Greetings and salutations. It is I, Greyson.

I don’t know exactly what to talk about. Right now my head is all over the place. Happy one moment, insanely down the next. However, I do have a few topics I want to discuss, that while any one wouldn’t provide enough life “to fill a space cruiser”, maybe combined they will be enough to fill a medium freighter?

I’m really enjoying Threads. Twitter was work and bots. Insta is all pictures, and Tiktok is all videos. Neither are really my thing. Threads, however, has many lovely Indie authors and artists, all supporting one another. I’ve made many friends on there, and found some great books I want to read as well. That being said, some of the (heated) discussions I see on there occasionally confound me.

The current debate seems to be about first person vs third person. Not even whether they belong in one genre or another, but I see some people arguing that one or the other pretty much shouldn’t exist! My view on person is, what does the story call for? Third person allows the writer to explore multiple POV, especially if they are ever stepping outside of scenes the main characters would not have access to. First person, meanwhile, allows the reader more access to what is going on inside the main character’s thoughts.

If I have any opinionated input on this, it would be that I occasionally get frustrated with first person stories that constantly switch between POV characters. My preference is for a single POV. I can deal with two, if the author takes the time to give a strong “voice” to each of the characters. If you are going to flip POV, it should be clear whose head I am in. Otherwise, go with what feels the most comfortable to the author for that story.

Next topic. I have seen a lot of people posting their reading goals for the new year. People discussing their 2024 reading accomplishments have been interesting for the most part, but just listing page views or total books read is kind of “so what” for me. I would rather hear things like what new authors they discovered, whether they dipped their toes into a new genre, or what they learned from reading this year. sheer numbers in isolation tell me nothing, you know?

My reading for 2024 was for crap. Except for one thing. I found that when I was reading books by an author I knew, that I had spoken with on Threads, that I had a connection to… I enjoyed the book more, I was better able to overlook any petty frustrations with it, and I was able to stick with it, and finish it. In opposition, random books from the library just haven’t been able to keep my interest. Therefore, my reading goals for the new year aren’t about numbers. Instead, my goal is to find as many books by Indie authors as I can, particularly if I have gotten to know the author a bit.

In addition, I am planning on exploring a new genre, one that I knew had to exist just be bring a thing, but I didn’t know existed as a popular genre. I’m looking to begin reading more books in the Dark Romance genre. I’ll probably even try my hand at writing one, although knowing my penchant for plot, it will probably become more Dark Romantasy, rather than pure romance. Still there is a dark part of my brain that lives for trauma drama, and dark romance seems to fit that quite well.

Finally to my financial situation and how it ties to my mental health. I am at two and a half YEARS since I applied for Disability. My therapist has acknowledged that I am in a perpetual status of survival mode, and all she is really able to do right now is help me stay neutrally level. I have a disability lawyer, but since Birmingham’s DDS office hasn’t even assigned anyone to review my appeals case, the lawyer says they have no one to talk to, and therefore nothing they can do yet. This is complete BS.

My new goal is to make a complete ass of myself, in the nicest way possible. Every day that I possibly can, I intend to call DDS and the lawyer’s office. I intend to be polite and friendly, but I also intend to let them know that I will be calling every day that I am able, until I get an answer to what is going on, and see movement on my case. I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. I’m tired of being told that all the resources in the world are available, if only I can get that magical stamp that says “disabled”. Every doctor, every therapist, even their own psychiatrist, said that yes, I am unable to work due to my physical and mental health issues. Every one of them recommended me for approval, even their own doctors.

So that’s where I sit with the new year’s beginning. A few opinions, a few ideas, and a few more words. Maybe later I can get into writing goals, but honestly, those are just “write whatever I can, and sell whatever I am able”. Don’t forget to love one another.

Greyson Black