What Have I Been Up To

To me, it seems as though I blinked and suddenly it’s almost summer.

What happened to winter? What happened to my plans and intentions?

I admit I got caught up in figuring out my new position at my new job, and that had some drama to boot, and that took a great deal of my mental energy. There were days on end when all I could do was journal the days miseries, and then binge-watch something, usually the news which often made me feel worse.

But then, sometime in mid-February, I picked up a book. It’s one of seemingly standard, “Self Help Books of the Season,” but I swear this one just hits different. I suppose that, eventually, if you read enough of the genre, you’ll find one that fully speaks to you. For me, that book is James Clear’s Atomic Habits.

Alongside, of course, many-year favorite and every-year re-read, Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. (legitimately will fall asleep listening to the audiobook, it’s perfect)

I started rereading Atomic Habits in mid-February, and it kind of lit a fire under me in a very particular way.

One of the main things he mentioned that I latched onto this read-through was, do it your way. Do it the way that makes sense to you.

I’d been ever-so-slowly making my way through and reading these heavy books. These books I felt as though I “should” be reading.

So, somewhere halfway through my Atomic Habits reread, I picked up K.F. Breene’s Sin and Chocolate.

It’s a fun story, and an interesting, engaging series—The Demigods of San Francisco. But it’s… nice. Good. It hits the right spots for me. And I read it, quickly. And then the next, and the next.

I’m on the final book of the series currently, and about a third of the way through. I’ve been enjoying every delicious inch of it.

And it’s brought me back in touch with something vital.

I may not be for everyone. I am sometimes silly, I deep-dive into obscure topics, I get distracted quickly and easily by things—except for writing. I’m always writing. Sometimes my writing is just like me, and that’s okay. That’s more than okay. That’s exactly how it’s supposed to be. But I am meant to write, and to be read.

✨

It’s been quite the little revelation, light bulb, epiphany moment.

I keep coming across signs that are telling me to step out there, to publish the thing, to just start. To ignore that nagging voice that says I’m not worthy of being heard, seen, read. That voice needs to shut the f*ck up.

To that end, I started working on things.

I started writing more and more in my various fanfics, concluding or coming to conclusion on several (I have four WIP’s at the moment). I’ve been receiving some lovely feedback.

I started reading through all 47,000~ words I’ve written so far in Edge of Night and began adding to it once more.

I began writing again in Star Marked and A Thousand Tattered Lives, and working on short stories whenever I’m stuck on any of the many main projects. So far for short stories we have The Tavern at the End of the Lane (working title), It’s Magic, and Mirror, Mirror going. The first is for Dark Songs of the Gods, and the other two are for Beyond the Veil.

I began working more on my super-secret project.

I bought equipment, rearranged and organized my space, and built an in-home recording studio. I’ve begun recording with Catching Pathways, and am going to record, edit, and produce all four of The Five Realms books onto audio. I’m hoping all four will be released in tandem later this year. I’m still learning my way around the recording and editing software, but what I’ve managed so far has sounded really, really good.

As I continue to write and publish, I intend to continue recording and producing my own audiobooks as well. Hopefully to release side-by-side with the ebooks and physical copies.

I fully reworked this website, and have begun writing newsletters that have no expiration, ones I can pull out whenever I need. It’s my hope to get ten written and stored, and then start publishing a newsletter every two weeks. Not being under pressure to come up with an idea every 2 weeks would be enormously relieving, and help me make the goal come true.

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Even artwork has been flourishing in comparison to previous months and years, but I am a little shy about sharing those works. Nothing has reached completion stage yet.

All in all, things are getting as much attention and energy as I can put toward them at the moment, but the movement has been momentous. As we keep going, it gets easier. Things are happening faster.

I’m also working on a different modality of therapy, incorporating an EMDR specialist alongside my usual mental health team. I’m hopeful because, though it is new, it has already proved to nudge me forward, not hold me back.

So here I am again, hat in proverbial hand, saying hopefully this time we’re on the right path.

That’s what I’ve been up to. It’s been quite the whirlwind.

I hope to see you around.