A little over three years ago, I stepped away from blogging entirely. At the time, I promised that a new website was “coming soon.” Well, that didn’t turn out as I’d planned. Frankly, very little has turned out as I’d planned.
I’m 40 now. I finished what would become my first novel, Locked Within, more than ten years ago. I thought by now I’d at least be making a living from writing, if not enjoying some semblance of fame and recognition. But while my early days as a published author were exciting and promising, it didn’t last. Enthusiasm for subsequent releases fell; I stopped getting requests to be interviewed or invitations to speak at events; sales dropped into non-existence.
And largely this has been my own fault.
Over the last decade I have made just about every mistake an author can make. I kept a lackluster website; failed to manage my social media; didn’t invest in promotion; failed to maintain regular writing and publishing schedules; I even let myself down in my cover art and editing.
I live with depression and anxiety. These are my monsters. Once they get their claws in, it’s hard to get them out, and they drag you down. So why am I blogging again? To beat my monsters.
There’s so much wrong in the world right now, I need to find focus. I need to write again. I need to tell stories. But just like Rocky can’t jump in the ring to fight Drago without training, I can’t restrict my writing to books. Whether it’s social commentary, critical analysis, or alternative forms of fiction, I need to write as much as I can.
So stick around. I have one book in progress and another I’m brewing up, and each will confront issues I’d like to address. I also have some other projects in mind, which you can learn more about through my Patreon. Patrons get to see my books as I finish each chapter, among other rewards and access to my blog posts early. If you’d like to stay updated on my posts without committing to Patreon, you can join my mailing list, to the right of this post.
I’ve been knocked down, and stayed down long enough. It’s time to get back on my feet and, well, I’ll let Anna tell you…
