Hey, folks. It’s been awhile. Like, over a year. I’m sorry I was silent for so long. 2020 was… not conducive to writing. Not even so much as a blog post. I mostly just hunkered down and waited for it to be over. My depression and anxiety got the better of me a lot, but I kept taking my meds, at least. I got my Bachelor’s in English and Creative Writing, and I started the MFA program for Creative Writing at SNHU. Things weren’t entirely horrible for me personally.

I hope you made it through, too.

Maybe you’re expecting some kind of introspection about the previous year, or some resolutions for the year ahead in this post, but you’re not going to find that here. At least, not right now. I don’t want to dwell on the negatives of last year, of which there are many. I CAN’T dwell on them, for my own mental health. I have to accept and move on.

This year is going to be better anyway.

Okay, so it started off a bit rocky with the elections and insurrection in the capitol. Not to mention the continued COVID situation. But I’m optimistic. There’s a vaccine and people are finally starting to get it. One day things might be semi-normal again.

Until then…

I just recently got my first acceptance of the year! My short story “Swallow the Moon” will be appearing in HellBound Books’ The Devil’s Doorbell II, an anthology of dark erotica. I wrote “Swallow the Moon” several years ago for a specific submission call and it got rejected then. Now, it’s found a home. Just goes to show you that persistence is key. If I hadn’t kept looking, it would have just stayed in my Drive, collecting metaphorical dust.

My goal this year is to get the rest of my short stories published. I want to find them homes. In that regard, I’m getting an editor to take a look at the ones I think need some work still.

I’ll also be working on another novel as part of my MFA program. This one is an urban fantasy, so that’s something new for me. I’m excited about it. Another goal I have this year is to participate in the online community more, which means both in groups and on Twitter and Instagram. (I just passed 1,000 Twitter followers, so that’s exciting!) That also means (I hope) more blog posts here. We’ll see. I’ve made a goal of spending 1 hour a day working on my platform, so that should give me some time to focus here.

So… same old me. Still writing. Still doing the work of fighting depression and anxiety every day. I’m in a pretty good place, with an excellent support system of friends and family, thankfully. I know how lucky I am.

This last year has been a special hell. If you’re struggling and need to talk to someone, please reach out. The National Suicide Prevention line is 800-273-8255 and it’s available 24 hours a day. You are needed. You are loved. Hang in there.

~xxxM