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Well now, it's been quite some time since last we talked, hasn't it? Rest assured, faithful readers, I'm alive and well. What exactly have I been up to all this time? Let's take a look:
Previously, my alter ego was employed at a small biotech company, having trained in the arcane practices of microbiology. In the free time allowed outside of those 40 hours a week, I managed to crank out a few novels over the years and enjoyed every second of it. Then, in October of 2010, an opportunity came up that would allow me to broaden my writing experience AND get involved with the world of entertainment, movies, Hollywood and the like. Fantastic, right? The only downsides were that the job paid only in experience and took a big chunk of my free time.
Fast forward to almost exactly a year ago. My alter ego was still grinding away at the day job, spending nights and weekends at the entertainment job and attempting to be a normal, functioning member of society, whilst poor Vincent Kale was shunted into a dark corner to brood and weep and lick his wounds. There he remained for the better part of the last year, for Alter Ego had even more ambitious plans.
Early 2012 saw the packing up of Alter Ego's belongings for a cross-country trip to attend a school teaching, of all the things, a master brewing course. Not only did that mean the end of the regular, comfortable, profitable and somewhat-secure day job, but a continued hold on my own creative productivity. You see, Alter Ego was now attending classes from near 9-5 every day and using the free time to keep up with the unbelievable amount of information concerned with the delicious art of beer-making, but was also putting in 30+ hours of work at the entertainment writing position, which had blissfully turned into a paying opportunity.
All well and good for Alter Ego; not so great for yours truly. So while my other half pursued his academic ambitions, I languished, wondering if I'd ever see the light of day or the white of a new document page, broken only by that hypnotic blinking cursor. Then, something happened. Alter Ego was presented with a one-week break from class, free time which he spent researching brewery positions, filling out job applications and contemplating a career in the industry. He stopped short. He thought to himself, "If I start on this path now, I'll be in it from the ground up all over again. If I decide in five or ten years time that it's not for me, I'll have spent the majority of my thirties in an industry that doesn't fulfill me...though free beer is a helluva perk. Do I really want to do this?"
The answer, apparently, was "no." Thankfully, the fates were aligned and Alter Ego was offered a full-time position doing entertainment writing. In his infinite wisdom/foolishness, he decided to leave the home he'd known for 11 years and the state he'd lived in all his life for a small, over-priced studio apartment in the greater Los Angeles area. (Because that's where dreams are born...!) So we spent one long summer all over Hell's creation: Davis, CA; Detroit; Las Vegas; Denver; San Diego; Pittsburgh; Easton, PA; Dover, DE; Grafton, WV; Washington, D.C.; Skaneateles, NY; Hershey, PA and a 2,700 mile road trip from Easton, PA to Van Nuys, CA...all that in about three months!
That brings us up to the present day. Alter Ego and myself have been settling in to the new place and are already coming up on one month here in sunny California. We don't get out much (what was your first hint, the split-personality talk?), but we're making attempts to do so. The best part of all of this is that Alter Ego only has one full-time job to worry about now, with a laughable amount of free time to occupy however he sees fit. That, ladies and gentlemen, is where I come in. As of this writing, I've submitted "Indigo" to an awesome competition of sorts known as the "Baker's Dozen Auction." Hosted by the tireless Authoress over at Miss Snark's First Victim, the event allows authors to submit manuscripts for review by not only other authors, but respected editors and bona fide literary agents. These agents then place bids on particular submissions, say for an exclusive read of the first 10 pages; those same agents can then be outbidded by others if the property strikes their fancy. It's a win/win situation (even those without bids receive critiques). I also plan on submitting "Blackwatch: The Mainspring" for the contest's YA/MG submission window next week.
But that's not all, friends! With the past behind me and the future ahead (which is where they both belong), I've got plans to get started on a whole new project. What that is, I haven't the faintest idea at the moment. The hopper is full of half-starts and loglines; I just have to pick one! I make no promise on the regularity of these posts because I've tried that in the past and was simply not able to stick to it. I'm still getting settled into a routine. Rest assured that, should any disastrous/wonderful news occur, you lot will be the first to know!
Best wishes and an early happy Halloween!
Sincerely,
VK
