So it’s almost the end of 2005 — is it necessary to do one of these retrospective / looking forward thingies?
Sure, why not.
Should I simply reflect, or do a top-foo list?
Well. In no particular order:
- Podcast Expo. I sometimes need to be dragged kicking and screaming to social events, and I had a false start, but… wow. What a great time. I was literally part of history. Small scale, geek and nerd history, but still. Next year’s going to be even bigger.
- Brave Men Run. Hey, dig me, I wrote a book. And I typeset it, and laid it out, and recorded it, and released it in print, e-book, and podcast. And it’s getting rave reviews. Some people are even buying it. Now you… do so.
- I quit my Cursed Day Job. After ten years with the same company. And for the first time since I was eighteen, work is not my top priority. Creating is. I am very, very grateful to my wife for taking on the majority of the income-producing burden around the Lush and Lavish Studios of MWS Media. I am also thankful for the skyrocketing property values in San Bernardino County, without which I could not have flipped from working and creating to creating and working. Let’s see how long it lasts…!
Based on the amount of typing dedicated to it, I’d say that quitting the CDJ was the biggest thing that happened to me this year. It’s big, all right. Scary big. I now have no excuse not to create.
And I am. Even as I promote “Brave Men Run – A Novel of the Sovereign Era” and work on new avenues of distribution for it, I’m working on my next novel. Tentative title: “Light of the Outsider.” Think of it as a gritty fantasy… if James Ellroy teamed with Fritz Leiber, perhaps. This will be my first novel set in my Shaper’s World millieu.
Which only makes sense, since I’ve only written one other novel, and it wasn’t set there. Duh.
So what’s up for 2006?
Stay focused on MWS Media, diyendeavors.org, DIY advocacy, and writing.
Finish “Light of the Outsider,” take the same path as “Brave Men Run.”
Go to some conventions. Do some talks and signings.
Continue to do one of things I’ve started doing since leaving the CDJ… cultivate new relationships, both friendships and business, that feed into my interests and passions.
Find a way to maybe make a little scratch from it all.
Also on the agenda: lose a little weight, get new eyeglasses, go to a wedding, celebrate an anniversary, get organized (hah!), unload unused and unnecessary possessions.
That, and continue to follow my bliss.
If you’d like to help, dear reader, the best thing you can do is buy a copy of “Brave Men Run.” It’s worth three bucks to me every time you do… so buy a copy for your best friend, too!
If you were concerned this was going to turn into one of those sappy “what have we learned” end-of-year posts, that last paragraph hopefully put the kibosh on that.
Happy New Year! Stay well.
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