{"id":539,"date":"2026-10-03T18:02:43","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T18:02:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apatchworkofthought.com\/?p=539"},"modified":"2026-10-03T18:06:59","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T18:06:59","slug":"fresh-off-the-year-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apatchworkofthought.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/03\/fresh-off-the-year-off\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresh Off The Year Off"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s been a while since I’ve been here. May 31, 2025, to be exact. It\u2019s been over a year, and I\u2019ve missed A Patchwork<\/em>. I took some time off from writing on this platform to write and publish my first book of fiction, A College Tale<\/em>.<\/a> It\u2019s self-published, but at the same time a piece of work that I\u2019m proud of and that I’m proud of myself for completing. I\u2019ve wanted to be a writer since I was 8 years old, and I\u2019ve learned a lot about myself and myself as a writer through my work with A Patchwork<\/em> and in completing my first book. Right now, I\u2019m full of angst still, however. The book was published on September 15th<\/sup>, and as an independent publisher, it takes a while to know how the work is being perceived or received. I\u2019m less concerned about whether people think it\u2019s good; I\u2019m much more concerned that people won\u2019t get it. My intention in writing the book wasn\u2019t to prove that I could write or that I\u2019m a good writer; it was an artistic endeavor intended to provoke thought, feeling, or emotion. My humble attempt to accomplish a lofty dream of creating and introducing a piece of art to the world that might contribute to some sort of betterment. Something that might speak to someone and be meaningful and impactful in a way that might be helpful or positive.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This book means a lot to me personally as well. Not only is it a dream that I’ve pursued since childhood, but it\u2019s a tribute to all those who\u2019ve guided, loved, and mentored me through life. I\u2019ve chosen to base the characters in my novels off the real-life people who\u2019ve made me who I am. I couldn\u2019t think of a better way to honor these people who\u2019ve been my world and made my life what it is today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even this first novel coming about was directly inspired by one of these VIPs for me. I\u2019d been making attempts at writing a novel since 2020, and earlier this year, I actually started to gain some traction on one that I thought I might finish. I still haven\u2019t finished that book yet, though. In March of this year, I had what ended up being my last visit with my high school basketball coach and lifelong mentor. He was terminally ill, and I wanted to have as many interactions as I could with him while I could. During my visit with him, his daughter was there and she asked me if I was still writing. I responded that I was and that I was not only writing here on A Patchwork<\/em>, but that I was also writing my first book that I intended to self-publish. My mentor\u2019s response was that \u201cI\u2019d write one with you, but I\u2019m dying or we could\u2019ve written one together.\u201d Yes, blunt, but very consistent with his personality. My response was, \u201cWell, I\u2019ll have to write one for you to read.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After saying that, I left that visit feeling like I really had to write that book now. My mentor was forever the teacher, though. The visit wasn\u2019t long because I got there near dinner time in the facility where he was staying, and my mentor was not one to be late for dinner. He told me that he\u2019d have to cut the visit short because of that but still had the presence of mind after we were already out of the door and on our way to the grub, to have his daughter turn him around so that he could go back and give me some books to read. Now I not only needed to write that book I mentioned but also read these three books he\u2019d gifted me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, I had a rare opportunity to read soon after he gifted me those books because I was getting some work done on the HVAC unit in my house and couldn\u2019t be in my office to work. So, I started reading a book called Disgrace<\/em>, by an author named J.M. Coetzee<\/em>. It\u2019s a great book, that I still haven\u2019t finished, because while reading it I heard the voice that A College Tale<\/em> would be written in, and if I’m fortunate enough, maybe even future novels. Hearing that voice sparked the flame that would lead to me scrapping the book I was writing and start the process of writing another book that I\u2019d hopefully be able to get in front of my mentor to fulfill that promise I’d made. A College Tale<\/em> was written over a cumulative 7-day period for that reason. I knew I wouldn\u2019t be able to send him a perfect manuscript, but I wanted to at least do some proofing before I gave him what I\u2019d written. I knew he\u2019d be an honest critic, and he was one of the last people I’d want to think anything I’d written was terrible. Unfortunately, I finished that proofing the night before his passing. I woke up the next morning to his daughter\u2019s text message, letting me know that the time was coming. I was devastated. Now I\u2019d not only have to deal with a devastating loss, but I\u2019d been wanting to do something to demonstrate that I appreciated this man\u2019s investment in me since I was 16 years old, and I\u2019d just missed my opportunity. I’d experienced significant loss before and devastation as a result, but this was one that resonated differently. It almost nullified my desire to publish writing. One of my biggest inspirations and supporters would no longer be present to critique what I\u2019d done, to be proud, or to praise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It took as much resilience as I’ve ever needed to muster in my life to pick back up the proverbial pen, and myself, as a person and as a writer, and keep pursuing the goal of publishing. That\u2019s what he would\u2019ve encouraged, and his daughter is still here, and so are my parents and kids and family and friends and other mentors, and yes, I still want to make them proud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, as alluded to before, publishing this book has been personally nerve-racking, so I still hope they are ultimately proud. For a first-time independent author, it was an artistic leap that was fairly scary. I didn\u2019t want to tell the story from the perspective of an all-knowing narrator from outside the story with perfect diction; etc. I\u2019ve read those books and wondered, who\u2019s this person who\u2019s telling the story, and how do they know everything? So, I made the narrator the main character of the story. An imperfect person with the same flaws and faults that we all possess, including ticks and imperfections as a speaker\/storyteller, telling an imperfect story. A seemingly very secure person outwardly, who in reality is as insecure and apprehensive as us all. The person among us who\u2019d claim not to be that person would be a person I might genuinely envy or, conversely, would be genuinely concerned about. I\u2019ve experienced a good bit of anxiety around leaving the imperfections, however. I felt left with the choices to either allow concerns over the imperfections being viewed as an indictment on my writing ability to change the art, or I could stick with the artistic vision and trust that at least some people would get it. On some level, I\u2019ve always known that I wanted a bit of a \u201cpunk\u201d element to the writing I published if I were fortunate enough to be able to make that determination for myself, so I chose the latter of the two approaches. As previously stated, that choice has caused me some anxiety, but I feel confident that it\u2019s a decision I ultimately won\u2019t regret. I hope I always feel that way about that choice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2026 has been a year of great milestones and accomplishments for me, but it\u2019s also been one of the most difficult years of my life. I\u2019ve experienced too much loss and too many trials. So have too many of my friends and family. If nothing else, I hope something I do in this realm of my life inspires someone to push themselves in the same way that I’ve been inspired to push myself. Keep going. Keep pursuing that goal. Keep pursuing that dream. Let nothing stand in the way, especially fear and apprehension, and time and people are really the only thing you can\u2019t get back. Given that, what could be more valuable than now? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s been a while since I’ve been here. May 31, 2025, to be exact. It\u2019s been over a year, and I\u2019ve missed A Patchwork. I took some time off from writing on this platform to write and publish my first book of fiction, A College Tale. It\u2019s self-published, but at the same time a piece […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-writers-block"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t