Dear friends

How’s 2017 treating you so far? For me, the last couple of months have been an interesting time of struggle and opportunity. I won’t bore you with details of my up and downs, but I do want to share the lesson I learned.

Pouring your entire soul into what you love is essential to achieve your dreams, but also essential is to be kind to yourself. At some point in the last two years, in between attempting to write three novels, holding a full-time job and trying to launch a writing career, I stopped listening to my body. As a result, my physical and mental health declined to a point in which I was not able to do any of the things I love. I couldn’t run the New York City Marathon, and I didn’t finish writing Bad Medicine: Slay it Queen!

Fear not, this is not a sad update. This update is about discovery and opportunity. I’m not the kind of guy who makes New Year resolutions, but this year I made one: I will be kind and patient with myself and with others. I will tune out the negative noise that surrounds us and walk the road that leads to my dreams with no rush.

I have many projects and ideas that I’m excited about. Worlds Walker is done, and Bad Medicine will be a scary and hysterical ride. My hope is to deliver the manuscript to the patience folks at Inkshares sometime in the spring. I also have a stack of short stories that I will be releasing for free on Amazon Kindle starting in March.

I’ve been reminded through this struggle that my goal was never to become a famous writer. That my goal was not for The Catcher’s Trap to be turned into a movie or sell a million copies. My goal is to share the stories swirling in my brain. My dream is for those stories to find people who connect with them and enjoy them. Many of you have reached out to me to tell me how much you enjoyed The Catcher’s Trap, for me, that’s winning.

So here’s to a great year ahead of us. A year of creativity, magical thinking and kindness.

As always, let’s end this update with wisdom from my favorite hero

One last quick thank you

It was exactly one year ago today (at about this time) when I opened up These Are My Friends on Politics for funding. I immediately regretted that decision, and would momentarily regret it from time to time in the months to follow, but if you’re reading this, you’re responsible not only for taking that regret away, but also for scenes like these...

(Curious Iguana in Frederick, Md., sharing a table with the likes of The Underground Railroad)

(The Skokie, Ill., Barnes and Noble, which also happens to be the place I bought my first copies of The Writer’s Market and The Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market many many years ago)

...so thank you for that, and if I can return the favor in 2017, message me and let me know how, because I gladly will.

If you want to get a glimpse of what I’m up to next, read on. But if this is your stop, I just wanted to say thank you again.

One last quick favor

If you enjoyed the book and/or it helped spare you from a family blowout over the holidays, a review on Amazon is most appreciated (and a bigger deal than I would ever have assumed it was until I experienced the Amazon bookselling experience from the other side).

Here’s a link to take you straight there (and you need not have purchased the book from Amazon to leave a review there): http://amzn.to/2ivmSIC#customerReviews

One last quick update (until the next one) on what’s next

Books: I’m currently drafting this note in my de facto writing app (Ulysses, if you’re curious), and when I look at the notes library in the sidebar, I see large pieces of four new books staring back at me. Two represent a completely different direction, one is a similar approach to a new topic, and one is a book that will follow up on this one without being a retread no one needs. Publishing plans haven’t been finalized on any of them yet, but I don’t envision funding them similarly to how I funded this first one. Nevertheless, I’ll use this channel to announce them when ready. (If you aren’t interested in any of that, there’s an "unfollow" link at the bottom of this email, and I take no offense if this is your stop and you click it.)

Art: I’d started getting into selling art and showing in galleries before I decided to momentarily upend that by publishing a book, but those plans will resume at some point soon. If you attend a show or festival in the Chicago area this summer, maybe you’ll run into me. But if not, I’ll be maintaining on online gallery here and here. (If you see anything you love, you’re privy to a friend discount on the Etsy side using the altogether fitting coupon code THISISMYFRIEND.)

One last batch of Nina photos for no reason

Enjoy, happy 2017, and thank you again.