In terms of filmmaker goals, this year saw my movies making their theatrical debut, which is still really cool to even think about. Breathe played at the Tallahassee Premiere Nights event in May, and later on, I was invited back to screen Dream Girl for their August event. So that was a real cool experience, seeing a movie I made actually playing in a real movie theater for a real movie-going audience, and really felt like a step in the right direction for my path as a filmmaker.
And as far as acting goes, I also worked briefly on a small project with fellow filmmaking collaborator and friend M.H. Smith, where I played the lead role in a web-series he was shooting. I don't wanna say too much about it now, as we haven't been able to get too far into it yet, but the footage we have shot so far was some of the most fun experiences I've had on set, and I look forward to seeing how this project may continue to progress moving forward.
That said, as I've mentioned before, I have sorta placed filmmaking a bit on the back burner for the time being, as I've shifted focus to actually finishing my Ninja Kat novel series. But even so, I've continued to toy around with new film ideas here and there, and if something in particular happens to light a spark within me that I feel is worth pursuing, then I won't hesitate to pick the camera back up again.
Speaking on the Ninja Kat though, the third book in the series, Velcro: The Masquerade, was released earlier this month, and it's a huge relief finally getting that one out there. Considering how much focus I placed on filmmaking after The Green Lion, I honestly wasn't sure when I'd ever even get back around to actually finishing that one, so the fact that it's finally done and out there is in and of itself very rewarding for me.
But what's been especially cool is how I've seen more people have taken notice to my work ethic, just pumping out movies and novels year after year, and have finally gotten around to actually checking out the Ninja Kat books for themselves, to see what this whole thing I've been spending the past several years actively working on is all about. And the best part is that, despite any discrepancies with the earlier books (believe me, I'm well aware of them, and have learned a great deal from those earlier missteps), they genuinely appear to be enjoying the hell out of them, referring to them as a breath of fresh air even.
But even before the new book was out, I was already hard at work on the fourth, and currently plan on sticking with it and getting it out there as soon as possible. And I'll just say this about it so far. If the outlines for the first three books each come out to approximately half a handwritten notebook in length, well, the outline for Book 4 is almost on its second notebook so far, and I'm only about halfway done outlining it. So it's looking like this next one might actually end up being kind of a long one for a change, which would be pretty satisfying for me personally, considering my under-writing tendencies.
In more personal news, I finally moved away from Tallahassee. I had a friend looking for a roommate and an old boss looking to hire me down in Tampa, so things just sorta happened to work out well in that regard. And really, I was long overdue for a change in scenery. I had been wanting to leave Tallahassee for a long, long time now, but kept finding myself anchored by various projects and what have you. However, after my last big project sorta fell through and I shifted focus to novel writing, I suddenly found I didn't really have anything tying me down to the city anymore. So really, I was all out of excuses.
So I made the plunge, and so far, I'm really liking the new city. It's a really different experience living here, with so many neighboring towns so close to one another, and just a much bigger city than I'm used to, with lots to explore. And going around town and getting various comic shops and book stores to carry my novels has been a great way to make my way around the city and really acquaint myself with my surroundings. I'm seeing all sorts of new things and meeting new people, and I'm just very excited for what the future may continue to hold for me in this town.
And yeah, that's pretty much where I'm at. Looking ahead into the next year, I plan on continuing to work on my Ninja Kat novels, and have already set up a number of book signings and convention appearances in the coming year, so look out for more on those as we get closer to them. But yeah, 2016 may have been a bit of a rough year, but as you can see, it wasn't all bad. And as I look ahead to 2017, I look forward to more new beginnings, and more goals to conquer. So here's to the new year, which hopefully brings with it more good will than the last!
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