. Thus, leading me to create this website.  The first question is, how do I draw an audience right now? I am a writer but currently have nothing published. So, I’m not here to plug my products so that you buy them. Although if I were to have product to sell you, you’d bite (I was good at my 9 to 5 job btw).  I obviously want to get my name out there so that when I do finally publish I can have a space to, for lack of a better phrase, shout it from the digital rooftops.

Life has taken me down paths I would’ve never expected, just like so many of you. And now I’m finally getting out of my own way and putting myself and my work out there. As far as my book, I’m finishing my submission packet (query letter and synopsis), and a final touch up edit, and searching for agents to query, and creating online content for the first time, and that’s all while I’m trying to help my family with a start-up business.

But . . . if I don’t do this now I will end up an old man with a finished book and dozens of word documents with stories that have turned into what ifs. I don’t want that.

Going forward, I will document my journey, sharing things I found helpful along the way: inspirations, course corrections, lessons learned, and resources. I also have ideas of posting short stories I’m working on or old writing samples I’m proud of so you can get a better sense of who I am as a writer. There are a lot of possibilities.

This is a place for collaboration.

I think this space and my socials can become one for all of us. Every writer and lover of stories can share what they’re reading, or what progress they made while writing, or if they need help on the passage they’re working on, and even ask questions for what to do with a spark of inspiration. All of it, the good the bad and the ugly, and even the procrastination – this is where I excel, no one cleans a desk around the blinking line of a Word document like me. And don’t get me started on creating playlists . . . but I digress.

If there’s something I am talking about in my blog/socials, or eventually my newsletter, that you’re curious about email me and I’ll see if I can go deeper in another post – or we can correspond. This is a learning experience for all of us, especially me.

Also, I am terrible at social media. Genuinely, very very bad. I think my most liked post for my personal account had maybe . . . 50 likes. And honestly, I’ve never had an Instagram, I don’t know if I have an algorithm – and I’m a little afraid to catch one. However, I do understand the wacky world we live in, so I have bitten the proverbial bullet and created an Instagram and Facebook profile – linked in the header and footer for your convenience. But it’s not going to be great to start and I will need help. I will, trust me. So, help me . . . please. Let me know what you think of the content. Or if I’m missing out on any trends that could be fun. I mean my best idea right now is posting a “Word of the Day,” every 10 days or so.

If you are one of the brave souls that have read all the way through this semi-coherent mess of rambling thoughts, I applaud your fortitude. I hope that something struck a chord with you. This is simply the beginning.

(ps. It may not have been the best idea to write this, well the first draft, at 2 a.m. whilst listening to a Star Wars playlist in the dark. But here we are . . . and as a night owl, you never know when inspiration will strike.)