Let me tell you a story...

It's December, and today I finished up the last of my big tasks for the year, which were both depressingly dull tax-related things. But now I'm free (there are no strings on me...), and I have a few more weeks to get through before I can officially say I've survived 2014.

I've been thinking a lot about what I want, having just come through being thankful for what I already have. I want to take some time to recover, honestly. I want to figure out when all the shit that's hit me started to fly, and make peace with it. I'm beginning to feel better, but recovery is a bitch, because you start to feel like you can dive back into your old routine. But any injury - physical, mental, or emotional - doesn't just take time to heal, but also leaves you permanently changed. Scarred. You can't go back to the way things were, not really.

I feel I've neglected this blog too much lately. I'd like to get more discussion going in the future, and talk about topics that you guys want to see. I miss connecting with my readers. You guys are amazing, and without you, I wouldn't be doing what I am.

I want to establish myself as a freelance editor. I love editing, and helping people with their own stories. It's something I could happily see myself doing as a career. More of this in 2015, please. Besides, I need some way to fund the rest of the Lady Raven series, right?

I want to share more about my family. I've got a regular spot on TV3's new Parent Trap site, writing articles about modern parenthood, so stop by and check those out.

I want to talk gaming and entertainment more. Critical analysis is a passion of mine, and some of my most popular posts have been me rambling on about a particular movie or game. Sure, I'll attract some trolls when I say something shocking like "I think women should be treated better", but I'm a gamer; I can handle trolls and goblins.

And I want to write. Wow, how much stuff I want to write. You guys have no idea. And not just Lady Raven, but my new ideas, new genres. While I want you all to get to know Cora and follow her adventures, I want to introduce you to Ashley and her monster-hunting mom. I want to bring back Bradley Rook, the boy cursed to become a monster. I want to push some limits, challenge some preconceptions. I want to write violent bloodshed, thrilling adventure, hot sex, deep and detailed worlds, with heroes and villains of every kind.

I have to grow as an author, as an entrepreneur, and as a person. I have a brand to build, as blunt and capitalist as that is of me to say. And I know now what that brand is. I know what makes me, and my style of storytelling, unique.

I write the stories we all wanted to believe in when we were children. Stories to show that monsters can be beaten.

I don't like spoiling an ending with cynicism or cheap tricks. I want to write heroes and adventures and tell people it's okay to love these, no matter how old you are.

Every adventure starts with a trail into darkness, which the hero endures to emerge in the light. If you want to feel that thrill, to lose yourself in tales like that, I invite you to come with me, and see where the trail leads. 

Let me tell you a story.