I'm back!
Yessiree, after just about eight months in exile from this blog — wandering the desert, with my head stuck in the sand, or maybe just on a beach somewhere, sunning the days away (huh? huh?) — I'm back, ready to keep all of you updated and to otherwise fill the void that is the internet with my brilliant thoughts and ideas.
Whew!
But why, you might ask. Why go away for so long? Why disappear? Why leave us?!?!?
Well, I needed a break. Plain and simple.
Blogging and writing and working and coming up with new ideas for the blogging and the writing is heavy, heavy stuff. It takes time, it takes creativity, and it takes inspiration... and at the time, I didn't have any.
But being away helped me find some. Yes! Being away from this blog, and the writing community as a whole, gave me more time to, well, live!
I got to travel to some far off places and have a few adventures of my own. I lived in Vancouver for three whole weeks for work, which meant I had a ton of time to explore the city and experience almost everything it has to offer. I also did a two week road trip along the East Coast, which had a truckload of fun times as well.
Here are the highlights (in random order):
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| A lazy harbour somewhere on Mt. Desert Island, Maine |
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| A quaint book shop / cafe in Boston — excellent brunch! |
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| An outdoor Cirque du Soleil experience in Quebec City |
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| Coal Harbour, Vancouver. Look at that mountain view! |
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| A Red Sox game at Fenway Park, which even included a thunderstorm! |
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| Even flying provides plenty of inspiration |
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| I didn't obey the warning signs, and had the hike of my life! |
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| The Iron Man triathlon in Lake Placid, NY |
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| Would YOU climb down this rusted, rickety stairway? |
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| To get to this lighthouse in New Brunswick, you might. |
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| Lobsters? Yes, please. |
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| Another lazy, fog-covered harbour in Maine! |
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| A prison!!! In Kingston, Ontario |
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| This is what lies hidden when the tide is high... |
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| Vancouver is full of beautiful, hidden harbours |
Inspired yet?
Other than working, traveling, and trying to have new adventures, I was of course, writing!
I've been working on (and completed!) I new draft of
151, which, I believe, is the best yet. Given that it was my first attempt at a full-fledged novel, and that I've re-edited, rewritten, revised, and re-re-rewritten the dang thing again and again, it will also be remembered as being the guinea pig that helped me learn how to write. *Ahem*!
Behold, the images of victory!
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| 151 — all eight episodes, printed! |
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| 151 Beta 4.3 — bound for one of my Beta Readers to read. Plus, a portrait of the gang in Ilium :) |
So that's that! Now you're all caught up.
I look forward to returning... eh, maybe once a week, to keep you all updated and share more of my experiences in the weird and wacky world of writing.
Thanks for reading!
-John
