2013 - A New Season

Well, here we are at the very beginning of 2013. I feel excited, nervous, and anxious for this new year. 2012 wasn't a bad year, it was just extremely challenging and took a bit more out of me than I thought was even there. It was a year of accomplishments - I self-published two novels; a year of commitment and dedication - my wife and I celebrated our seven year anniversary; and it was a year of family - my son turned one. It was a year that won't be easily forgotten amid the ashes of past years, but I have a feeling - and I know in my gut - that 2013 is going to put 2012 to shame.

For those of you who are waiting or have waited on God for promises before, you know that the waiting is the hardest part. I'm the type of person that loves receiving instructions and carrying them out. I love progressing. Moving forward. Building things. If the blueprints and instructions are clear, I can work endless hours until I've completed the tasks given to me. But when I'm told to wait - or when I think that waiting is what I'm supposed to be doing - I cringe. I want to see movement. I want to take action. But sometimes that isn't God's will, and sometimes taking action when we're not supposed to can seriously derail the plans that God has for us.

Certain, very specific promises have been made to my wife and I over the last seven and a half years of our marriage, and even before that. Specific promises in regards to my writing career and our family. We strongly believe that 2013 will be the year these promises are brought to fulfillment. We don't know the how exactly - which frustrates me to no end - but we know that when God makes a promise, He keeps it.

In the next month or so, my wife and I will be moving to San Francisco to take part in a church plant called Canvas. We have no idea when the money for this endeavor is going to come in, we have no idea of an exact move date, nor do we know exactly where we're going to live (as far as a building goes). When asked how our move to San Francisco is going, we shrug and say that it's going. We don't shrug because we don't believe it's going to happen, we shrug because it's in God's hands, and He's decided to keep some cards close to His chest until His perfect timing. That's usually the way He operates though, so it should come as no surprise.

We are about to embark on a new season, a new chapter, in our lives. It is a scary time, but also exciting because many promises will be fulfilled. And we aren't the only ones entering a new season. The pastor of our church just announced his resignation and that he and his family are embarking on a new season in their lives and ministry. A 'sister' of mine whom I've known since high school has announced her intentions to take part in the Canvas church plant as well, signaling a significant change of season and environment for her.

I can feel the breeze coming in. It is filled with change, and opportunity, and movement. I welcome it with open arms and an open heart.

Our move to San Francisco will also accompany some other promises we were given, but for the time being, we'll keep those to ourselves. In the meantime, while we wait, I will keep my eyes steady on the One who holds my future in His hands.

Photo Copyright Michal C. Alderman

2013 - A New Season

Well, 2012 is finally behind us. I can't say it was my favorite year, but it certainly wasn't a bad one. Challenging, yes, but not bad.There were many highlights to the year that made those challenges worthwhile. I published two novels - Black Earth: Dark Masquerade and Black Earth: Exodus. My wife and I celebrated our seven year wedding anniversary. My son turned one. It was a great year.

I learned a lot of things by the end of 2012, especially in terms of being a self-published author. I learned that edgy Christian speculative fiction can be a viable genre. I learned that FB can be a minefield of timesuck. I learned that all the rules that other authors give for self-published authors to follow aren't always the right ones for me - such as getting myself plugged into as many social networking outlets as possible, and taking five years to write a book. I learned that I am unique - both as an individual and as an author - and that I need to utilize this uniqueness in the public field.

2013 brings with it a slew of new challenges for me, both personally and professionally. My wife and I have plans to move to San Francisco early in the year to take part in a church plant called Canvas. I will resume writing in my young adult series, Expired Reality, and FINALLY get the third book in that series finished and published. Our son will turn two, and my wife and I will celebrate eight years of wedded bliss. This will be a fantastic year. I'm sure there will be ups and downs, I'm sure I'll laugh and cry, hurt and heal. But that is life.

Most of all, I will write. I have never been one to actually stick to a writing regime. I usually write when I 'feel like it', and a majority of my writing frenzy occurs during National Novel Writing Month. This year though I am committing to an hour of writing each day. This commitment will help me learn to separate my writing time from my editing time. Editing is not writing - necessarily.

I am also making a commitment to cut out a good portion of my social networking pursuits. I've already purged my FB friend list on my personal profile from over 1500 friends to 115. I'll use my actual author page to promote my work and interact with my fans, and my personal profile to interact with friends and family. I've also cut out Red Room, Writing.com, and some other sites, simply because I don't have to the time to dip my foot in all these swimming pools, and because I don't have a lot of time to interact with other authors. Readers are who I need to be interacting with, so I'll be spending some more time over in the Kindle and Nook forums, Goodreads, and my FB pages.

Another place I'll be spending more time in is The Crossover Alliance, an online community I built for readers/writers of edgy Christian speculative fiction. I have some more content I want to add to the site - reviewers/readers who enjoy this type of fiction, some giveaways, and more resources for those wishing to self-publish in this particular genre.

I will also be taking a serious look at what I want to accomplish with my blogging habits in this new year. I've had a difficult time coming up with new content for this blog simply because I've tried multiple times to streamline the content I put up here to topics relevant to self-publishing or my own writing experience. This strategy has hindered me in regards to being more 'unique', in that I haven't really delved too deeply into showing the world a lot about me per say. I have written posts regarding my hobbies or the things I like, but those posts have been few and far between. And they are probably some of my favorite posts to write.

2013 will be great! Not just good, but great! So as we venture into this new year together, keep your eyes peeled on this blog for a few minor changes in content, and look for me at the streamlined list of social networking hubs I'll be visiting from time to time.

Onward into 2013 I venture!

Photo Copyright Michal C. Alderman