Wow, it’s been a while, huh?

Anyway…hi everyone! And thanks as always for reading. I’ve got a rather large announcement concerning another follower giveaway to get to, but first, I’ll give you a brief update on the state of my writing. I promise I won’t ramble on too much!

So since you last heard from me, I’ve completed my second semester of grad school, and I’m currently taking summer classes and assisting with administrative jobs at school to occupy these couple of months between semesters. In the fall I plan on taking a few more courses, especially since I’m not a double degree student in creative writing AND publishing–I figured since I’m here anyway, why not? One of those fall courses will be a workshop for novel writing, and this is where my most recent project comes in.

Over the past several months, I’ve (almost) completed a rough draft of a brand-new work: it’s a realistic fiction retelling, set in the modern day and contemporary U.S., of the Greek classic The Odyssey. I love The Odyssey and have always been dying to do a retelling of some kind because it’s so ripe for parody and satire–my version features Odysseus Wyatt Turner (everyone calls him Wyatt), my moody, cynical, down-on-his-luck 25-year-old protagonist, learning his estranged father has died in far-off Ithaca, New York, and has left him something in his will. Believing it’s a fat stack of cash that could turn his dead-end life around, Wyatt drafts his genial best friend, his reluctant ex-girlfriend, and a shady driver to form a motley crew with which he intends to road-trip across the country and get to Ithaca to claim his fortune. It’s a complicated journey involving many obstacles–including Polly, head of an all-female biker gang with a major bone to pick with the main characters, friction between the characters, and Wyatt himself. What they all find at the end of their journey may not be at all what they set out to find.

Sound interesting? I hope so! I think this will be the first book I attempt to traditionally publish–after it goes through a few years of this program, workshopping, beta-reading, and revising first. Right now I’m taking a bit of time off from new writing to focus on revising my already self-published works, The Showstopper! and Camp Ferguson. Then I’ll be readying the second book in the Camp Ferguson series, Jack Ferguson Strikes Back, for publication. After that, I’ll be finishing off my current WIP–which I’m tentatively calling The Road to Ithaca–to have it ready for workshopping in the fall. It’ll be a busy summer, but I’m confident I can do it! Oh, and for you Camp Ferguson fans, Jack Ferguson Strikes Back is due out by the end of the year. Stay tuned!

Okay, now that that’s all over with, here’s the big news: I’m at 3,000 Twitter followers and climbing! I still honestly can’t believe it. I thought 2,000 was huge, but this is even better. Once again, I’m extending a sincere and heartfelt thank-you to all the friends I’ve made on social media and all my fellow writers who’ve taken an interest in my work and supported me however they can. You’re all the best. And in that spirit, I’m going to combine my first two giveaway ideas into one giant gift-fest!

For the winner of my 3,000 follower giveaway, not only will you get a signed copy of both my currently-published books (The Showstopper! and Camp Ferguson), but I’ll also be reading some of your work, too. Send me whatever you’d like: some poems, a short piece, a chapter from a manuscript–the length and content is negotiable, but I’d like it not to be too long. Then, I’ll make a video and upload it publicly of me reading your stuff in my best dramatic fashion! I’m no actor, but I love doing this stuff and I think the first time turned out pretty well. If you want to take a look at what I mean, the link to my 2,000 follower giveaway reading is here!

This is really just a small repayment for all you’ve done for me, but I hope it’s an enjoyable one! Remember, a like or a retweet will earn you one entry each into the winner drawing: do both, and that’s two chances to win! So share and like as much as you want. Your chances get better each time you do!

Thanks everyone! I’m looking forward to hearing from you, and getting to share some of your work with the world.