Wow, it’s been awhile, readers and writers!

Last I wrote, I was working on my first query letter which went rather poorly (not everything requires reporting). You see, as I’m sure many of you know, being a writer is like being on a rollercoaster.

There are highs (Holy S**t, I finished writing a novel!)…

Followed by lows (Wow, this is utter rubbish.)…

Then back into the highs (Oh wow, everyone wants to publish exactly what I’m writing!)

And sometimes a bit of a loop-the-loop (So exciting, can’t believe I submitted it- *Three Months Later* At night is when the tears come…)

Jeez, I just love writing!

But that’s not the only reason I vacated the ole blog, oh no sirree. Actually, I’m writing from my new home. A home with a man cave. A home with a Writing Room. A home for the rest of my days. This is the home where my future kids will grow up and it will be filled with memories. Everything is so new, so fresh. Well, except the yard. The verdict is still out on the yard for now. But inside! Well… we still need some furniture. But that is what the next lifetime is for! Boom!

So yes, writing from my designated writing room! At my writing desk! With many classic and inspirational novels at my right side to not only guide me but push me to be better! It’s an odd thing to say, but I have spent my whole life trying to get to this moment, a moment where I was so settled that there was no more packing up for a move. No more neglecting photos because “we won’t live here for long”. No. Not this time.

I’ve been thinking about how much this special place means to me and not many of my friends and family would understand. They call it an office. A library. A reading room… well, it is that too. But this is my sanctuary, where I create, build and live many lives as both reader and writer. Now the question is, where do I go from here?

First, I’m going to do NaNoWriMo again. The timing is perfect and it will help me settle into a routine in the new home. If I can actually write 50k words in a month (which I know I can, I’ve done this a few times), after a few months I should be pretty far into my trilogy. Secondly, I’m going to see Gabriel’s prequel novel through to completion first and foremost. I’ve spent a lot of my time in the past few months thinking about how I want the whole seven novels to come about. Gabriel is a character whose four-book arc sees him do the following transformation:

Tragic -> Hero -> Villain -> Mentor -> Villain -> Partner -> Hero -> Legend

The Jefferson trilogy only really explores his Mentor to Legend progression but I believe that it’s his progression that makes the store more interesting. I mean, I love how George R. R. Martin said that no one is the villain of their own story. It’s actually one of my favourite pieces of writing advice which creates these grey characters who aren’t quite good but aren’t quite bad, but they make the best decisions they can under the circumstances which tend to not be the best decision overall.

Understanding your antagonist is just as important (in my mind) as understanding your protagonist. If you play your cards right, the antagonist’s history comes out as you write the history for your protagonist. These can be linked or intertwined like Voldemort and Harry Potter, or Sauron and The Fellowship.

Either way, it is very exciting to be back at a proper desk and set up ready to go. I feel like this is a huge step in being serious about my writing and I definitely look forward to what it will bring me in the coming year. Not only that, but Citizenship also awaits, as well as an engagement/housewarming party and a wedding! No big deal! 2017 was huge, no idea how big 2018 could be!