Who Would Want to Read about Me?

This morning the grass is shimmering like a field of diamonds, and I’m obviously in a literary mood. The moon is full. Twitter says “blood moon” is trending. I have no idea why that’s special, but I’m sure someone will let me know. I don’t plan to hang around the Twitverse long enough to find out and I’m not intrigued enough to Google it, so onward.

I watched two movies last night: YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE (excellent) and HELLRAISER JUDGMENT (acceptable at best, but the bar is super low after the abomination that was part nine). I can’t recall the last time I just shutdown and watched more than one movie. (I did live-tweet HELLRAISER JUDGMENT, and had a lot of fun doing so, but I consider that a cheat day and not a relapse.) I had a blast with both movies, even if the former was leagues better than the latter.

Sometimes I think authors use “former” and “latter” simply to confuse people. Then you have the people who don’t use it properly, and that’s why no one knows which is which. Me? I remember by telling myself that the first thing is former, and I remember that by telling myself that both “first” and “former” start with “F”. The more you (think you) know.

Anyway, I highly recommend YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE, especially if you enjoy my Larry Laughlin series.

I did something this week I haven’t done since high school. I let a couple of strangers read the beginning of an unfinished project. Not an unedited project, but an unfinished one. If you know me personally, you will know this is rarer than a green blood moon. (You know I had to Google it.) I didn’t let these folks read unfinished material for any vain purpose, and by that I mean that I totally did. Vanity was the predominate motivator, anyway. Secondly, I wanted to know if people would enjoy reading about, well…me.

It’s super early in the process, but I’m writing my first piece of novel-length nonfiction tentatively called AUGUST BABY: a Memoir. (Godfuck, “A Memoir” sounds pretentious as fuck…) But pretension is one of the reasons I sent the opening chapters to a group of readers who have a) never read my work and b) won’t read my work because I’m a disgusting horror author. I kid. One of them has read my work. She hated it, which is why I asked her to read this.

All three of them loved the opening three chapters. Of course, they were under the impression that this was fiction, but that too was important to the process. I think I’ve lived a pretty interesting life, interesting enough to spend the next few months writing about myself (bloody narcissist that I am), but I wanted to know if my life would interest readers who prefer fiction. A memoir is the ultimate in putting yourself out there, if you’re honest anyway, and I plan to be. It’s going to be awkward, but I doubt it’ll be boring. And that’s most important to me. That people are entertained.

I’m still enjoying my limited time on social media (one-hour a day, for those of you new to the blog) and don’t plan to returning to my old ways. We’re three weeks into this experiment (studies say it takes 21 days to build a new routine) and sales haven’t dropped, neither have my follower counts, in fact, both have gotten better, so maybe the idea that social media is important to an author’s success is a bunch of bullshit?

Or perhaps people like it when there’s less of me? Can’t say I’d blame them, but I’m working on that. The memoir (FUCKING PRETENSIOUS WORD GODDAMN) is helping with allowing me to like myself again.

Or maybe for the first time.

Anyballs, how’re you doing? I’m stupidly happy, especially after such a positive response to the first three chapters of my new (DON’T CALL IT A MEMOIR YOU WHORE) project. I continue to fast twice a week with the aid of Keto coffee, or Bulletproof coffee, if you prefer (see the last blog for the recipe). I see my doctor on the January 29, so I’ll have a weight and progress report for you next Monday. I’m currently reading THE RUNNING MAN and THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK (buddy read with my friend Erica) and am enjoying the latter more than the former.

Fuck, I did it again.

E.

My favorite videos of the week: