Crooked Lines

Updated: Nov 15, 2022

Hey Hey Hey everyone!

Your favorite completely inexperienced blogger here once again and I'm noticing that it's been quite a hot minute since I wrote anything for all three of my most loyal fans.

Somehow this is actually my first blog post since mid-August . . . . .

Let me start off by giving my most sincere apologies at my lack of creativity lately . . . . .

Perhaps I should rephrase that. It's not that I have been uncreative as of late, but rather that my creativity has just happened to completely center around anything and everything except blogging lately.

In truth, there's simply been so many events, opportunities, and stories to catch up on over the last quarter of a year that have caused a whirlwind of cycling emotions in all various possible directions and, thus, my blog posts have temporarily ceased amidst the chaos of ferocious event planning mixed with plentiful busy work and a rapidly changing lifestyle that I had hoped to soak in and milk for just a little bit.

Unfortunately, I haven't quite had the opportunity yet. Does this mean I haven't been out and about? I think you might already know that answer.

I will spare you from the majority of intricate & intimate details because everybody has their own lives, including you! Unless I'm mistaken, my general consensus is that the last thing that my readers (or any readership of any blog, really . . .) would want to read a personal blog for is to read about someone else's current issues! Though, I will say that even if I haven't quite gotten the chance to milk every moment of bliss to its absolute premium potential, there have most definitely been some extremely pristine moments thankfully etched into my memory.

For example, I've gratefully driven as deep as I could possibly dive into what figuring out just exactly the responsibilities of a true friend can be in a sheer and utter genuine moment of crisis . . . and how this can sometimes be an actual (quite possibly literal) physical & mental necessity, rather than a luxury.

True, I must agree that it is a little too deep of a subject for my taste at the moment. Still, I'm now allowing myself a quick minute to reflect on some of these authentic moments of the past that have been flawlessly beautiful. But what else have I been up to?

Well, I planned three concerts in one month . . . so THAT was pretty cool! Sadly, I'm pretty sure the thing that they don't tell you about planning three concerts in one month is that the post-concert depression hits 3X harder than it normally would and thus, I've naturally already set my hopeful eyes on a potential fourth!

What else?

Oh. HELLO?! The Atlanta Braves are in their first World Series since 1993!!! So, naturally, much of my time has been consumed with that as well (but in the greatest and most grateful way).

What about the new book?

Well . . . . . let me tell you something that you certainly already know.

Life is anything but linear. It is constantly changing and crafting all sorts of ups and downs in every which way, ultimately drafting a series of crooked lines. While I already knew this message all too well, these last few months have allowed the resonating core of that message to sink so much deeper into the depths of my brain than ever before imaginable.

Among everything else, A Moment in Time is EXTREMELY close to its Halloween release and the illustrations are being finalized this week as we speak!

I'll be providing a preview for all friends and family on social media so very soon! In the meantime, the first initial focus group of readers have responded with overwhelming positivity (phew!).

I've got to say, publishing a book is right up there with some of the hardest things I've ever done in my life. However, the goal is to keep going way further than a one 100-pages-or-so poetry & prose novel, so I'll have to keep on pushing those boundaries!

The emotions through this process have been all over the place. Sometimes, I struggle to wait in sharing some of the most creative pieces of my heart with close friends & family. . . and others. . . . . I'll admit that I can think of nothing I'd rather do on this Earth any less than that.

I must say, publishing a novel is much more tedious than those of the general public would ever imagine off the top of their head. For example, formatting every little word placement and artwork design to not only be un-distracting, but to also give the intended original message . . . -well- I don't know about you, reader, but is that something you typically think about when you're reading? As I flip through from page to page, I've noticed that I most certainly haven't, but maybe that's just me.

Sometimes, my writing confidence skyrockets through the roof and others it is far below six feet under. The inconsistencies can be rather startling.

You can imagine, though, that years of work (including creative work that is sometimes written among an extremely vulnerable mindset) is difficult to craft in a way that doesn't make you feel like your life is about to be a public domain. Not that I think A Moment in Time is going to be a New York Times Bestseller or anything crazy like that, but regardless of whether I've earned the eyes of 2,000,000 readers or 20 readers, some of my most cherished people on this planet will still have never read one sentence of my writing in a lifetime until I decide to press down on my mouse and officially click "Publish". I'm sure you could understand a little bit of anxiety about that, couldn't you?

I will say that the greatest thing about this entire publishing process is that I've finally learned how to write for myself, after all this time. It has become a way of self-healing for me that I'm becoming more and more grateful for. A way of stepping in another person's shoes and viewing events from their perspectives. I am now able to fulfill initially unfulfilled moments that originally lacked necessary closure. I could quite possibly create an entire new world from scratch! As if I were a human VR Oculus set, I have the working potential to immerse myself in an environment as cheerful as Peanuts, as scary as A Quiet Place, as funny as Tommy Boy, as seasonal as The Grinch or anywhere in between. I'll get into this in another blog post after this entire first book is said & done, but I will confidently state that learning to write for myself instead of the curious coworker, the long lost friend, the complete stranger, the jealous ex-girlfriend, or the forever crush, is so incredibly rewarding. Hopefully, you'll see what I mean soon!

Anyways, this post is a smaller one because I do have a great many things to tend to and it also just so happens to be the week of my 27th birthday, along with Halloween and a number of other social events! I'm sure you've got something planned and don't particularly want to sit around reading my words all day!!

So, before we go. . . Let's bring out my favorite Halloween public figure: