{"id":2341,"date":"2019-01-26T18:25:54","date_gmt":"2019-01-27T02:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog\/?p=2341"},"modified":"2019-01-27T02:58:49","modified_gmt":"2019-01-27T10:58:49","slug":"its-been-a-while","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=2341","title":{"rendered":"It’s Been A While …"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been a while, ya know?<\/p>\n

I often wonder what other authors go through to do what they do. Why do they do it? It is some incessant need to seek fame and fortune? Validation? \u2018Cause I gotta tell ya, there are far easier ways to get that. Start a YouTube channel and blab non-stop of the idiosyncrasies of your life or the oddness you find out there. That always seems to resonate given the countless channels that evoke nothing but the shared common experiences of life and all of its \u2018what the fuckery is this\u2019 sort of moments.<\/p>\n

So, there\u2019s that.<\/p>\n

But, I tend to think there\u2019s something else going on. Yeah, yeah, we have a \u201cstory to tell\u201d that just won\u2019t leave us the fuck alone. And yeah, muses can really mess with writers – all creatives, actually now that I come to think of my previous career trodding the boards in musicals, plays and operas. Muses are real bitches, I\u2019ll definitely give them that. So, writers often blame them. And some may believe that. I mean not just say it as a flippant way of explaining what we do and why we do it, but truly believe that muses guide what we do and we\u2019re merely \u201cthe vessels\u201d that pour forth our worlds from our fingertips through the keyboard and onto the digital page \u2013\u00a0bytes and bits as artistic expression. Some of us may even believe that. I mean, we joke about it enough but maybe in that humor there\u2019s a nugget of truth that we actually believe that.<\/p>\n

I know I have at times \u2026 said it and sort of believed it. I\u2019m a total pantser. I gotta feel it in my gut or it just doesn\u2019t make it to the page. Where does this shit come from? Fuck all if I know.<\/p>\n

So, 2019 is upon us. I have to say I won\u2019t be sorry to see 2018 in the rearview mirror of my life. It was a shit year for me. It claimed my cat, Katya\u2019s, life to cancer. Yeah, and it very nearly did me in the same day. #FuckCancer! Fuck it all to hell. Now I have another cat – our precious boy, Zorro who has been diagnosed with cancer of the liver. It\u2019s not an easy thing. At least the vet assures us that he\u2019s not in any pain. But four to six months from now, yeah, it\u2019s gonna suck. So, just trying to focus on keeping him loved and comfortable. He gets to eat whatever he wants. The good news is that he is responding to cortisone shots that our vet gave him (he explained he is dealing with it with his own cat so he knows what we\u2019re going through).<\/p>\n

\"picture

Katya (the Bengal) and her \u201clittle boy\u201d, Zorro (the Somali) in happier times.<\/p><\/div>\n

So, what does 2019 have in store for us all? If anything, I just hope we don\u2019t, as a collective humanity, dig ourselves deeper into darkness. We\u2019ve had enough of darkness. So, I am really trying to be the change I want to see. Positive thinking and a clear mind for what\u2019s ahead – whatever that may be. I\u2019ve learned with my cancer battle that a lot of stupid, practically insipid, things that life can throw at you simply don\u2019t matter in the long scheme of things. I\u2019ve learned to cut drama for drama\u2019s sake. It\u2019s simply not the point. Let it go, and move on. Doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019ll acquiesce to everything – I am not a welcome mat!\u00a0 <\/span>But I\u2019ll be far more judicious in what I will spend my energies on. That much I can tell you.<\/p>\n

To that end, I am focused even more on my writing. Doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019ll put digital bytes and bits down on digital paper every day, because I think writing includes the time when you think about what you\u2019re doing. Putting it all down is simply one aspect. You have to think things through and that takes time. I am not a writer that can just put any old thing down and call it a day. It has to mean something<\/i>. I have to feel it in my belly. I need to wrap up Nephilim<\/i> – it\u2019s time. Then focus on my Mohawks series – the edits from the publisher should start up soon. I also have my Sparrow\u2019s Hollow book to finish as well. Say nothing of the universe building that I\u2019ve stumbled upon while writing Nephilim.<\/i> Now I can see a way that ALL my spec fic works are truly linked. Each series can stand on its own – in whatever genre I write about – but can still be inextricably linked to each other if the reader chooses to explore that aspect. It is one long chain of events and they\u2019re all connected despite the separate genres they represent: Sci-fi, Paranormal, Queer Romance \u2013\u00a0they\u2019re all tied together. Intriguing? Yeah, it is for me, too. Not so much a mashup of genres than each series can be a part of the longer tale, told to their tropic rules for each but I know that all of the casts of characters across the works are all part of the same universe\/world and they are all interconnected. I\u2019m looking forward to weaving that throughout the separate series. It\u2019s going to make it a very interesting ride.<\/p>\n

For my author pals, what are you up to this year? What do you envision for yourself and your future works? Sound off in the comments if you\u2019re so inclined!<\/p>\n

Until next time \u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been a while, ya know? I often wonder what other authors go through to do what they do. Why do they do it? It is some incessant need to seek fame and fortune? Validation? \u2018Cause I gotta tell ya, there are far easier ways to get that. Start a YouTube channel and blab non-stop […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[377,216,43,32,911,396,145,18],"tags":[931,923,916,543,929,928,930],"class_list":["post-2341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-authors-voices","category-journey","category-life-inserts-itself","category-pathos","category-pets","category-the-craft","category-words-have-power","category-writing","tag-adulting","tag-cancer","tag-cats","tag-family","tag-health","tag-pets","tag-pressing-forward"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/SAC_SiteIcon_512px.png?fit=512%2C512","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p75tPU-BL","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1744,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1744","url_meta":{"origin":2341,"position":0},"title":"Something Wicked(ly Awesome) This Way Comes…","author":"S A Collins","date":"May 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Something Wicked(ly Awesome) This Way Comes ... \u00a0 \u00a0 Sorry there haven't been any recent posts. I've been busy with Angels of Mercy Vol 2 and Quarrel of Sparrows and something else I am really excited about. AUTHORS! READERS! Lend us your ears! Along with author pals Vance Bastian and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Authors Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Authors Voices","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=377"},"img":{"alt_text":"The podcast banner","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/11203119_1387895444872817_3356750889282128241_n.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1088,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1088","url_meta":{"origin":2341,"position":1},"title":"Our Dirty Little Secrets – Part 2","author":"S A Collins","date":"November 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Our Dirty Little Secrets - Part 2 \u00a0 \u00a0 My on-going conversation with Savannah Smythe\/Jayne Lockwood on the craft of writing, how gay authors are under represented in our own literary house, and my forthcoming novel - Angels of Mercy. Check them out over at the following locations - Savannah\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Authors Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Authors Voices","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=377"},"img":{"alt_text":"Author pal - Jayne Lockwood\/Savannah Smythe","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/jayneicon_orig.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1820,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1820","url_meta":{"origin":2341,"position":2},"title":"Five Star Review – and GIVEAWAY for Angels of Mercy Vol 2!","author":"S A Collins","date":"December 13, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"FIVE STAR review of ANGELS OF MERCY - VOLUME 2: MARCO. \u00a0 \u00a0 Thanks to Paul Gay Berry from GayMediaReviews for the lovely words and the opportunity to share it with the readership out there! #Humbled #DoingTheHappyDance !! 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Of course all we gay folk looked at one another (metaphorically) and thought: \"What right minded LGBTQAIP\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Abuse and Neglect"","block_context":{"text":"Abuse and Neglect","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=333"},"img":{"alt_text":"LGBTQBannerFB","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/LGBTQBannerFB-300x118.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/LGBTQBannerFB-300x118.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biz141.inmotionhosting.com\/~akweko6\/sacollins.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/LGBTQBannerFB-300x118.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1783,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1783","url_meta":{"origin":2341,"position":4},"title":"Words and Errata Ep 004 – The Vocal Edition","author":"S A Collins","date":"June 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Words and Errata - The Vocal Edition (Episode 004) \u00a0 So here's the thing - I am writing quite a bit in my stories (and yeah, that's plural because I am hitting up four of them simultaneously). So those are moving along. I am hopefully on target for an August\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Authors Voices"","block_context":{"text":"Authors Voices","link":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?cat=377"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1271,"url":"http:\/\/www.sacollins.com\/blog-wp\/?p=1271","url_meta":{"origin":2341,"position":5},"title":"A Guest Blog Spot on Lady J’s Website – Hooray!","author":"S A Collins","date":"January 20, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Guest Blog on LadyJ's Site - Hooray! 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