Another Year

Tomorrow marks this website’s second anniversary. Wow, two years already! Looking back, it’s amazing how much has happened since I created it, much of which I couldn’t have anticipated.

This blog post is my twenty-fourth. I chose to pace myself at one a month, which has suited me fine so I wouldn’t run out of ideas too fast. I’ve discussed personal insights and experiences in various aspects of the writing process as a means to get the word out about myself as a writer, to share my opinions, and to build a following in advance of getting my novel published. All are listed under the site’s Blog page.

My first blog post was referenced in a superbly done lecture series by Professor Jennifer Cognard-Black, titled Becoming a Great Essayist. I highly recommend it for any writer. My post may not have been an essay, and I certainly didn’t think of it as such when I wrote it. But maybe some of those that have followed it meet that level.

I completed writing Mystical Greenwood shortly after creating this site, and by the end of the following year, I signed a contract with Mockingbird Lane Press to publish it. The cover art was completed this summer, and my publisher and I have worked together on editing it.

Two haiku poems were published last winter in the MWA‘s literary journal Pen in Hand, which is available on Amazon (again, my author bio has an old web address). I’ve also done early work on two other novels, which I hope to get back to over the holidays.

My website has been viewed by people all over the globe. Ranked by most views, here’s a list of the top ten countries as of this moment:

1. United States
2. United Kingdom
3. Canada
4. India
5. Brazil
6. Australia
7. Ireland
8. Spain
9. Tanzania
10. Italy

I’ve shared my site and posts on social media, and made new accounts to increase the viewing pool. I’ve also uploaded two videos of me reading samples of my work publicly to my YouTube channel.

With Thanksgiving approaching, I’m thankful not only for getting my novel on its way to publication, but to have done well with this website over these two years. I’m also thankful to all of you who followed this site and liked my pages and posts.

Who can say what will happen in the upcoming year? With Mystical Greenwood coming closer to publication, I look forward to it! If you’re reading this and aren’t subscribed or following me on social media, I hope you’ll consider doing so and joining in on this journey!

If you have a website and/or blog, how long has yours been up? Please share some of your own writing and blogging highlights.