Hello all! It’s been quite a long time since I touched this site or posting anything new to the blog. I have no illusions that I will be able to start actively updating the blog on a regular basis again, though I keep telling myself I should, and want to. That said, I felt it was time to update a few things and make an effort to at least drop a line from time to time. As such, please indulge me while I share some news of my life.

First, I am about to embark on a new adventure. I have been accepted to the Master’s Program in Museum Studies at George Washington University beginning in Fall 2025. I will be moving from my home in Texas, where I have lived now for nearly 17 years, to Washington, D.C. to attend graduate school full-time. Again. I am both excited and nervous to be returning to grad school and an academic environment nearly 7 years after I left my PhD program and adjunct teaching position to work in the private sector. Ok, terrified. The word is ‘terrified,’ but it’s a good kind of terrified. A “getting out of my comfort zone”/”going on an adventure” kind of terrified. It is my fervent hope that this new degree path will lead to work in the museum field, though where specifically I will end up is anyone’s guess.

Due in part to this new adventure, I have made the difficult decision to start phasing out my freelance editing services, with plans to officially close shop at the end of August. This is not an easy decision, but a necessary one. In addition to returning to school, this decision is influenced by the rise AI and decline meaningful work. While I had some mild success working with self-publishing authors, and certainly enjoyed what I do, in the last year the work has dried up primarily due to the rise of AI options. I am against all forms of generative AI in writing, editing, or artwork, etc, and not only because of the threat to my own work. I firmly believe use of AI is unethical. It is theft of others’ art and intellectual property. And the quality is sub-par anyway. On top of that, it is enormously damaging to the environment.

That said, I can’t control if other writers choose to use AI for their writing or editing needs. It is certainly much cheaper (though you get what you pay for). I and many other freelance editors have seen a drastic drop of available work and a concurrent increase in potential clients who willfully misunderstand what kind of work editors do and what a fair price is for their services. In any case, I’m waving the white flag. I will continue taking on new projects through the end of the summer, with completion dates no later than end of August or early September. After that, I will be closing shop.

My third bit of news is that, in addition to my freelance work and preparing to return to grad school, I also completed revisions of the novel I’ve had in progress for some time, The Supernaturalists. I am now officially querying with agents in hopes of traditional publication. It’s taken me such a long time to get to this point and I am hopeful that I will be able to pursue publication while working on my new degree. (Fingers crossed). I am already hard at work writing the sequel, and I’m about halfway through the first draft. I hope to have a finished draft by the end of the summer, before the Fall semester starts. I also have a couple short stories out on sub with literary magazines and will share news if/when either of them are picked up for publication.

THE SUPERNATURALISTS:

In 1920s Cleveland, empath Thomas wants to be left alone with the ghosts of WW1. Former spy Sebastian needs to find the Wall Street bomber. When mobsters & magical terrorists throw them together, they’ll need to find the line between trust and attraction if they want to survive.

FEATURING:

☀️grumpy/sunshine
💔MC suffering w/ depression & PTSD
🕵️ex-spy love interest
🔥slow burn = insta-lust/slow trust
🌉literally burning bridges

Of course, my life has been strange and busy the last couple years and there is much more I could (and may later) talk about both good and bad. But these are the big life developments I wished to share for now. While I know myself well enough to realize I will not be able to keep up any kind of regular blogging schedule, I currently plan to post at least a couple things in the new future. First and foremost, I wanted to share some of the best things I read in 2024 and the first half of 2025. My main goal has always been to talk about books, so I want to do that! From there, we’ll see how things go!