Like most people, I’ve spent the first week of the new year contemplating resolutions. I toyed with a few ideas: number of books published, number of words written, a set income or amount of new followers. But every time I began to contemplate an actual numerical aspiration, I balked. After all, I’d set enough of those in my lifetime to know how much they hurt when you don’t get there, even if it’s through no fault of your own. So then I began to think of things that weren’t so concrete like: spend less time on social media, practice deep focus, meditate. But these were too vague, too likely to be forgotten after a week (like most annual resolutions people make).
In the end, rather than a resolution, I decided to pick a single word, a mantra if you will, that would define my year.
And my word for 2020 is: Momentum.
2019 for me was a year of stalling out. I won’t go into the whole story again here, since I cover it pretty extensively in my bio. But for the months leading up to Thanksgiving I was in a terrible rut, unable to finish things, barely able to focus. Spinning my wheels didn’t even begin to cover it. I was el-stucko in a bad way, frozen by indecision, threatening to drift to a complete stop.
If you follow me at all, you’ll know that I’ve since pulled myself out of that dark place and am excited to plunge into indie-publishing with the 13+ novels I have sitting on my hard drive. But the rubber has to hit the road. I need to do more than dream and plan.
I need to ACT.
Even though I’m not a sports fan in the least, over the holidays I found myself watching the LSU-Clemson football game, where a young quarterback set a record number of touchdown throws. The game was mildly interesting I suppose (sorry all you football aficionados), but the thing that really lodged in my mind was this idea of positive feedback. The game was going well, which seemed to give the winning team a magical edge, which made the game go better. It was like they could do no wrong. The players were grinning, the fans cheering, and it felt like something hulking and powerful had been tipped down a mountain and was rolling inevitably toward it’s final destination. Call it destiny or call it random, but there was something about that game. Something different.
I think it was momentum.
It’s the feeling you get when you make your bed or exercise in the morning. It’s the feeling of going to bed knowing you crossed everything off your to-do list. It’s the compounding energy of your life slowly building in a positive direction, one day at a time.
I could really use some of that right about now.
So with this new mantra in mind, I’d like to make my first update post of the year a hefty one.
First of all, I’ll be publishing new chapters of my serialized novel Vagabonds for free on Wattpad every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. For those too impatient to wait for new chapters, you can also buy the whole book on Amazon for $3.99. If you like Stranger Things, X-Men, and troublesome teens, this one might be for you. I should be announcing the sequel sometime in February too, so stay tuned for that!
If you prefer darker, broodier stories with more science and less snark, you might like The Star Siren, now available in Kindle Unlimited. It’s got kickass women, gravity-warped planets, wormholes, and cool future tech. If you’d like to find out what a Genesis Engine is, check it out here. I’m also running a promotion this week, so The Star Siren will be free January 5-9!
And then, of course, there are all my other short stories available, either on this blog or in the books section of my website.
If you’re here just for the giggles and not the total awesomeness of my books (JK, although really, what are you doing with your life?), then here’s my new favorite picture of your friendly neighborhood eccentric author.
Have a great weekend everyone and, as always, happy reading 🙂
