I'm not sure whether or not I consider this my first blog. On the one hand, I've been journaling online for years now. On the other, I never consdiered any of that to be blogging. Maybe because no one other than my friends ever read it, and I've always considered a blog to be more of a public thing, where anyone could be interested if the topic appealed to them. Or maybe it's just becfause I was using LiveJournal, and not Blogger, so I was more prone to think of it as a journal. It's right there in the name!
Anyway, that's all semantics. Point is, this is my first journal/blog intended for the masses. Not that I think I'm going to have masses flocking here anytime soon, but the purpose of setting this up is to correlate with my beginning quest for publication, so if I'm ever lucky enough to actually get a book deal down the line, readers will have a place to go online to see what I'm all about.
Mainly, for the purpose of this blog, I'm a novelist. I'm not published (yet), but I'm working up the courage to start querying agents, and keeping it mostly to myself. I'm not ready for the expectation (and let's face it, nagging) of my nearest and dearest that will come once I confess I am finally sending out my work. I get nagged enough as it is, and I suppose I can't blame them. I've been writing novels for about 10 years now, and never before tried to get an agent for them. I've never thought they were good enough, or polished enough, or short enough (I tend toward the long-winded), or whatever other excuse I could come up with. Self-esteem is not my strongest virtue. It's more my Achilles heel, and has kept me from pursuing just about all of dreams over the years. That and procrastination, ot which I am a pro. But no more! I am determined to overcome my self-doubt and, as a friend of mine keeps telling me, JUST DO IT.
So do it I shall.... tomorrow. Actually, I have to renew my driver's license tomorrow, so maybe Wednesday? Hey, I took a step today. I started a blog! (I read on an agent's blog that you should have some sort of online presence already set up when you start querying. I'm not sure if other agents feel that way, but it's an easy enough thing to do, so I figured what the heck.) I also set up a dedicated email address (another suggestion I saw... somewhere) and did a little more research, so it wasn't a totally wasted day.
What else? I'm a Taurus, which basically means I can be stubborn and I like shiny things. In addition to the writer, designer and cat lady mentioned in the blog's title, I'm also:
- Amateur photographer - My Flickr stream is in the sidebar
- Avid reader - My GoodReads list is also in the sidebar. I average about 12 books a month, leaning more to the vampire end of hte fiction spectrum - which is also what my writing leans towards.
- Television junkie - You name it, I probably watch it. Especially if it's a reality competition show (just not dating or dieting - I don't watch those.)
- Music fan - My college degree is a Bachelor of Music in Music Business... so naturally my current job is in the accounting office for a golf course. Does anyone actually go into the field they studied?
- Trivia freak - I'm a nerd, with the Mensa membership to prove it, so I love all kinds of trivia games.
- Travel addict - I try to take a trip every year, but budgets don't always work out that way. Last year was Hawaii, but I've also been to France, Mexico and Egypt. My next dream trip is Italy
- Ancient History buff - I love all things ancient, though I'm most partial to Ancient Egypt. Seeing the pyramids in person was like a religious experience, and I'm dying to get to Rome and Athens someday. I also have a strange fondness for major disasters, specifically the Titanic - topic of one of my novels - and Pompeii.
- Technophile - I love technology. Computers, HDTVs, TiVo (best invention EVER), mp3 players, you name it. Best Buy is my happy place. As a subcategory, I've been dabbling in graphic design and website design for a while. I taught myself html back in the mid-90s, and still do the occasional site for fun and profit. I also recently completed a certificate course in graphic design. The graphics on this blog are mine, except for the flower, which I got online somewhere.
- Dabbling Genealogist - This is my most recent obsession. As it turns out, my family can be traced back to a long line of Kings (mostly French, though one Italian, and the Holy Roman Emperor himself, Charlemagne). It's fascinating to see how long some of my ancestors have been in America. I'd always thought they all immigrated in the 1800s, but quite a few go back to before the Mayflower!
- Cat Lover - I know I mentioned that already, but it can't be stressed enough. I have 4 cats - two pairs of sisters - and love to talk about them. And post pictures. In fact, here's one!
So that's me. I'd say in a nutshell, but as you can see, I tend to ramble, so it's a pretty huge nutshell.
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