Looks like the sap is running early this year...

I'm not one for looking back, as a rule, but 2007 has been an extraordinary year, one that demands some measure of reflection. In no particular order, here are some milestones I've been lucky enough to reach this year. Keep your head down, 'cause here come the bullets:

• My first-ever professional credit. And, if I don't mind saying so myself, it was a doozy. (Shouldn't that be deusey, by the way? Eh, no matter.)
• My second-ever professional credit. Demolition. Bad-ass. Enough said.
  
• Making the Spinetingler Award shortlist. There aren't words for the freak-out that set off.
  
• Landing my dream agent. That someone as charming and talented as Jennifer believes in my book is humbling and thrilling in equal measure. That's the sort of thing a writer lives for. Again, words fail.
  

Of course, there have been other milestones as well. I turned thirty. I bought a house. I managed to hoodwink my lovely, charming wife into staying with me for yet another year (believe me, that never ceases to surprise). But a year is more than simply a collection of milestones, and with that in mind, I'd like to thank the folks I've met in the course of my writerly travails. I'm not dumb enough to try to list them all; I'd doubtless forget someone, and kick myself for weeks. If you take a look at my links and my blog comments, though, you'll get a pretty good idea.

I've always felt a bit of an outsider (in school, in work, in life), but this year I've encountered dozens of folks whose generosity of spirit is matched only by their talent. It's a strange thing, to find one's tribe, but a good strange. I wish them all the best in the coming year, and extend my thanks as well. I'm constantly amazed how supportive this community can be, and you can be damn sure I'm not about to take that for granted.

So happy new year, and goodbye to a hell of a last one. God only knows what's in store, but one thing's for sure: we're in for a hell of a ride.

(And yes, Sandra, I absolutely count my impending Spinetingler debut as a milestone; it'll be first on next year's list...)

A Note on "Random Dude"

In my last post, I made a joke (or twenty) about a chap at my sister's work who I found had read my stories and/or swung by this blog. Since then, friend-of-the-blog Lyman seems to have picked up his very own crazy person, this one of the real, live variety. So, in the interests of not lumping Random Dude in with a person of such jackassery, please let it be known that, as far as I'm aware, Mr. Dude is a fine, upstanding gentleman whom women want to be with, and men want to be (or vice versa, whichever his preference might be).

In other news, Lyman Feero eats babies, so, um, vote for me instead.

That is all.

To the random dude at my sister's work that reads this blog...

Dear Random Dude,

Thanks for stopping by! It's a pleasure to have a dude of your randomness popping in from time to time, keeping tabs on little old me. I confess I pondered, for a while, what might have brought you here, and so far, here's what I've come up with:

a) You have a burgeoning interest in writing/publishing, and (God help you) you found something just charming and/or entertaining enough about this blog to keep you from clicking away to, say, freerice or porn or whatnot.

b) You are a crazy insane person who is planning to make from my skin a writer-suit that (God help you) you think will help you break into the publishing industry. ("It puts the thesaurus in the bucket.")

Either way, I thank you for your kind attention, and either way, here's a little something you can give back (after all, 'tis the season of giving, and I've already given so much – either in wisdom or in, you know, skin). I direct your attention to my previous post, in which I mention I've been shortlisted for a Spinetingler Award. Now here comes the giving part. Go check out Seven Days of Rain. Check out the competition, too. If you like my story best, send a vote my way. If you like someone else's, vote for them instead. My only request is that if it's the latter, maybe you consider them for that writer-suit of yours, okay?

Happy holidays,
Chris