Movement.

I was going to rant tonight.

Moving is not going well. Misdelivered furniture, broken internet, an aging computer that decided to die somewhere on the road and stick me with an unexpected expense in the middle of an already-expensive endeavor, it’s…well, not remotely a unique experience, really. If you’ve ever moved, and I’m guessing you have, you know what I’m talking about. It sucks. It’s not a question of “will something go wrong” so much as “what particular surprise things-going-wrong will you have to deal with, and how many at once.”

Somewhere around a couple of hours ago, after maybe fourteen hours of moving-related-stuff, I realized I was feeling woozy because I hadn’t remembered to eat today. Then I came back to the old apartment, a wasteland of boxes and things half-done, to make camp for the night. Checked online, got smacked with a review that’s basically one extended personal attack. (I mean, to stress, this wasn't just "I didn't like the book" -- that's totally fair play and I respect every reviewer's right to say that -- it was some nasty imagined stuff about their view of me as a person.) And of course, I can’t respond, because that’s how this business works.

So I’m pissed. Muzzled. Imagine someone’s talking a ton of shit about you and you literally can’t respond or a not-insignificant number of drama mavens will brand you as unprofessional and awful and etc. I mean, that’s the way it works; I’m not asking for sympathy, I knew that going into this life. But that doesn’t make it any less frustrating. And while I can normally brush that stuff off with absolute ease, I might be a tiny bit stressed at the moment, making my calloused skin a little thinner than it should be.

I was all fired up. I was going to rant, gosh darn it. I was going to address each and every point, without naming the original critic, and make them look like the clueless dunderhead they were. Vindication. And then…

And then, I looked back over some recent comments, reviews, emails. There’s a psychological phenomenon with artists – not sure if there’s a formal name for it, probably is one – where positive feedback gets eclipsed by negative feedback. One bad review overshadows ten good ones. And while that might be a natural quirk of the human brain…it’s still wrong.

I was reminded, tonight, that I have a community of readers who has my back. That there are folks who are excited for my books to come out, who are as invested in these stories and these characters as I am. And that means more than I can possibly say. It’s everything to me. You don’t just keep me going; you encourage me to keep trying, to keep working harder to improve my skills and my art, to keep delivering better and better stories.

So I was going to rant tonight. I’m not. Instead, I just want to express my gratitude. To all my readers, to everyone who supports my work, who helps me to keep it flowing. Thank you.

Oh, so I should actually include some useful information in this post: 99% done reviewing the Locust Job audiobook, should approve it tomorrow, expect a release shortly.

And thank you.