Tuesday, December 31, 2013

2013 in review

As promised, I'm going to try and remember the high lights of 2013.

The top high light was my getting married to my wonderful husband, Daniel Lucas.  We were married on June 7, 2013 in St. George, UT.  About a week later, we had a second reception/open house in Texas.

In May, I moved into our current apartment, leaving behind the single life and living with roommates.

January and February, I finished out Black Blood Brothers: Shadows From The Past, a fan fiction radio drama that I had started the year prior.  Also in February, my, then fiance, got me a sword, a replica of Arwen's sword from Lord Of The Rings.

March showed me going to a convention in Southern Utah, where I held a small panel on voice acting.

April was pretty par for the usual course, with nothing really sticking out, aside from wedding planning and preparations.

July saw summer in high swing, with me picking up my novel, The Unknown Elf, once more, brushing off the dust and getting going on editing it.

August was the end of a school year at the preschool I work at, and the start of a new year, with me in a new classroom with a new co-teacher.

September, I turned one year older, got used to a classroom full of very challenging soon to be two-year-olds. I decided to take a break from radio drama for a few months so that I could catch up on writing, scripting, and editing.

October was Halloween, and though we didn't do much for the holiday, it was a nice change of pace, and I took a much needed day off from work to catch up on life outside of my day job.  I also got feedback on my story and started a second string of editing for the year.

November saw me with my co-teacher on vacation and I learned some new things about the kids I teach, as well as giving me the chance to edit my story in earnest.

December, I completed what I hope will be the final draft of my story and have sent it off to my readers for their input.  Also celebrated my first married Christmas with my hubby, and took my own time off from work over the holidays.

What does the new year hold for me? Hopefully putting out at least twelve more episodes of my Fruits Basket radio drama, all of Mimiko's Vacation radio drama, and getting a book published.  I wouldn't mind if there was a bundle of joy somewhere in the mix, though there are no current plans in that regard.


Saturday, December 28, 2013

Heading to a New Year

Greetings all!  There's only a couple more days until a New Year is upon us.  Almost strange to think about that, but there you have it.

Yesterday, I finished what I hope is the last draft of my story, The Unknown Elf.  As I type this, one of my many readers is giving it a go over.  Fingers crossed, there will be nothing major brought up to be fixed or worked on.  We'll see how it goes.  Every reader will always have something to bring to the table, and I have to keep that in mind, but, I think, with this draft, many inconsistencies have been fixed, and, with that, I hope to move onto the lovely process of copy editing, where I give the story to my mom and watch as she tears it apart.

That aside, I'm getting back into my radio drama stuff as well.  Hoping to get all the lines in for the latest episode, even though I know the new music won't be ready for it.  I kind of hope, with the new year, to be able to find myself able to stay at home, instead of working, since my "not day job" wants a lot more time than I can currently give it, meaning being a director/producer of two radio dramas, and a novel writer, with some portraiture on the side.  Yeah, I've been a busy girl.

Perhaps, when next I write, I shall highlight things from this past year....we'll see.  There's a lot on my plate and I might miss posting on New Year's Eve, but anything is possible.

Until then!

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Musings on holidays and writing

Well, it's almost Christmas and, obviously I haven't written much in a while, so here goes.

Christmas, to me, is a very special holiday.  It's always been one of my favorites.  And the legend of Santa Claus, in all of his incarnations, has always fascinated me.  I once promised myself that I would create my own version of the North Pole world, and my own version of the Santa Claus legacy, using as many historical facts as possible, as well as the various legends and stories from around the world.  I've already got a good start on the North Pole, with my current novel, The Unknown Elf, which is a working title, at least for now.
There are so many stories in this area that I would love to tell and create.  Guess I've got a lot of work ahead of me.

I also recently read about what the new pop of the Catholic church has done since he was elected to become what he is.  It made me think about another story that is still very much in the works, one that I know needs to eventually be published, one that's going to take a LOT of work to get to that point.  Like most of my stories, it deals with pain and suffering, but shows a way to change, to overcome, and to be better despite (and sometimes because) of those things.  I like to write stories of redemption.  I feel, in a way, that that is my calling in life.  And I hope that I will be able to do so, and to publish those works so that they can reach as far as possible.

With so much bad in the world, people need to know that there is good, and that just because bad things happen to a person, it does not make that person any less than what they are, a unique and special individual, with a special purpose in life.  That is what I like to write about.

At this Christmas time, I am reminded of all the things that have happened to me in the past, and I wonder how I can use those experiences to help others, through my writing, and other means.  That is why I create.  That, I believe, is why I exist, to uplift and help those who feel that there is no help, no hope, and no light.

So, this Christmas, I want all who may read this to remember, "God so loved the world that he gave his only Begotten son." To be the light of the world, to guide us in our darkest times, no matter how far we feel we have fallen.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Heading to that day of Thanks

Greetings all!  It's the week of Thanksgiving and I'm hoping it snows tonight.... But, either way, I'm thankful for the rain we've gotten, and for the little bits of creative intuity that has let me do a bit of writing here and there.  It's nice to have some more written on my stories, even if they are just fan fictions.  Every little bit of writing helps.

So... what are the things I'm thankful for?  Here's the list:
My husband
Life
Rain/snow/precipitation
My job
Family
Friends
My religious affiliations
The city I live in
My home town
My talents

and man, that's just the tip of the iceberg!

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Getting Back In the Saddle

It's been quite a while since I last posted/wrote anything in here, but since it seems that all the "up and coming" writers and who evers, are doing this, I might as well, yes?

So, here's what's going on in my life: I'm currently working at a private preschool, teaching the older toddlers.  Some of them are quite the handful, if you know what I mean.  But I've been working at this establishment for three, going on four, years now, and am learning a lot of what "to do" and what "not to do" when I finally become a mother, which I hope isn't too much longer.

I recently got married, well... about five months ago, now, so I guess that still makes it pretty recent.  I have the best hubby on the planet, in my humble opinion.  He's caring and goes above and beyond what most people likely would, even while working a not so awesome job with a very bad salary, which we hope to fix soon.

On top of working as a preschool teacher, I am also the head writer/producer/director of my own little company called The Manga Project.  Basically, we take stories and turn them into radio dramas, and are currently working on two projects, though I'm beginning to wonder at what lack of sanity I had when I decided to take on the second project, on top of being newly married, and working 40 plus hours a week at a preschool with some very difficult children, while trying to start a family of my own.  Did I mention that our main project has 136 episodes and that we're only on number 17?  Talk about long term projects!

And, add to that, I'm finally trying to get at least one of my stories ready for publication.  I haven't decided if I'm going to "self publishing" route yet or not, though I think it might be best to try traditional first.  We'll see on that end, though.  Still in the process of "content" editing, making sure everything makes sense, flows nicely, and tells all sides of the story that need to be told.  Yeah, still working on that, then on to the joys of copy editing for all that grammatical razz-ma-taz.  Fun times ahead!

But, despite all the craziness that I seem to keep adding to my plate, I think I'm staying afloat, keeping mostly healthy, and juggling most of the balls, or at least keeping them in the air.  It is my goal to get my story ready for publication by the end of the year, and hope and pray that I can get a traditional publisher on board to publish, hopefully on my terms, though I know that's less likely.  Good thing I have a husband who understands legal talk.