. . . but that’s the beauty of WordPress, isn’t it? Everything is just so neat and organized and formatted like a Christmas present. Understanding all of it, though, is where I get a little cross-eyed. After a bit of exploring and experimenting here and there, I think I’ve gotten the hang of it, but bear with me. A successful first post here can just be beginner’s luck. For all I know, my computer will crash and my blog will explode and the world will end right as I’m about to publish that second post–

No. This is a place for happy thoughts. No discussing my technological apocalypse or the real one (unless, of course, it’s actually happening).

What I will be discussing here is writing and life and randomness. Maybe more on the randomness, but the relevant kind. Also confession: while this is my first post here, this isn’t my first blog.

Yup. This isn’t my first rodeo with blogging. Because my old, beloved one was pretty much devoted to my first book (a lot of newbie firsts in general) and filled with a fair amount of writerly angst (the stressed-out-student, college-sized kind), I thought a new look was in order for my second book baby and post-grad writing state of mind. Also for a new project, it just feels good to chat about it somewhere new and clean and fun. However, I may feature some of my old writing-related posts if they’re helpful . . . maybe make it a blog-style Throwback Thursday once I get over how cheesy that sounds when I say it out loud.

Anywho, now that I’ve gotten those pleasantries out of the way, here’s some stuff that I’ll probably talk about more often with each post . . . mostly to keep myself accountable (because procrastinator Janella is just waiting to be unleashed again) and keep reading since I’ve been seriously lacking in that department (and need to make a severe comeback for my Goodreads challenge this year).

So, onward.

Writing Things: I’m on my sixth draft now of my YA pirate fantasy. I’ve gotten through the first half of it and now have been tackling the second half. A lot of it now is throwing in some left over changes and reading over to see if the flow of it still makes sense/hoping that any of it makes sense at all. And remembering to eat/act like a normal human once in a while. Ah, sixth draft-syndrome is setting in quite nicely . . .

Reading Things: Just finished Daughter of the Blood, Book 1 of the Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop. When I first picked it up a while back, I remember having such a hard time getting into it. But this time around, I was hooked and savored the prose, characters, and darkness of the world like a fine wine. Yup, I actually just compared my reading to drinking wine, all said with a straight face. Come at me, bro.

Music Things: SUPER obsessed with this track right now from Kill Bill Vol. 2. Malagueña Salerosa by Chingon has quickly become one of my main songs for my story. I can practically hear all of the epic explosions and battles being fought behind this song. The translation is to the core a flattering love song, but just the way it’s performed here makes it so badass. Definitely reminds me of a certain pirate femme fatale I write about.

Social Media Things: The new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer dropped today and Twitter pretty much exploded over the awesome. And it MOST DEFINITELY was. I got chills. And Han and Chewie at the end tho . . .

So these are just the little updates I may post from time to time. One of the best things about blogs is being able to look back a month or year to the date and seeing what’s changed or what happened since then. I guess that’s where the Back to the Future theme ties in which was totally not intentional? I just like Back to the Future. Huh, weird how things work out like that. Beside the point, I can’t wait to keep building up this blog (because a TON of things still need to be tweaked and fixed) and to see what other memories I can accumulate with it as I continue writing.