2009

In February I released Seven Days of Terror, my first official contribution to the literary world. Although self published, I can (and am proud to say) I am officially a published author. Check one off my bucket list – only 57,000 more to go.

An old friend from high school, who happens to be a fellow horror movie connoisseur, not to mention a professional copy editor, graciously tackled the task of becoming my editor. I have so much to thank her for and don’t know how I can ever repay her. Hopefully one day I’ll get picked up by a publishing house and can take her along with me. So to sum up that little tidbit, I am now a published author with my very own professional editor! Not bad for “getting off your ass and doing it”, is it, grandma? Much thanks to my grandmother. In talking to her on a visit last December I told her about my writing dreams and she simply told me “so go do it”. And I guess you can say that was that.

In August I started writing my monthly Shorts! short story installments. There are five short stories in Seven Days of Terror and counting the monthly shorts I’ve already written for, I’ve got eleven published short stories under my belt. Though officially working on a novel through all of this – very slow going, I might add – it appears that my forte is short stories.

I don’t know where I heard it, or even if I ever hear it all, but the phrase do something, and do it great popped into my head this week and I can’t seem to get rid of it – not that I want to. I like it. It sums up how I feel about my writing. I’ll take it over Freebird, which the five-year-old “new rock” station plays incessantly, any day.

In 2010 I resolve to finish a manuscript and submit it to a publisher. What the hell – you never know till you try. Right? I’m considering taking a novel writing course or procuring a handful of books on novel writing. Try as I might, I have reached stalemates with two different novels as of now, and have no earthly idea how to proceed with either of them. And now I have an idea floating around in my head for a third. If I can just learn how to put everything together and build things the way they’re supposed to be built, I’d be good to go. I’ve never written anything other than short stories, so that explains that.

And stay tuned in the coming month. I’m up to something, but I won’t divulge until I have reached the point of completion. Let’s just say I got a new toy to play with for my birthday and have been doing a little playing here and there.

Do something, and do it great. Awesome, isn’t it?

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