My Last Blog Post…

This article is the last blog post I’ll release as someone who isn’t an author. Come Wednesday I’ll be independently published, and the book I’ve been working on in tandem to this blog will be available. Additionally, we’re coming up on a one year anniversary of this blog. I’m excited to publicly reveal for the first time the cover of the first edition:

What’s it about?

Todd Rungson can bend time and space at his will. With a single breath, he can travel between parallel universes. He has traveled through time to experience everything the universe has to offer. Content with the life he’s lived Todd returns to high school to live his life for the last time.

On the day he returns His high school girlfriend Gretchen mysteriously dies after he explains his power. He then discovers her deaths are happening on the same day across every universe he visits and they’re growing more violent. Todd will have to put his powers and life at risk to find out why every Gretchen he meets is cursed to die.

Thank You for Everything

I want to thank everyone that has subscribed and encouraged me to keep writing. Your emails, feedback, and comments have been especially supportive. I particularly want to thank those of you who joined me on Patreon, you have helped make this blog and book bigger and better than I could have done alone. Thank you!

Step into the Road Updates

The goals of this blog’s first year were:

1. Write
2. Write more
3. Write even more

I’ve been working hard to get used to the publishing schedule of the blog and learning how to produce and publish a book that is worth reading. I don’t want to say I’ve figured it all out but I know enough now that I can move on to the next phase of being a writer which is improving how I share the stories I’ve written.

Step into the Road’s Logo

That being said, Step into the Road (SitR) is as much a blog as it is a publishing company. Given as of today it’s only published one book and 60 blog posts, but you know what they say about small beginnings.

To add to some resemblance of professionalism and because I’ve wanted one for a while now I’ve designed the first logo for Step Into The Road:

What’s coming next year?

In 2018 I made a laundry list of resolutions and goals for the year. About three months into the year I threw out all my goals except 2. They were Get a Job (with health insurance) and Publish a Book. As of next Wednesday, I will have accomplished both of those.

In that same spirit of simplicity, this is what I want to bring to the blog and you the readers in 2019:

Another Book

Ideally a full-length novel (maybe even the first of a series). It’s been a while since I wrote a full-length novel and it’s no small undertaking but given a whole year, and what I learned from an Echo Through Time, I think I can manage it. I’m grateful that I started small with this first book and I plan to use what I learned from it to make the novel better. But more about that book early next year!

More Better Stories

It’s been pointed out (and noticed by myself) that my grammar in and the proofreading of these stories leave something to be desired. My philosophy for the past year has been to put something out there on Friday so that I can practice telling stories. I have now done that 52 weeks in a row, and I think that’s plenty of practice!

In an effort to keep improving I plan to spend 2019 improving the quality of the work on this blog. Including but not limited to:

• Hiring Proof Readers
• Designing covers for the stories
• Making my stories more widely available

I plan to do this by writing the stories earlier. Currently, the production schedule of this blog goes a lot like this:

Monday Morning
Publisher Nicholas: “Hey Writer Nicholas you need to put something on the blog this Friday.”
Writer Nicholas: “Didn’t I just do that last week?”
PN: “Yep, now do it again.”
Wednesday Evening
PN: “Did you get that post written?”
WN: “Well sort of…”
PN: “Dude! Get on it!”
WN: “Fiiiiiine”
Thursday Evening
PN: “That story is supposed to go out in less than 12 hours! Is it done yet?”
WN: “Well mostly.”
PN: “This is littered with spelling errors, and you don’t even have pictures in it yet. What the hell?!?”
WN: “I’ll get to it, I’ll get to it!”
Friday Morning:
WN: “Hey I actually send something out!”
PN: “I didn’t think it would happen.”
WN: “Me neither.”
Monday Morning
PN: “Hey Nicholas you need to put something on the blog…”

I plan to invest time making sure that the stories are drafted at least a month beforehand so that there’s plenty of time for proofreading and planning. This plan also has the added benefit of having stories with endings that are thought out… unlike some stories. This production schedule will also be less stressful and help me free up some time to write the novel.

Social Media

How I’m accessible online is the third thing I want to improve on in 2019. Anyone who follows my Twitter or Facebook will be forgiven for forgetting that they’re following my Twitter or Facebook since my posting schedule is as consistent as… well, it’s not consistent, and that’s the problem.

Those of you who know me know I don’t use social media for myself so using it for the blog is a whole new swamp to wade through. But I promise, in 2019 I will get my act together and figure out how this stuff works. You deserve a way to interact with me that’s more advanced than freakin’ email!

Lastly,

Thanks for an amazing 2018! Writing is always fun, but it’s more fun with readers. I’ve appreciated everyone’s support and having a group of people that I can email my stories to has been incredibly motivating. I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have! There’s still a lot of work for me to do to close out the year but as of next Wednesday, I’ll be an author!

If you have any suggestions on what I should do with this blog in the upcoming year I’d love to hear them. As always you can contact me by email or my contact form. I love hearing from y’all, and I read & respond to all reader emails.

Find Peace in Progress,
Nicholas Licalsi
Rockwall, TX