2014, And the Stuff That Happened To Me In It

So, the New Year is here, as it always seems to be this time of year. Time to look back, time to look forward, time to make promises - sorry, resolutions - one has no intention of keeping (if pop culture is to be believed, which it usually is).

2014 was a good year for me. And, as a person living with depression and anxiety, I do not say such a thing lightly. Speaking of which, I've been tapering off one of my medications. If I can get off it completely while still remaining healthy, I'll be very happy (no pun intended).

So, what else was good in 2014? Let's take a look:

I sold the movie rights option for Evil, one of my best novels. I finished and posted a novel-length (or at least novella-length) work of Doctor Who fan-fiction, which you can find here. And, in the last couple of days before the year ended, I finished the first draft of I, Suicide, a Cupid War spinoff four years in the writing. I wrote a few short stories too, one of which is a Cupid War story! You'll be seeing that here before too long.

I was employed for well over half the year. Not bad, but I can do better. One resolution of mine is to break away from temp agencies. I'll say more about that in another post.

I visited my sister Claire in Regina. That did both of us a lot of good.

I gave up soft drinks, with only one relapse; I drank a half-litre bottle of Pepsi at my sister's place. Bad Tim! But the ginger ale I drank while I was fighting a cold does NOT count! That was for medicinal purposes. It's funny, people have asked me if I feel any better now that I've (mostly) stopped drinking pop. Honestly, I don't feel any different.

I went to four conventions this year, five if you count the Fan Expo (I don't). Each one brought me closer to my fandom friends while introducing me to new ones. Two cons were out of Toronto, another bold step forward in my self-promotion. Before you know it, I'll be a star attraction at San Diego ComicCon! Well, I can dream. Might as well dream big!

Not everything was good. Last month I got notice that The Cupid War is now out of print. I also removed Closets from SynergEbooks, so the only titles I have available are Section K (paperback) and The Five Demons You Meet In Hell (ebook). My novel-writing career has taken a huge hit, and it will take a lot to bounce back.

Part of that bouncing back will involve re-releasing Closets through Smashwords. I'm also planning to release my next ebook, Apoca-Lynn, through Smashwords on Valentine's Day. I'll keep writing, of course: next up is a sequel to Apoca-Lynn, and the continuation of Zombie Jesus Day. I have a lot to do, and for that I'll need a lot of motivation and energy.

Hello, 2015. Here we go!

An Excellent Title For This Post Is

A lot has happened since I last sat down to post. For one, I've given up soft drinks. Cherry Coke, Pepsi Twist, Doctor Pepper, Orange Crush, 7-Up... all are off my menu, and I'm a little bit healthier. Yay, me. Good god I miss them.

I've been to two conventions in the last few weeks, with another coming up this month. I'll blog about them separately, just as soon as I kick my ass to do it. In short, they were fun, they were wonderful, and they were learning experiences as well. Socially speaking, I'm still struggling. At least, I feel that way.

My depression has been more manageable lately. It helps that I'm currently employed; money is less of a stress. I've landed another data entry position at a bank, and it should run until the end of February.

I'm 90% through the first draft of I, Suicide, my spinoff novel from The Cupid War. I've been at it for three years now, and it's quite a different beast from my usual output. I'll be glad to see it finished.

The Five Demons You Meet In Hell is, in my view, a failure. It was a good first foray into digital self-publishing, and I've been told the vast majority of ebooks sell even worse due to authors being unknown to the masses. That was nice to hear, but 32 sales is still terrible. Nevertheless, I am going ahead with Apoca-Lynn. Glutton for punishment, am I? Maybe. But not ready to give up yet, either. I'm also going to re-launch Closets.

That's where I'm at right now. Blogging hasn't been easy, but I'm making an effort to get back to it. I still have a lot more to say.

Dispatch From The Blackout

Blackout! Power out.
Waiting for the light.
Everywhere in darkness,
How am I to write?

As you can see, yesterday's blackout in Toronto (July 8/2013) had me so downhearted that I resorted to bad poetry. Luckily I wasn't affected by any of the flooding, which I only learned about this morning! I would have been trapped downtown with no way home if I'd been working; I never thought I'd be grateful for unemployment! I did manage to get some work done in spite of the situation, including the post below:

I'm sitting in a bus shelter on the corner of Bathurst and Antibies, a ten-minute walk from my building, in the middle of a blackout and a thunderstorm. It was the only place I could go where I could sit, out of the rain, with enough light to write by. The nearby Tim Horton's is closed, so I couldn't get a cup of tea (aaarg!). Most places were closed due to lack of power, but a family-owned convenience store remained open and willing to sell me a can of Wild Cherry Pepsi provided I had exact change.

So, against considerable odds, I have a drink and I'm still able to write! Not for much longer, though; it's 8:30 PM, and what little sunlight I've been getting through the storm clouds will be gone very soon. Already my eyes are hurting. I was hoping to get started on my next article for Toronto.com, but no go - I need the Internet for that. I was editing one of my manuscripts on my computer earlier today; that's no longer an option, either. That leaves me with the projects I can write longhand: this post, and my current novel project, Zombie Jesus Day.

And now this session is done; my eyes are crying out for vengeance. It really says something about how dependent we all are on electricity. Even writers like me who write mainly by hand can only do so much in the absence of precious voltage. I hope this blackout doesn't last too long. If this post does indeed get posted here, you can rest assured we made it through!