Year End

My poor neglected blog - I've been so busy lately that I haven't posted here regularly, not to mention my even more deprived music blog, Fleur D'Amour. It's one of my main New Year's resolutions to get back to both of them. I love posting here, just haven't been able to organize my thoughts for anything longer than a Twitter post lately.

I finally finished moving and painting, and my room looks great. There is some minor cleanup to do putting some office supplies and clothes away, but I'll take care of that this weekend. I'll take pictures and post when I am done, because the room really does look cool. It took a lot of effort to update it but it was worth it. It's a really good synthesis of where I am now combined with elements from my past, both from my family and the life I've lived since I left home. I also managed to include markers from the many distinct phases I have gone through in my own aesthetic development - all in one room!

I plan to do a lot of general wrap-up and organizing over the next few weeks. I've also been neglecting my Etsy shop and I need to reevaluate it. With this poor economy entrenched for the long haul, I'm going to lower my prices significantly and keep them there. I also need to make a lot more stuff to list in the shop - I have been trying to get to that, but was just too busy with the book, conference, etc. Etsy people seem to love the handmade thing even more than the vintage thing, and I am happy to oblige. I don't have all the time in the world for it, but I do have a few hours a week to devote to making things. I wish I could have gotten it done before Christmas, and maybe I can get some of it accomplished by then, but better late than never.

I've also got catch-up to do on my writing. I haven't been writing for magazines at all lately because I've been busy with the books, and I want to line some up for next year that I can contribute to regularly. I plan to work on Parsifal edits all through Christmas, and research more about getting The Flower of Knighthood into Amazon's Kindle offerings and do a cost breakdown for the small print run I want to get underway. In this economy, I don't think I have a prayer of finding a publisher for epic poetry, so better to just get the thing out there. I've been researching the Hogarth Press model, the small house founded by Virginia and Leonard Woolf to publish her books and which they started from one tabletop printing press. That's a business model I can get behind - the modern equivalent is a laptop, which I am budgeting to try to get in January at the post-holiday sales. I want to use that to make a big push toward more social networking in 2009, too. I still don't have much readership here and I need to utilize Facebook, etc. in a more integrated manner and set up pages for my books and other projects. Then there is the poetry contest I want to enter in March - that might lead to being published, but only if I can win it, and there is no telling what their objective taste will be. I am going to do my best to impress.

I want to wish everyone happy holidays. It's been a crazy year what with the second Great Depression and all, but let's work to make 2009 successful and fulfilling.