In fact, you should NEVER believe that writing SEO content for website is joyous, because that is ALWAYS a lie. But on the upside, I’m doing a lot less of it and a lot more actual, you know, novel-writing.

One of these days I’ll update here with a proper post but for now:

a) Yes, I am still writing.
b) Yes, I have been published. A real book and everything! But not under this name.
c) Nothing has turned out the way I expected.
d) There’s nothing wrong with that because we all have to forge our own path in this crazy industry.

That’s all for now. I have revisions to finish!

If you’re still blogging and/or writing and your peepers happen to pause upon this post, tell me what you’ve been up to these past few years, eh?

Here is a picture of flamingos being flamingos. Because, why not?

So… scientists have identified a new genus of bat! Yes, that’s right. I said bat. I love bats.

They’re so CUTE, with their beady little eyes and flappy skin-wings and hooks for hands… awwwwwwwwww…

The discovery of this new bat species in South Sudan led scientists to identify a completely new genus, and this particular bat is only the fifth of its kind ever picked up by scientists for study (poor bat…). The bat species is called Niumbaha superba, and if you think that’s a cool name, wait until you see the pictures below.

I love this bat. I want to cuddle it everyday.

EVERY.

DAY.

I don’t mean that I can’t finish a book, or that I ever stop reading.

What I mean is that I no longer have a “favorite” genre, or author, or type of book, or series, or… well, anything.

Ask me today what I want to read and then ask me again tomorrow, and you’ll get a different answer. My genre loyalties shift with the wind, and my non-fiction topical preferences change depending on anything from how much sleep I’ve had to whether I’m hungry to the number of pages in the book.

I didn’t used to be this way! I used to be able to say, “oh, I don’t read romance” or “the classics don’t interest me” or “economics? no, thanks!”

Well, thanks to Librarything.com and particularly the Talk group I’ve been a part of for the past five (six?) years, it turns out there are just TOO MANY amazing books out there in areas I thought I didn’t read.

So, yes. I’m a fickle reader. It makes figuring out what to read next a little paralyzing sometimes, because there’s almost too much choice.

Not that I’m complaining.

…couldn’t be.

The one who, no matter how many times you try to have a conversation with someone else… or if you’re a teacher, when you try to get your class underway… shouts out loud some inane comment or puts their hand up and waves it around so much you can’t avoid them.

Or, sometimes worse in this day and age, the person who posts idiotic things on your Facebook wall underneath genuine statements or status updates. Or who posts ads in your industry-specific group just because their event or news is vaguely related to your group’s interests. Or maybe they met you once.

Yeah. I may be a little annoyed this morning.

Look, it’s important to give people the benefit of the doubt. Everyone has a story of their own, and we don’t know—most of the time, anyway—if that person means to be disruptive or if they just lack social awareness.

But I want to tie this into writing, so here goes: If you’re writing and you find that “one of those people” keeps shouting at you in your head and won’t shut up… it might be worth a listen.

Give your subconscious the benefit of the doubt. You may learn something fantastic, or that disruptive voice shouting at you might actually have the idea you’ve been waiting for to make your plot or story sing.

Or it’ll be total crap and make you slightly crazy.

Either way, you’re a writer, so it won’t make you any worse off in the end regardless.

It’s easy to get comfortable with the status quo… get up, work, come home and eat dinner, sleep, do it again. Hobby A is done at this time, hobby B at that time. Family on Sundays. Check emails twice a day (or if you’re me, seventy billion times).

We need to find the challenge in this routine and tackle it. Barney Stinson, love him or hate him, has a fantastic catchphrase (well, he has a few, but there’s one that applies here):

Challenge accepted.

“You can’t bungee jump, you’re afraid of heights!” Challenge accepted.

“Baking a souffle is frelling impossible.” Challenge accepted.

“There’s no way I could get a new job with my qualifications, even though the one I have is killing me.” Challenge accepted.

What have you been telling yourself is impossible or impractical or just not realistic because it doesn’t fit into the “status quo” of your life? And if those things would make you a happier, healthier, more whole person… why not just accept the challenge and go for it?

At the end of your life, do you want to say “man, I’m really glad I stuck with my easy, boring 9-5 at the paper factory even though it felt like it sucked the life out of me some days” or do you want to say “I’m so glad I took a chance on my dream job as a widget entrepreneur, even though it didn’t pay as well… but I sure had fun doing it despite the hard times.”

We only get one shot at this thing called life. Why not accept more challenges and make the most of it?

Even if you don’t believe in God, or if you’re of another faith, it’s hard to argue that the human race isn’t living up to its potential. We’re not whole, we’re not complete.

The news lets us know that every single day. We’re broken people, some of us more shattered than others.

The good news is that we don’t need to be broken forever. We can pick ourselves up and put the pieces back together… heck, we can help others put their pieces back together, and probably find that we’re more whole after doing so than we were when we tried to do it ourselves.

You know that speech a flight attendant gives about helping someone with their oxygen mask in an emergency only after you’ve secured yours? That doesn’t apply here. In real life, helping someone secure their pieces can often help yours fall right into place.

The world wants us to believe that it’s too late. That things aren’t fixable.

But really, it only takes one piece at a time. Patiently. Slowly.

Brokenness doesn’t have to be permanent.

The sad thing is, it seems that a lot of people believe otherwise.

And now that the sign-up for A to Z is closed, why bother?

Well, that’s where the “a is for asinine” comes in. I’d like to put more posts up for the sake of posting – and if they’re just here for me to read, cool. If someone else stumbles across them, welcome!

I have a number of projects underway at the moment, so writing these posts will *hopefully* be a bit of a break from the slew I’m wading through at the moment.

So, who else is embarking on an asinine adventure this month? Or this year?

Who wants to join me in the loony bin? It’s kind of nice here…

Last year, you barely saw me here, once the A-Z Challenge in April ended… I wrote just two posts between then and the end of the year. And you probably didn’t see me anywhere else, either. My blog visiting was, ahem, abysmal. Non-existent, if you will.

But that’s okay. No guilt monkeys here! Let me explain.

2012 was an interesting year… it was a year of experiences both good and bad, and of growth, both joyous and painful. I learned a lot about myself, and some of those lessons weren’t easy to face. I realized a little more what I’m made of, what I lack, and how desperately I need God’s help to make it through each day.

But at the end of it all, I’m grateful. I think I needed to be tested. Mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I got too comfortable, too lazy, and too apathetic. It was time for change. Time to move, regardless of direction. If you don’t get to your feet and at least take a few steps, you’ll never get anywhere at all… and sometimes we need to stumble before we can get our bearings and make headway.

I turn 30 this year, and for the first time in my life, I can see a clear direction. Oh, I’ll wander – trust me, I’m prone to wandering… it’s in my nature – but if you’d asked me at the beginning of last year if I’d accomplish any of my goals with 100% certainty, if I’d be even one step closer to accomplishing my dreams and to becoming the person I always hoped I could be, I would have told you “yes” to your face, while crumbling inside.

Not today.

I still have a heck of a lot of growth to do. I know that. But it’s okay—I’m made of stronger stuff these days. And when I fall apart? When the roadblocks and trials inevitably come? It’ll be all right, because I know that with my family, friends, and God at my side, I’ll find the strength to make it through.

Here’s to a glorious 2013 for all of us.

May it bring the change you seek, the challenges you need, and the victories you deserve.

You ready?

Wait for it…

Wait for it…

Wait… for… it…

I’m now represented by Gina Panettieri of Talcott Notch Literary!!!

…yeah, I’m a little stunned too.

Which novel managed this feat, you ask? My YA dark fairy tale retelling:

Cinderella, Necromancer

Yes, it took me five years to get here and a lifetime of dreaming (literally).

Yes, it took five full novels of various genres and several partially-completed disasters before hitting the right note on number six.

Yes, it took much self-doubt, joy, confusion, frustration, moments of genius, and moments of agony.

But you know what?

If you don’t give up, you can make your dreams come true. Hey, I know it’s cliche, but it’s a cliche for a reason, okay?!

This is just a rung on the ladder, but when you keep pushing forward and refuse to look down? There’s nowhere to go but up.

Thanks, everyone, for sticking with me and thanks for reading (even though I have a terrible habit of not posting regularly… I’ll try to fix that, honest!!!).

And cheers to your own dreams. If I can take a step forward, you can too!!!