Content

Hi guys.  It’s been a long time since I attempted to maintain a blog, and I’m feeling kind of stupid, kind of shy.  I write almost every single day, and I even tweet once in a while, but I feel a bit silly sitting down, trying to generate content that I can sticker onto the infinite wall of the internet.

I’m twenty-six years old.  I signed up for Facebook in 2004, when I was a freshman in college.  For the first couple days, I had one friend, who threatened to defriend me just because it was in his power to leave me completely alone on the internet.  Under “Interested In,” I listed Women and Men, because though I’m a straight woman, I was “Looking For” Friendship.  My one friend poked fun of me for my little mistake, but I maintain that it was logically sound.  My sophomore year of college, my friend June introduced me to youTube.  We spent a whole evening watching the dozen or so popular videos on the site.  I remember in particular the Chinese Backstreet Boys, the two young boys lip-syncing to I Want It That Way while a third friend plays Starcraft in the background.  I thought of those Chinese Backstreet Boys again when I watched this video a few weeks ago:

This kid is amazing.  I’d never heard Countdown before, but I’ve watched this video about a dozen times.  It’s been viewed about 1.2 million times since July 9, which, let’s be real, is a huge number.  But look at what went into making this thing.  Hours of dancing, months of editing, that adorable face, and perfect synchronization with a professional music video that cost several adults a staggering amount of time and money.  This kid will never enjoy the internet fame of the Chinese Backstreet Boys.  2005 was a different time, when people actually paid attention to what you said online because not that many people were talking.  I mean, remember when there were no food blogs?

There is so much great content on the internet that it’s impossible to consume even a tiny percentage of a percentage of the stuff that’s directly relevant to my interests.  And yet here I am, creating more content.  This is where I introduce myself.

I’m a writer, author of a novel called Follow Her Home, which will be published by St. Martin’s Minotaur in April 2013.  It’s available for pre-order on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Follow-Her-Home-Steph-Cha/dp/1250009626/.  The cover looks like this:

The fact that I’m bringing a book into the world should tell you a lot about me.  One of those things is that I have a sturdy ego, that I believe against all odds that I have unique and interesting insights to share, and that people would do well to pay attention to me.  I do believe these things.  I don’t think there’s an author in the world who could claim greater humility with a straight face.  The road to publication is too steep to allow for shaky self-confidence.

So yes, I am starting a blog, and in this blog, I will share my thoughts and feelings, on books mostly, but on food, occasionally, on my dog and my city and my life.  I hope to get to know other writers and readers through this blog, make a few internet friends.  I’ve admitted that I have a writer’s ego (and I will admit, too, the hideous corollary yen for validation), but I like to think that I am otherwise pleasant enough.

Thank you for reading.  Hope it wasn’t a waste of your valuable, limited time.

- steph