I’m an indie author. The book links are over there. –> They should open up in a new window or tab. Go ahead, I’ll wait…

Okay, thanks for clicking. I didn’t want my blog to be yet another blog where the writer talks about how hard it is to write or what it’s like to be a writer, but…I kind of like talking about that. So I’mma do it on the weekends, and if you want to read, please join me, and if not, that’s okay, too. I want to reach out to readers, and if my blog bores you, hopefully my stories won’t. On the other hand, if you’re the curious type, this is what my life is like trying to be heard in the sea of “Look at me!” that is the internets in general, and indie publishing specifically.

Being Heard

People don’t need to ask anyone if they want to write a book–most people do, in that abstract, “someday when I’m rich and indolent” way, want to have written a book. Hell, even most writers like having written a lot more than the actual writing, self included. But when it comes to the real, actual work that goes on in crafting a story–even if it’s just your grandma’s biography and all the parts are true and none need to be made up–it’s still daunting to most people, the same way running a marathon is daunting unless you’re dedicated to achieving the goal of running a marathon.

I like to tell stories. I like to use words in creative and magical ways to tell the stories of people who live inside my head. And I’ve been learning how to do it since I was a youngling. First I took college courses, then I took workshops, then I read books, and I’ve practiced, practiced, practiced. Why? Because I’ve never just wanted to write things down for myself. If a tree tells a story in a forest and there’s no one around to hear it, that story didn’t get told. Stories are like germs–they’re meant to be passed around from person to person, left on doorknobs and spread around public places, that’s why hit books go viral. They’re meant to change you a little bit, though I’d like to think they aren’t the equivalent to a stuffy nose or the literary equivalent of persistent post-nasal drip (although some of them are). I want to Be Heard. Just like you and everyone who’s ever stood up to make a point in an argument or said something out loud that they shouldn’t have or made a silly YouTube video of themselves or their kids or their cats dancing, I want to be heard.