It's always something.
No. I don't mean that in some self-pitying way. Though, it is a bit of a jab at myself. Every time I start blogging again, I say, 'I'll keep up on it. I promise.' Then, I don't. Life happens, things get in the way, there's nothing good to mention. Etc. Etc.
Not this time.
But, before I get to that. I have to say 2022 is upon us. People always make resolutions that fall away, promises that can't, or won't be, kept. And life continues as usual after some grand gesture to change things.
Things do change. As much as they stay the same, they change. Life is like a good book or television show that way. As much as the characters evolve through the series, in the end, it ends where it started. So, make sure you start your journey in a good spot. In a place you don't mind being in, because in the end - in some way or another - you'll end up back here.
All the above brings me to my starting point and the lookout for 2022. After six novels in 2 series and 2 anthologies, I have been picked up by a traditional publisher. I say traditional because there are always people either looking out for you or trying to be clever and prove you're somehow skewing what you say. No, I pay nothing upfront. Yes, the promote me, my works, et al. A real publisher finally picked me up! I was in two anthologies that were published by a hybrid. Great experience but not what I was looking for in a publisher for my novels.
Which brings me to a sidebar. Throw away the life checklist you made for yourself. If I was still trying to check things off some list I made 23 years ago at the age of 18; I'd still be pursuing becoming a rockstar. Ha! I'd be a lifelong bachelor, living in Hollywood, or Venice Beach, doing god knows what while deluding myself that whatever life I was living was the life I wanted. In reality, I hated being in a band. Loved the idea of it, but not the reality. I changed my checklist. I let it marinate in the unknown gravy of my mind while I figured out what to take off of it and add onto it.
And here I am. 41, heading into a year a lot of us never thought would come. And most of us survived. To those that have gone before us, you shall always live on in our hearts. But, 41 I am, and finally published. No, I am not, nor was not some 21-year-old hot-shot calling the shots on the big scene. The only shots I called were to a bartender at a now-demolished dive bar.
I am ever grateful that my publisher is taking a chance on me and what I have to say. Yes, validation that the stories you feel worth telling are worth telling is comforting. That someone wants to sink time and money into said stories is thrilling, exciting, and many other words found in a thesaurus. I am glad to be part of it and am enjoying this journey.
Now, I move on. Let you off to the rest of your day or evening as the words I've written marinate in the gravy of your mind.
If you want to see me in person this January of 2022, I shall be at Villicon on the 21-23. Every, or most, Thursdays you can find me at Margaritaville, Orlando. And I am working on a few more places for the first weekend. Once I get that finalized, I shall post it on my Facebook page.
Come say hi, and we can wax existential on the meaning of life. Take care, and until next time, be good.
Nick
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