Let's Give This a Try. . .

Greetings, and welcome to my blog. What makes my blog different from all the others? Well, I'm not sure yet, but that's (supposedly) half the fun.

First things first: who am I? Ignoring the vaguely philisophical ramifications of that question, I can tell you that I am a twenty-something graduate student and Teaching Assistant at a major state university. I earn extra cash as a freelance writer. It's decent money, but when I was a third-grader penning Star Wars rip-offs, I didn't imagine that my future career as a writer would involve writing SEI-optimized articles and the like. Fiction is calling me back, and it's time to answer the call.

See, thanks to self-publishing, I'm approaching fiction-writing with renewed vigor. Instead of studying the industry and devoting at least a year of my life to a novel that an agent might pick up, I can write whatever I want to write and send it out into the world to see what readers think.

Currently, I am working on three projects (although more than a few "best tips for aspiring novelists" articles advise against it). The first is a conspiracy thriller about a small-town newspaper editor who discovers that his friend's suicide may have actually been a murder perpetrated by a covert agency covering its tracks. The second, my stab at serious science-fiction, takes place in a dystopian future, where genetically engineered humans serve as artists and entertainers. When one of them, a popular music star, is found dead in his hotel room, a police investigation leads to some shocking revelations about the role these "people" play in society. The third is a young adult novel. It is still more of an idea than anything else, but I know that it will fuse my love of the Smashing Pumpkins, my memories of teen angst, and my constant suspicion that small towns are far scarier than they may seem.

All of them are books about which I am very excited. I'm looking forward to sharing them with readers, and I hope this blog gives you an opportunity to follow my progress and provide me with feedback. I will update it at least once every week as I move forward with my work. Thanks for the support.