5 Things About Me and 2012

I'm totally ripping off an idea by my dear Twitter friend, Sierra Godfrey, with this post. And I've even shortened it to 5 things instead of 10 because I'm totally lazy like that. Also, I'm so bereft of original ideas for blogging that...oh Lord, does anyone even care at this point?

Let's get this over with, shall we?

5. Strangers On The Internet Gave Me Money

I ran my first successful Kickstarter campaign to raise money for my latest novel (See #2). I needed money for editing, and so I asked total strangers to trust me with their hard-earned money. Fortunately for them, I'm an honorable man and used the money for its intended purpose. You can see the finished result here. (Quick note: expect to see that link peppered through this and future posts because I'm totally shameless!)

4. I've Suckered Nearly 800 Awesome People Into Following Me On Twitter

Yeah, I'm kind of a big deal on the Internet. By attempting to be funny, I've gotten quite a few people to click a small button on a website that tells me they want to read more of my attempts at being funny. I'm not saying my attempts have succeeded (in all honesty, I've nearly fallen out of my chair cracking myself up), but I like to think they have. If not, please don't rain on my Internet parade. Kthxbye! Oh, if you've missed any of my recent tweets, they're basically summed up here. (Psst! That's another link to JUNGLELAND. There's another one.)

3. I Got To See Bruce Springsteen For The Third Time

I made it to Kansas City and saw Uncle Bruce at the Sprint Center. If you're curious to know just how awesome it was, please consult this setlist. This was unfortunately the first time I had to go without a pregnant wife in tow. My first two sons were in utero when we went to see Bruce in 2007 and 2009, respectively. Our third son was born in 2011 and Bruce didn't tour then. And I'm not that devoted to Bruce that I would plan the conception of a child around his tour schedule. I know fans who might, but that's just too much. Instead, I took notes about the experience so I could include them in my book, JUNGELAND.

2. I Released My Third Novel, JUNGLELAND

I'll be honest. My first two books have not exactly set the world of science fiction on fire. If you must, check their Amazon sales rankings for proof. But please don't tell anyone. Spare me my dignity, won't you?

This third book is so much better, I think. And I'm not saying that to brag about its quality. I just mean to say that I'm extraordinarily proud of it. I enlisted the help of an editor, and she was absolutely brilliant and helpful. Special shout-out is in order to Jennifer Wells for hooking me up with some sweet story advice. It helped to put the finishing touches on a book that was already pretty good to begin with. It's only been out a week and it's already yielded two 5-star reviews. And here's the best part: neither of them were written by close friends or family members. I think that's an achievement.

1. My Perfect Marriage Got Perfecter

My editor is going to kill me for that! Grammar aside, it's true. My wife and I celebrated our 9-year anniversary last month and it's been an absolute glorious adventure together. For some reason, 2012 was a year of growth for both of us. We're so much closer and in love than we've been, and I can't explain what changed or occurred to make it that way. I'm not gonna analyze it too much because some things don't really need to be understood. I just think it's worth mentioning here...to all of you people...all of whom are perfect strangers...who probably don't care about the state of my marriage. Whatevs. It's important to me.

Okay, so this wasn't so bad. Maybe I'll do it again next year. Unless Sierra copyrights this idea and sues me for all of my JUNGLELAND money. (I'll admit it: that last tweet was downright shameful!) Oh, speaking of JUNGLELAND, the paperback version will be available on CreateSpace shortly. I'll be sure to spam all of you with the link when it does. So, there's that.