A Letter From My 2013 Self

So shortly after writing up my last blog post, I got an email from myself marked December 27, 2013.  How freaky is that?I don’t know if it’s a glitch or a feature, but apparently in 2013, you can use gmail to send messages back in time. In any case, the letter is pretty interesting, so… Continue reading A Letter From My 2013 Self

A Letter To My 2011 Self

Dear Joe, Well, 2011 has been an eventful year, hasn’t it? It sure didn’t feel like it when you were down in the trenches, but now that it’s over, you’ve got to admit, you sure came a long way. You’ve discovered a lot of things about yourself since January. In your quest for economic security,… Continue reading A Letter To My 2011 Self

Summer recap and new goals

So back in June I made a to do list of things I wanted to accomplish this summer.  I’ve only got a week left before I go overseas again, and I’m happy to say I’m on track to finish most of them.  A couple of them (such as doing a blog tour and submitting aggressively… Continue reading Summer recap and new goals

Stars of Blood and Glory 2.0 is finished!

On Tuesday, I finished the second draft of my latest writing project, Stars of Blood and Glory!  Here are the basic stats: words: 78,746 pages: 372 chapters: 20, epilogue, and prologue start date: 3 July 2012 end date: 24 July 2012 Also, this is probably really dorky, but I made a logo for the title: They say to… Continue reading Stars of Blood and Glory 2.0 is finished!

Form rejection and WOTF closure

So I finally got an email from the Writers of the Future contest.  It reads: Dear Entrant, Your story has now been judged and did not win or place in the 1st quarter. Even though you have never had to wait for results in order to submit for the next quarter, this hopefully gives you… Continue reading Form rejection and WOTF closure

Blurb and cover for Star Wanderers

So the first quarter finalists for the Writers of the Future contest were finally announced (finally!), and I wasn’t among them.  Oh well.  But the good news is that I can move ahead now to publish part 1 of Star Wanderers! First, though, I need to work out a killer blurb.  This is what I’ve got… Continue reading Blurb and cover for Star Wanderers

Quick update (yes, I’m still alive)

I just had an awesome weekend.  Saw the most amazing cave complex of my life, toured Kakheti o a TLG excursion, met a bunch of really cool people, and hung out with them in Tbilisi for a while.  I’ll have to save all that for another blog post, though, probably in a couple of days. Rumor… Continue reading Quick update (yes, I’m still alive)

Summer To Do list

They say that the three main perks to being a teacher are June, July, and August, and that’s as true for TEFL teachers as it is for any other kind.  I’m spending June in Georgia, but for July and August, I’ll be back in the States.  Instead of vacationing, though, I plan to be working… Continue reading Summer To Do list

Managing time and mental space in a foreign country

Some of you asked for a writing update, so I figure I might as well do a quick post on my current projects and where they are.  I’ve also been experimenting with my daily schedule a bit, so it would probably be good to blog about that as well. Right now, the main project taking… Continue reading Managing time and mental space in a foreign country

“On hold” with WOTF

I have some interesting news.  My first quarter submission to the Writers of the Future contest has been put “on hold,” following the untimely passing of the contest’s coordinating judge, K.D. Wentworth.  Here’s the email I received this morning: Dear Entrant, I wanted to let you know that we have a delay in the handling… Continue reading “On hold” with WOTF