Hello to the no one reading this site. It’s been a while, and I’ve been neglectful. Sorry.

Truth is, I don’t really know what happened. I hit a wall, I guess? Questioned what I really wanted out of this writing journey? You know, fun stuff.

But lately I feel reenergized and like I actually have an idea of what I want this site to be and how I’m going to move forward with all things writing-related.

Because pretending like I’m talking to someone is fun and writing it out in a public place makes me sort of kind of accountable, here’s the plan:

1. Admit I’m writing a series and just do it.

I’ve already started to do this in an active way. I know it’s smarter to stop after one book and attempt to sell it as having “series potential” if I’m going after agents/publishers. And I haven’t completely closed the door on that route. It would be nice to, you know, have the option so I can weigh the pros and cons and go from there. Plus, publishing your book as an indie author is expensive.

But this world still excites me, and one way or another I feel like I have to see it through. To that end, I’ve written up a kind of “series trajectory” with a very light outline/concept for what I think each book will be. Seven in total. Really owning the sci-fi Hogwarts thing. Beyond that, I’ve moved ahead with book 2 (the outline is pretty much done and I’m close to starting the first draft) and may do book 3, as well, before releasing anything.

I think it’s both smart and stupid. Smart because if I do ultimately go indie, I’ll have three books in the ongoing story ready to go, making it easy for readers to jump from one to the next. Stupid because if it just doesn’t catch on, I’ll have spent a LOT of time writing three books.

But… I kind of don’t care. I want to write this entire story and put it out there for the world.

2. Start posting here about my journey.

When I first created this site, I wasn’t sure I knew exactly what I wanted this to be. I’m still not completely positive, but I think part of it will be some navel-gazing (you’re welcome) detailing where I am on my journey, my thoughts on why I’m doing what I’m doing, and just some general sharing of (hopefully) fun stuff like my process, hitting milestones, and things like concept art and possibly some freebies like short scenes and stories that are in the world I’m creating, but will never be in any of the books. Or, if I do opt for indie, perhaps some early access to book stuff, too. Also….

3. Offer reviews and recommendations.

What can I offer people beyond what’s basically a writing diary, tales from the parenting trenches, laments about not exercising enough, and general wallowing? My thoughts on recent books I’ve read and loved.

I don’t want this to be a review site, because there are already plenty of those and I never plan on telling you about a book that I don’t absolutely love. It’s not my job to gatekeep another writer’s success by tearing down something they’ve worked hard on, and I have no interest in it.

But it can be a sort of… celebration site. A curation site. A site for sharing with you the books that have recently brought me joy and excitement. But because of that, I want to choose books with a bit of a twist, which leads me into my next possible direction for this site and my creative endeavors….

4. Kids Books (That Adults Will Love).

That’s the tentative title I’ll be putting these review under and also my current thoughts for a possible podcast doing the same thing.

The idea is simple: as a father of a 10- and 13-year-old and someone attempting to write in the MG/YA space, I read a fair number of books aimed at kids. Some, even some really popular ones by well-known and well-respected writers, just don’t do it for me. Others I can appreciate for successfully speaking to my kids, but not quite hitting the mark where I would recommend them to another adult.

Those books will not be on this podcast. I want to feature books that are ostensibly aimed at kids… but I believe cross over very well as entertaining reads for adults. Because a good book is a good book. And I believe a lot of the most impactful books I’ve ever read actually come from the kid space. Journeys that inspire and stay with you. Situations that seem so frighteningly big and impossible because you’re not ready for them.

Plus, if you have kids in your life (not a requirement), reading the good kids books out there hopefully gives you a leg up both in getting them to read those book and in understanding what those kids are going through a little better.

Oh, and I’m playing with the idea of narrating my own “podcast” audiobook a la Stealing From Wizards.

This was a lot of words. Are you ready? I might be!