For the last few months, I have been maintaining several different blogs – a personal blog, a professional blog, and blogs for reviews, free fiction, etc. When I first started to publish, this was fine, I had the time, but lately I’ve realized that I’m really damn busy. I don’t know when it happened, or how I didn’t notice, but with the nearly 90 lb loss has come something I didn’t really expect to have – a social life. My email, twitter, and texts have been going crazy lately and honestly, I couldn’t be happier. Last weekend, I picked up a new iPhone to help me manage the craziness, and I think because everything is on the same device, that’s when I really understood just how things have changed for me in the last year.
A year ago, I looked at authors like Marie Sexton, Jan Irving, and Rick Reed and envied what I thought at the time was their perfect life. I mean, they are popular, successful authors so they must have it all together, right? I have five published novels and three shorter stories with more on the way, and I realized that while I’m not in their league, I’m not unrecognized anymore. I see people I don’t know talking about me on Twitter. I get fan mail. I get reviews and mentioned in blog posts, and it’s surreal. But, it’s helped me to see that I need to make my social media efforts as streamlined as possible. To that end, my friend @_Absynthe, whom I love and adore, is going to be helping me streamline all of my blogs into one single place where I can connect with people. I’m a software developer by trade, so the technology is not unfamiliar, but she is a WordPress goddess. You will not notice any real change unless you’re subscribed to one of the blogs. I also plan to consolidate blog posts into a monthly email. More information will be coming on that venture soon.
A couple of weeks ago, I met an extraordinary guy. For two years, he lived with the constant pain and fear of domestic abuse. During that time, he was not allowed an online social outlet where he could express himself and keep hold of the truly special person that he is. So, when my friend and I put together a blog for him and taught him how to post, I wasn’t sure exactly what would happen. He took to it like a duck to water, and I couldn’t be more proud of him. He’s using his blog and twitter to make his voice heard. A few of my friends have a single unified blog where they combine their personal and professional lives, so I’ve decided to follow in their example.
My new blog will be a reflection of my personal and professional life – new releases, works in progress, fitness, friends, and my constant battle to be a more socially adjusted person.
So, thank you @_Absynthe, @Blaculicious, @Devon_Hunter, @PhillipAubreyXXX, @SorceressCirce, @Naelany, and @ZeeWriter for helping me to see that I’m a person worth sharing with the world through more than just my stories.
