The Obligatory Year-End Navel Gazing

Note: My rewatch of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is on hiatus. As soon as the party entered Rivendell and got surrounded by a party of elves on horseback, I started feeling nauseous. I’m going to take some time away before I come back and finish. Like maybe in twenty years, when someone has remade the movie and I no longer have to rely on Peter Jackson for my Middle Earth fix.

It’s the time of year when blogs typically reflect on the year that was and make promises and predictions for the future. As I’ve never been too proud to chase a trend, here’s my own Year In Review. Sorry if it’s a few days late, but contemplative narcissism can turn into a black hole very easily.

2013 was the beginning of my five-year plan to become self-sufficient as an author. Was Year One as successful for me as it was for Frank Miller? Let’s review:

1. I published my first e-book, Picasso Painted Dinosaurs. This collection of microfiction is my initial foray into self-publishing.

2. Thanks to the generous patronage of 79 supporters, I successfully funded a Kickstarter campaign for my novel, Quitting The Grave.

3. I wrote and published a mashup novel, Ahab’s Adventures In Wonderland.

4. I drove the Oregon Trail, filming a series of interviews along the way that will be edited into mini-documentaries for the enhanced version of my novel, Quitting The Grave.

5. I watched every episode of Game Of Thrones.

6. I redesigned this blog, as well as created an author’s page on Facebook (which in hindsight was long overdue.)

I’d say that 2013 was a rousing success.

On a personal note, my dog Bacon, who I adopted last December, was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease and suffered through about a month of awful pain. Luckily, after a treatment of steroids and 5 weeks of cage rest, he’s been doing infinitely better. I was really worried about him for a while and it’s been a blessing to see him happy and active again. He’s not cured, but hopefully we won’t see a reoccurrence of his symptoms for a long time. If you like photos of cute dogs, follow me on Instagram. It’s nothing but cute dogs!

So what do I have planned for twenty fourteen?

1. I’ve already started working on my Twelve Month Writing Challenge. Each month, I’ll be writing a complete short story and at the end of the year I’ll be bundling them into a free e-book. The first short story is entitled January Eternal.

2. I’ll be editing the 140 gbs of footage I got from my trip into mini-documentaries to accompany Quitting The Grave. The first test video has already been posted. Though this one has nothing to do with my book, it will give you an idea of what the videos will be like.

3. The Big One: After ten years of research, writing, revising, and agonizing, I will finally be publishing Quitting The Grave. I couldn’t be prouder of it. If you read one thing that I’ve written, this is the one. You can check out an excerpt here.

4. After writing my novel (which is half set in Eugene and half takes place on the Oregon Trail) entirely in Beijing, I will be moving back to Oregon. I guess this just goes to show I can’t help but do everything backwards. The move is largely prompted by Bacon’s health problems, which I hope I’ll be able to better manage in Eugene.

5. I’m already planning my next novel, Tokyo Dream, which takes place in, you guessed it, Japan. I’ll be taking a couple of research trips to the Land of the Rising Sun while I’m still in Beijing and I’m currently in the process of learning Japanese. Yikes!

6. Finally, I’d like to get at least the first draft of one other book written. I have a few ideas percolating at the moment, but this won’t be a full novel. Either a novella or perhaps a book of criticism? Who knows? It’s best not to plan out everything because you always want to remain open to sudden inspirations.

Thanks to everyone who’s supported me in 2013, whether by buying one of my books, supporting my Kickstarter, or reading my blog. I appreciate all of you. And don’t be shy about leaving comments. I love reading them, even when 90% of them have something to do with Peter Jackson.

Bacon and I wish you all the best in 2014!