{"id":1201,"date":"2014-12-31T20:12:05","date_gmt":"2015-01-01T04:12:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sacollins.com\/blog\/?p=1201"},"modified":"2015-01-01T00:34:19","modified_gmt":"2015-01-01T08:34:19","slug":"heres-to-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1201","title":{"rendered":"Goodbye to 2014 and here’s to a great 2015 …"},"content":{"rendered":"

Best Wishes in #2015 and what I learned from this past year…<\/span><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

“…and I count the times I have forgotten to say, THANK YOU. And just how much, I love them…”<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

[embedplusvideo height=”255″ width=”400″ editlink=”http:\/\/bit.ly\/1xwlxnA” standard=”http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/X0WjOiqebbI?fs=1&vq=hd720″ vars=”ytid=X0WjOiqebbI&width=400&height=255&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=1&autoplay=0&react=0&chapters=&notes=&lean=1″ id=”ep9939″ \/]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So a quick post about where I am after this whole writing endeavor of mine that I plunged headlong into without really thinking about it all.<\/p>\n

So what did I learn?<\/p>\n

Quite a lot, actually.<\/p>\n

I learned that writing is a very quiet, lonely (save for some really great discussions about the craft with my hubby and some writing pals and my betas) business. I sort of knew that, but really didn’t understand the full breadth of it all.<\/p>\n

I learned that writing a novel, no matter the actual size, is a very cathartic craft and really does take it out of you emotionally as well as physically (just the sitting for hours on end can be a bit grueling).<\/p>\n

But I’ve also learned to listen to others. To truly try to understand where they were coming from (even if I didn’t wholly agree with their positions). I learned that after all these years I still crave to hear what my gay brothers (and sisters) have to say about our lives – even if I feel we have quite a way to go in creating a real and lasting community amongst us.<\/p>\n

I’ve conversed (over my social media) with some really amazingly creative people in all facets of their various occupations and social lives. I was heartened to discover that the experiences I’d amassed in my life regarding my sexuality and my perceptions about it weren’t dirty or wrong (I never really thought they were – just that everyone in the mainstream seems to have a bug up their ass about it). In taking a Human Sexuality course this past few months really gave me an appreciation about sex and humans that made it all very real and personal for me.<\/p>\n

I’ve liked my on-going conversations with sex workers (like Rocco Steele<\/a>, Boomer Banks<\/a>, Tayte Hanson<\/a>, Colby Keller<\/a>, Levi Michaels<\/a> and Armond Rizzo<\/a>, to name a few) who have been kind enough to respond to my little tweets to them about the work they do and the other things that interest them outside of the porn business. I really am fascinated with all they do – beyond their current incarnations as porn stars. They are truly some amazing individuals and I am heartened to see how truly brilliant they are in how courageously they live their lives.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Colby<\/a>

Colby Keller and all of his auburn glory<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Rocco<\/a>

Rocco Steele and Boomer Banks – two men who’s lives are very fascinating…They inspire me too.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

I am emboldened that the few who have previewed my current work (I haven’t published anything yet – though they’re all going to hit early in 2015) have said that I really have something with Angels of Mercy<\/a>. That’s been the most rewarding thing of all this past year.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The FINAL – FINAL version of the book cover for “Angels of Mercy – Volume One: Elliot”<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

For my wolves of Sparrows Hollow – A BIG THANK YOU – ’cause you’re gonna be my very first release to the world in 2015!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The reworked and final image for the first of my HOMO series of gay werewolves set in 1956 West Virginia.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

I like that my musical muses – Steve Grand<\/a> and Jay Brannan<\/a> have been kind enough to exchange and, in their own way, encourage me to reach for my own stars. It makes my devotion to their craft and their art that much more special and personal. These men, these brilliant writers, inspire me each and every day in the things they do.<\/p>\n

\"Grand<\/a>

Grand fanboy here and proud of it! #teamproud #teamgrandfam<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"jay_brannan_new_album\"<\/a>

Jay Brannan’s new album – released \u00a0July 2014.<\/p><\/div>\n

To all of my newly formed author pals I’ve come to know and interact with, I am heartened and enriched by our exchange. A special shout out to Jayne Lockwood and Brad Vance for being the great people you are. Thank you.<\/p>\n

To my family and friends – you still teach me so much and I am looking forward to knowing what you have in store for me next year. To Michael Rumsey, Matthew Gallien, Vincent Mazza, Patricia Hamilton and the hubby JL. To Zorro and Katya (my two brilliantly smart, and infectiously lovable cats). To Matt Rayne and L.a. Le – two crazy cats in my FB life… I look forward to what you’ve got in store for me next year!<\/p>\n

To Keely and Whitney – the girls in my life and the family I cherish.<\/p>\n

And lastly, to my cast of characters in my works. Thank you. Even if you aren’t real except in my mind and heart, you mean the world to me because you’re mine. Of my heart, of my mind, of my flesh and blood and tears (there’s been a little of each to create them all).<\/p>\n

So I’ll close this first year in the chapter of my writing career and be thankful for what I have and what I know I have yet to do. It’s a lonely craft, this writing thing is, but I can’t think of anything else I want to do.<\/p>\n

So in these final hours – I’ll leave you with a simple song that from the time I heard it as a boy it affected me so. It is from the Carpenters – who were my absolute love when I was a boy. Karen’s voice still gives me the chills every time I hear her. I miss her creativity so.<\/p>\n

Cheers!<\/p>\n

And for any nay-sayers this next year – yeah I got only one thing to tell ya…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>

Haters be warned…<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

ADDENDA –<\/p>\n

Boomer and Rocco both were quick to respond to my NYE tweets – proving yet again, what lovely men they are! LOVE THESE GUYS!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Feelin'<\/a>

Feelin’ the love… guys who appreciate their fandom.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Boomer<\/a>

Boomer being his witty and charming self…<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Best Wishes in #2015 and what I learned from this past year…   “…and I count the times I have forgotten to say, THANK YOU. And just how much, I love them…”   [embedplusvideo height=”255″ width=”400″ editlink=”http:\/\/bit.ly\/1xwlxnA” standard=”http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/X0WjOiqebbI?fs=1&vq=hd720″ vars=”ytid=X0WjOiqebbI&width=400&height=255&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=1&autoplay=0&react=0&chapters=&notes=&lean=1″ id=”ep9939″ \/]   So a quick post about where I am after this whole writing endeavor […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[377,365,270,261,48,216,234,43,22,476,3,396,145,18],"tags":[537,536,68,505,488,535,61,67,543,542,461,540,456,468,452,27,483,549,77,66,548,545,544,17,547,266,506,538,443,469,541,209,539,546,453,728],"class_list":["post-1201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-authors-voices","category-fanboy-moments","category-gay-community","category-geeking-out","category-giving-back","category-journey","category-language","category-life-inserts-itself","category-music-that-inspires","category-musical-muses","category-novel-writing","category-the-craft","category-words-have-power","category-writing","tag-537","tag-536","tag-angels-of-mercy","tag-boomer-banks","tag-brad-vance","tag-carpenters","tag-colby-keller","tag-elliot-donahey","tag-family","tag-friends","tag-gay-werewolves","tag-gratitude","tag-hank-omalley","tag-henry-omalley","tag-homo","tag-jay-brannan","tag-jayne-lockwood","tag-l-a-le","tag-levi-michaels","tag-marco-sforza","tag-matt-rayne","tag-matthew-gallien","tag-michael-rumsey","tag-novel","tag-patricia-hamilton","tag-pietro-sforza","tag-rocco-steele","tag-sometimes","tag-sparrows-hollow","tag-steve-grand","tag-story-telling","tag-tayte-hanson","tag-thank-you","tag-vincent-mazza","tag-werewolves","tag-writing"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p75tPU-jn","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1762,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1762","url_meta":{"origin":1201,"position":0},"title":"Words and Errata – The Vocal Edition – Ep 001","author":"S A Collins","date":"May 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Words and Errata - The Vocal Edition - Ep 001 \u00a0 So our first show is in the can and has been getting quite a few listens (not in the hundreds or thousands yet, but it'll get there. Of that I have no doubt). If you haven't listened to it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Authors Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Authors Voices","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=377"},"img":{"alt_text":"SA Collins - Words and Errata - The Vocal Edition","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/PodcastIcon_SC1400_100pxsac-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1228,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1228","url_meta":{"origin":1201,"position":1},"title":"Quick! The Stork Done Took My Baby!","author":"S A Collins","date":"January 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Quick! The Stork Done Took My Baby! \u00a0 Okay, not really freaking out too much here. I mean, there was no stork, even if there was a baby (of sorts). What happened was, I bit the bullet. I grinned and bear(ed) it. I took a leap of faith... I published\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Authors Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Authors Voices","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=377"},"img":{"alt_text":"The book is out in the world now. Hall-le-fucking-lu-jah!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/homo_coverMast_300w-210x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1158,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1158","url_meta":{"origin":1201,"position":2},"title":"When is a goal not a goal?","author":"S A Collins","date":"November 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"When is a goal not a goal? Answer: When the 50K word count has been reached but you ain't done with the danged book! \u00a0 \u00a0 So my NaNoWriMo goal is within sight - I'll have my 50K tucked away by this evening and I'll post it for validation. Whoo-hoo!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Authors Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Authors Voices","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=377"},"img":{"alt_text":"My newly created cover image.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/homo_banner.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/homo_banner.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/homo_banner.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1037,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1037","url_meta":{"origin":1201,"position":3},"title":"Runnin’ with the Pack – Part 1","author":"S A Collins","date":"November 1, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Runnin' with the Pack\u00a0- Part 1 \u00a0 So my first day of writing in the NaNoWriMo contest is coming to a close. I do have other things to do and write, ya know. I think I've knocked this one out of the park though. It's a solid first effort. \u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Authors Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Authors Voices","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=377"},"img":{"alt_text":"Werewolves-werewolves-8012482-675-445","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Werewolves-werewolves-8012482-675-445.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Werewolves-werewolves-8012482-675-445.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Werewolves-werewolves-8012482-675-445.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1249,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1249","url_meta":{"origin":1201,"position":4},"title":"Banned By Association","author":"S A Collins","date":"January 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Banned By Association \u00a0 Okay, maybe it was my fault. Maybe ... So I hit a BIG learning curve here. \u00a0Epically so. \u00a0Why, you might ask? Because my first work, a novel that was released to the world from several selling platforms, Amazon being just one of them, got BANNED!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Authors Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Authors Voices","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=377"},"img":{"alt_text":"Guilt by association? Banned by my own hand? You be the judge ...","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/BANNED_homo_coverIcon_400w-210x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1020,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1020","url_meta":{"origin":1201,"position":5},"title":"Happy Halloween All! It’s all about the Were’s today…","author":"S A Collins","date":"October 31, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Happy Halloween All! It's all about the Weres today... \u00a0 \u00a0 I am ready and rarin' to go with my gay werewolf story set in a fictitious town of Sparrow's Hollow, West VA. It sort of came to me (as most of my stories do) as I signed up for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Authors Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Authors Voices","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=377"},"img":{"alt_text":"That be WERE'S in them thar hills! 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