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2016: The Year of Lessons is now available for pre-order!

“2016:  The Year of Lessons”, my ninth and final book, is now available in the Kindle store!  It’s priced at $5.99, and will be released on October 29th.

As with all my Kindle editions, this release has been configured with Kindle Matchbook, offering the Kindle edition at a discounted price for anyone who’s also purchased a physical copy.  The Kindle Matchbook price for this book is $2.99.

I’m including a copy of the cover below, as well as the book description.  If you’re interested in pre-ordering a copy, you can do so here:  http://a.co/d/1r2CYbT

The Year of Lessons is Daniel’s 9th book of poetry, containing his work from 2016. Breathtaking in its brevity, profound in its prose – The Year of Lessons studies serious subjects such as politics and depression while also exploring lighter topics like romance, courage, and The Holidays.

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Legend

Dawn breaks
on the far side of despair,
and dreams can live long past
our pregnant bedside vigils.

Tomorrow is not a gift,
but neither is it a curse.
It is a blank sheet of paper
on which to write our story.

Our future is charted
by the characters we include,
the quests we embrace,
and what we chose to abandon.

The ink ever-flows in our hearts,
and the world waits eagerly for our decisions.

If you like my work, please consider supporting me through Patreon where you can get early access to posts, exclusive content, and more.

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Fantasia

Excitement ended,
the children are content
to play with their prizes,
and leave their parents in peace.

The glitz and glamour
will soon be set aside
as the rigors of the real world
demand due attention.

So savor the memories –
these times between times,
this stillness between breaths –
as long as you are able.

If you like my work, please consider supporting me through Patreon where you can get early access to posts, exclusive content, and more.

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Solstice

The night is hungry,
devouring candles like candy,
and trying to snuff out the light
like the last drag on a cigarette.

People huddle up tight,
with layer upon layer of protection
against the cold left in the wake
of their dearly departed sun.

But just when things seem at their worst,
a curiosity occurs –
the shadows, sated at last,
make way for lengthening days.

And beyond the departing darkness
waits a world blooming in the light.

If you like my work, please consider supporting me through Patreon where you can get early access to posts, exclusive content, and more.

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The year 7 update – part 2

As December comes around again, it’s time for my annual anniversary update post.  I’ve got a lot to say this year, so I decided to split the usual single post update into two.  The first post went over what I’ve done this past year, and this second post will talk about what I’m planning on doing next year.

So without further ado…

I’ll get directly to the point:  I will no longer be posting content on a schedule after December of this year.

I’ve been writing for seven full years now, and I’ve published over 1450 unique posts to my sites in that time.  I’ve given a lot of thought to what I want to write and how I want to run this site as well:  I’ve written shorter content with a frequent posting schedule, larger content with a slower schedule, and experimented a little in between.  I have published 8 paperbacks in that time frame (counting the first book’s original and re-publication), published 5 ebooks, and I have another book deep in the stages of publishing a paperback.

And all of that has been very exhausting.

Keeping my publishing schedule over the past few years has taken a lot out of me – especially when working on freelance and side projects at the same time.  It’s stifled my ability to learn new skills, carved a swath through my social life, and devoured my free time like a candle lit at both ends.  And after doing some soul-searching, I’ve decided that writing on a schedule is tearing me down more than it’s helping me.  I’ve always been proud of how tightly I’ve stuck to my schedule, and the decision to abandon it has not been an easy one.

So what does that mean for my writing and the site?

  1. I am only suspending my writing SCHEDULE, not my writing entirely.  I will still be writing and posting content to this site, but it will not be every week.
  2. I will be using the extra time I get from not keeping up a schedule to learn some new skills and work on some projects that I’ve been thinking about.  There will be new stuff coming, so keep your eyes peeled.
  3. For those who use Patreon to support me, I have started updating and retooling that campaign and the rewards.  My Patreon will remain up, and those who choose to support me there will get exclusive content and sneak previews of all publicly available content.
  4. I will be moving my audio recordings behind Patreon’s paywall at the $5 level once 2017 begins.  The rest of 2016’s posts will still have audio accompaniments, but it’s too much extra work to continue sharing it for free.  To be clear, I am NOT removing any existing audio from my sites, but I will not be publicly sharing new audio in 2017.
  5. That being said, I will no longer be updating my SoundCloud after this year ends.  Thank you to everyone who has supported me through that site.

Again, the decision to make these changes has not been an easy one to make, but I believe it is the correct one for me right now.

So what won’t be changing in 2017?

  1. I will still be doing open mic nights.  I haven’t been doing them lately because the MC who hosts the ones I usually attend is out on an extended holiday.  I’ll resume my open mic nights at River City and HB Lovedrafts upon her return, and I will keep my eyes peeled for more open mic opportunities in the area.
  2. I will still keep publishing.  I’m not giving up on this 2014 paperback, but it has been very trying.  I also want to publish the 2016 paperback as well as some ebooks next year.
  3. I will keep my eyes and ears open for events in 2017 where I can sell my books.  I don’t want to overbook my schedule, but I would like to do a couple of events this year.

And what will be new in 2017?

  1. MERCH!  Come hell or high water, I want to produce some merchandise for my work this coming year, aside from my books.  My current plans include shirts and mugs, but may include other ideas as I explore my options.
  2. More books.  I’m nearly done with the 2014 book, and I hope to get the 2016 book finished in early 2017.  Following that, I will work on the 5 unpublished ebooks as time allows.

And that’s…about it.  I don’t want to over-commit to too much for 2017, and there’s plenty that I can work on.  And that’s what I still aim to do – work, just in a different way than I have in the past.

Wish me luck.